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Scammers have figured out the best time to text you

Malwarebytes threat data shows scammers tailor platforms per scam, with the web as top channel, Friday midday peaks, and MrBeast the most impersonated person.

Malwarebytes analyzed its threat data from April 15 to July 14, 2026 across more than 20 scam categories, finding scammers match platforms to scam types: job scams via email, romance scams via social media, and tech support scams via phone. The web is the top delivery channel ahead of email and SMS, and Malwarebytes says it blocks about 500,000 phishing sites a day. Scam texts peak at 12:00 pm ET, roughly 874% above the quietest hour, with volume peaking on Fridays about 50% higher than the start of the week. MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson) appears in about 30% of impersonation scams, and the most impersonated brands are Google, Microsoft, Apple, Roblox and Amazon.

Help Net Security · 12d agoPhishing & fraud in the wild

Crypto customers targeted by scammers after email marketing provider breach

Attackers exploited a Brevo SAML SSO flaw to access 138 accounts and phish crypto customers of Trezor, CoinTracking, and BitBox.

An attacker exploited a flaw in Brevo's SAML SSO handling to access 138 customer accounts on September 10; six accounts were used to send phishing emails and contacts were exported from 43 accounts. Crypto firms Trezor, CoinTracking, and BitBox confirmed customers received phishing emails, with Trezor warning roughly 347,000 newsletter subscribers. The Trezor-themed email cited a fabricated STM32 microcontroller entropy bug and urged recipients to enter wallet backups through a malicious link. Exported contact lists could fuel future targeted phishing attacks.

Malwarebytes Labs · 4d agoData breach in the wild 6 sources

StreamRat Android malware spreads through Meta and TikTok ads

Malwarebytes reports StreamRat Android banking trojan spread via Meta and TikTok ads reaching roughly 570,000 users, mostly in Spain.

Malwarebytes researchers uncovered a malicious advertising campaign on Meta and TikTok promoting a fake free TV-streaming service that delivered the StreamRat Android banking trojan and infostealer. The ads, aimed at Spanish-speaking users with most victims in Spain, reached approximately 570,000 Meta users in a campaign running June 11 through July 3, 2026. The download site detected Android devices and the referral source, then coached users through sideloading steps including enabling installs from unknown sources. StreamRat can monitor the screen, capture typed credentials, display fake login screens, and give attackers remote control, including black-screen and fake Android update overlays.

Malwarebytes Labs · 12d agoMalware in the wild

HBO Max’s verified Reddit account hijacked to spread malware

Cybercriminals hijacked HBO Max's verified Reddit account to run 108 ClickFix ads pushing AMOS and Amatera infostealers via fake HBO app sites.

Hudson Rock found that hijackers used HBO Max's verified Reddit account to run 108 malicious ads over roughly 48 hours promoting fake AI tools and macOS utilities. The ads led to HBO lookalike sites instructing victims to paste commands into Terminal or PowerShell, a ClickFix social-engineering technique ADAMnetworks dubbed PasteSwitch. macOS payloads included MacSync and AMOS infostealers targeting browser credentials, Telegram data, Apple Notes, passwords, and crypto recovery phrases; Windows users received the in-memory Amatera infostealer. The operation is also linked to cryptocurrency clipboard hijackers, and Reddit admins paused the ads and opened an investigation.

Malwarebytes Labs · 19h agoMalware in the wild 7 sources1

ThreatsDay: 296K IoT Botnet, 100+ Water Systems Targeted, SharePoint RCE Chain + 27 New Stories

Weekly ThreatsDay bulletin details a ShinyHunters-style social engineering hit on ReliaQuest, the 296,000-device Dysphoria IoT botnet, and several new malware families.

ReliaQuest confirmed a social engineering attack on August 22, 2026, in which an attacker used a fake SSO page and MFA push approval to gain brief view-only access to an identity dashboard, with tactics matching ShinyHunters, which has since listed the firm on its leak portal. The Shadowserver Foundation reported the Dysphoria botnet has compromised nearly 296,000 IoT devices for DDoS attacks and recently added residential proxy capability. Cisco Talos documented JWR, an operator-driven phishing-as-a-service framework linked to The Outsider that harvests credentials, identity documents, and 2FA codes over an encrypted WebSocket. New malware coverage includes the Octagon Android fraud bot ($1,400/month), the C2Looper Rust backdoor delivered via ClickFix, and the Aeternum loader that moved C2 to the Polygon blockchain.

The Hacker News · 14d agoMalware in the wild

X Money rollout linked to password-reset attacks

X is investigating bulk unsolicited password-reset emails as its X Money payments service expands, with no confirmed breaches or account takeovers yet.

X users began reporting unexpected password-reset emails and codes on September 1, and product engineer Mridul Singhai said attackers appear to believe newly widespread X Money access makes accounts worth targeting. X says it has found no evidence of any breach or successful account takeover, and completing a reset still requires access to the account's email or phone number. X Money offers eligible US users interest-bearing accounts, a Visa debit card, and P2P payments, with Cross River Bank providing banking infrastructure. Malwarebytes warns the reset flood can serve as cover for phishing and urges reset protection, 2FA, and unique passwords.

Malwarebytes Labs · 11d agoPhishing & fraud in the wild

TerminalFix looks like ClickFix, but delivers a very different payload

Malwarebytes warns TerminalFix mimics the ClickFix fake CAPTCHA social engineering trick but delivers a payload granting attackers access to victims' wider network.

Malwarebytes identified TerminalFix, a variant of the familiar ClickFix fake CAPTCHA social engineering trick. The adapted chain delivers a very different payload, one that can give attackers access to the victim's wider network beyond the initially infected host.

Malwarebytes Labs · 14d agoMalware in the wild

Infostealers are hijacking Claude accounts at users’ expense

Malwarebytes reports infostealers are stealing Claude session cookies to hijack Anthropic accounts and consume victims' usage at their expense.

Anthropic warned that infostealer malware operators are harvesting Claude session cookies from infected machines. Attackers replay the stolen cookies to take over users' accounts and consume their usage quotas, affecting the victims' own access. The activity involves observed account hijacking rather than a flaw in Claude itself.

Malwarebytes Labs · 14d agoMalware in the wild

How the EITest Campaign's Path to Angler EK Evolved Over Time

Unit 42 documents how the EITest campaign's gate URLs and infrastructure evolved since 2014 while still routing victims to Angler EK and diverse malware.

Unit 42 traced network traffic changes in the EITest campaign, which Malwarebytes identified in October 2014 across thousands of compromised websites. The campaign's injected script patterns have remained consistent, but its gate URLs changed repeatedly, and since January 2016 gates used the 85.93.0.0/24 IP block, often with .tk domains. The gate returns a Flash file that redirects victims to Angler EK, which delivered malware including Vawtrak, Tinba, TeslaCrypt, Bedep, Kovter, Ursnif, and Zeus variants from 2014 through 2016.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoThreat actor in the wild

BlueMoon exploit kit turns Chrome and Windows flaws into attacks

Proofpoint documents BlueMoon exploit kit used by four espionage groups to chain Chrome V8 and Windows flaws via phishing, all now in CISA's KEV.

Proofpoint identified a shared Chrome and Windows exploit kit, BlueMoon, used by four espionage groups against Chrome on Windows within days of one another. Attacks began with phishing emails leading to web pages that exploited two Chrome V8 vulnerabilities, followed by a Windows flaw to escape browser protections and gain higher privileges. The Chrome flaws were patched in Stable on September 3 and 8, 2026, the Windows flaw was fixed in September Patch Tuesday, and all three were actively exploited and added to CISA's KEV catalog. Researchers found clues, but no conclusive evidence, that the kit was developed with AI assistance.

Malwarebytes Labsupdated · 20h agofirst · 5d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 20 sources1

Update Chrome now to protect against an actively exploited vulnerability

Google shipped Chrome 153.0.8010.36/.37 fixing 230 flaws including actively exploited V8 out-of-bounds write CVE-2026-87491 enabling sandboxed code execution.

Chrome stable channel updated to 153.0.8010.36/.37 for Windows and Mac and 153.0.8010.36 for Linux, including 230 security fixes. CVE-2026-87491 is an out-of-bounds write in Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine that a crafted HTML page can exploit to execute arbitrary code inside the browser sandbox; Google rates it medium severity, but it is confirmed as actively exploited. The update also fixes five Critical vulnerabilities, four of which were found in WebGL. Users should update via Settings > About Chrome and restart the browser.

Malwarebytes Labs · 5d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 2 sourcesCVE-2026-874911

Copyright scammers get Instagram accounts suspended and demand payment

Scammers file fake Instagram copyright complaints to suspend accounts, then demand ransom via Telegram; Meta restored some affected accounts.

Criminals impersonate rights holders to file fraudulent copyright complaints on Instagram, and repeated claims can trigger temporary account suspensions. They then move victims to Telegram and demand payment, often in cryptocurrency, to withdraw the complaint; one history account owner paid $50 and was targeted again immediately. Meta's automated system does not verify complainants before acting, and the Delhi High Court is examining whether platforms can legally suspend accounts over copyright claims. Meta acknowledged in court that 13 strike notices against one user were fraudulent, and after BBC review it restored affected content and added unspecified protections.

Malwarebytes Labs · 5d agoPhishing & fraud in the wild

Iran-Linked Hackers Use Fake LinkedIn Job Offers to Deploy NodeRabbit and PollCat RATs

Iran-linked Mirage Kitten targets software engineers with fake LinkedIn recruiter coding tests deploying new NodeRabbit and PollCat RATs.

Kaspersky researchers link the campaign to Mirage Kitten (also tracked as UNC1549, Smoke Sandstorm, Nimbus Manticore), with victims in aviation, aerospace and fintech in Egypt, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. Trojanized npm dependencies (colorized_terminal, pretty-log) bundled in coding-challenge archives launch the Node.js implants across Windows, Linux and macOS. NodeRabbit uses AES-256-GCM-encrypted C2 via Azure, and its third variant persists through a fake GitHub Copilot Helper VS Code extension plus Git post-merge/post-checkout hooks. PollCat is an obfuscated JavaScript RAT that registers with C2 before OTP authentication and inventories tools from 24 security vendors.

GBHackersupdated · 6d agofirst · 6d agoThreat actor in the wild 2 sources1

Microsoft fixes record 964 flaws, including 2 exploited zero-days

Microsoft's September Patch Tuesday fixes a record 964 CVEs, including two actively exploited Windows privilege-escalation zero-days, CVE-2026-81963 and CVE-2026-85880.

Microsoft's September 2026 Patch Tuesday addresses 964 customer-patchable CVEs (104 Critical, 860 Important), the largest release on record, out of 974 total listed. Two actively exploited zero-days are fixed: CVE-2026-81963, a link-following elevation-of-privilege flaw in the Windows Update Stack, and CVE-2026-85880, a Windows ALPC heap overflow enabling AppContainer sandbox escape, both with CVSS 7.8. Both zero-days were exploited before a patch was available and grant SYSTEM-level access after an initial foothold. The release also includes high-severity RCE fixes for Windows DNS Server, Remote Desktop Services, Exchange Server, SharePoint, and SQL Server.

Malwarebytes Labs · 6d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-81963CVE-2026-858801

ClearFake WebDAV infection chain delivers Amatera stealer, ZigCryptoStealer, and NetSupport Manager

Cisco Talos details ClearFake WebDAV chains delivering Amatera stealer to a Ukrainian government organization, with cryptocurrency and credential theft payloads.

Cisco Talos investigated DLL executions named 'verification.google' via WebDAV UNC paths at a Ukrainian government organization, tracking the actor as UAT-10820 and assessing with moderate confidence the activity is Russian and opportunistic rather than targeted. The infection chain uses ClearFake JavaScript injected via a Cloudflare Worker, EtherHiding storage on BNB Smart Chain contracts, and a ClickFix fake Google CAPTCHA prompt to deliver Amatera stealer. Secondary payloads differ by C2: one loader deploys ZigCryptoStealer with a Go reverse TCP proxy and a vulnerable driver that kills EDR, while the other installs an unauthorized NetSupport Manager with a Russia-based C2. Similar Amatera chains were separately documented by Malwarebytes and Blackpoint Cyber, but with no shared infrastructure.

Cisco Talos · 7d agoMalware in the wild1

MikroTik router flaws allow takeover without a password

Attackers actively exploit chained MikroTik RouterOS SSH flaws CVE-2026-67276 and CVE-2026-86060, bypassing authentication and escalating to admin to seize edge routers.

CERT Polska warns of active exploitation of a two-flaw chain dubbed 'MikroTrick' against internet-exposed MikroTik RouterOS devices with SSH remote management enabled. CVE-2026-67276 is an SSH authentication bypass in RSA public-key handling, and CVE-2026-86060 is a privilege-escalation flaw triggered via a specially crafted username, letting attackers gain full administrator control without a password. Patched RouterOS packages are already public, and MikroTik added a startup detection that flags unauthorized configuration changes. Compromised edge routers enable DNS hijacking, traffic capture, remote-access tunnels, firewall changes, and lateral attacks.

Malwarebytes Labs · 7d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-67276CVE-2026-860603

Rogue ScreenConnect Clients Spread Four-Stage VBScript Chain to Newly Connected Hosts

Huntress says rogue ScreenConnect clients spread a four-stage VBScript chain delivering backdoors, privilege-escalation tools, or an XMRig miner to newly connected hosts.

Huntress identified three unrelated August 2026 incidents using a Quick Assist tech-support scam, a phishing-delivered MSI installer, and a fake Geek Squad refund form to install rogue ScreenConnect clients. Each client repeatedly spawned wscript.exe to run 1.vbs through 4.vbs, which profiled the host, enumerated installed security products, and downloaded stage-specific payloads from Dropbox. Depending on detected state, payloads included a user-level ScreenConnect backdoor, UAC-bypass privilege escalation tooling, or tunneling utilities with an XMRig cryptocurrency miner. Infected clients re-infected newly connected hosts, creating worm-like propagation, and ConnectWise issued an advisory about affected file transfer behavior in ScreenConnect.

The Hacker News · 8d agoMalware in the wild

Free streaming boxes may be routing criminal traffic through your home

Researchers found SuperBox streaming boxes and the CyberFlix TV app enroll home connections into the Popanet residential proxy network, routing criminal traffic.

Researchers found that SuperBox devices and the CyberFlix TV app, distributed through SuperBox's custom app store, contain Popanet proxy functionality that registers the device with servers controlled by the proxy operator, enrolling household connections into residential proxy networks. The reported configuration weakens Android safeguards with exposed ADB access, root-level privileges without authentication, and removal of app-install protections. Plume's research warns these proxy networks can also function as malware-delivery platforms, and the FBI notes foreign entities use residential proxies to conceal activity such as credential stuffing and account abuse. Malwarebytes advises disconnecting and replacing affected SuperBox/CyberFlix devices rather than factory-resetting them.

Malwarebytes Labs · 11d agoMalware in the wild

Rogue ScreenConnect Installations Across Unrelated Hosts Suggest Worm-Like Activity

Huntress observed rogue ScreenConnect deployments with worm-like VBScript propagation across unrelated organizations, prompting a ConnectWise advisory on file transfer behavior.

Huntress identified multiple incidents in late August 2026 where social engineering led to rogue ScreenConnect remote access clients deployed on victim machines, which then spawned wscript.exe to run four VBScript payloads (1.vbs through 4.vbs) for profiling, telemetry collection, and persistence via a WindowsServiceHost Run key. Modified ScreenConnect clients propagated the VBScript chain to connected endpoints, creating worm-like spread. ConnectWise published an advisory on September 3, 2026, confirming an issue affecting file transfer behavior in both cloud and on-premises ScreenConnect deployments, with a CVE and fix expected within the week; partners were advised to review and disable TransferFiles permissions in the interim.

Huntress · 12d agoExploit / PoC in the wild1

H1 2026 Malware Vulnerability Trends

Recorded Future's H1 2026 report finds 215 actively exploited CVEs, RAT dominance, NFC payment fraud, and AI-augmented but not autonomous tradecraft.

Recorded Future's Insikt Group identified 215 actively exploited CVEs in H1 2026, up 34% from 161 in H1 2025, with the most impactful flaws combining network reachability, no authentication, and code execution. AsyncRAT was the top malware family, with AsyncRAT, Cobalt Strike, XWorm, Stealc, and REMCOS remaining top-ten staples; Android NFC malware like NFCShare and NGate enabled payment card theft and ATM cash-outs. AI-enabled attacks remained additive to established tradecraft, concentrated in Levels 1-3 of Recorded Future's AIM3 maturity model, with AI-assisted vulnerability research (e.g., Claude Mythos fixing 271 Firefox bugs in Firefox 150) inflating NVD disclosure volumes 43% above the prior six-month average. The report urges defenders to prioritize remotely exploitable RCE flaws, behavioral detection, developer credential security, and third-party oversight.

Recorded Future · 13d agoThreat actor in the wild1

Two critical Chrome flaws put users at risk on malicious websites

Google patched 26 Chrome flaws, including two critical use-after-frees and an actively exploited V8 sandbox escape (CVE-2026-85046); update to 152.0.7977.82/.83.

Chrome's desktop update fixes 26 security issues, including critical use-after-free flaws CVE-2026-84353 in Shared Tab Groups and CVE-2026-84352 in WebGL, both allowing code execution outside the browser sandbox via crafted HTML pages. Google subsequently patched CVE-2026-85046, a high-severity V8 JavaScript engine flaw with exploits already in the wild that enables arbitrary code execution inside the Chrome sandbox; HKCERT rates the overall risk as extremely high. Fixed versions are 152.0.7977.82/.83 on Windows and Mac and 152.0.7977.82 on Linux.

Malwarebytes Labs · 13d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-84352CVE-2026-84353CVE-2026-850461

Analysis of Smoke Loader in New Tsunami Campaign

Fake Japanese Meteorological Agency tsunami warning emails delivered Smoke Loader and AzoRult malware to steal credentials from targets in Japan.

A fake tsunami warning email impersonating Japan's Meteorological Agency asked recipients to click a link on a registered fake agency domain, delivering the commodity loader Smoke Loader to targets in Japan. Smoke Loader, active since 2011, is modular, and its payloads have included banking trojans, ransomware, cryptominers, password stealers, and PoS malware; the campaign later also deployed AzoRult. New samples add junk-jump obfuscation, encrypted network traffic and payload files, a unique machine ID used for tracking and encryption, and PROPagate injection into explorer.exe, with persistence via a Startup folder shortcut and RC4-encrypted C2 communication.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoMalware in the wild

Campaign Evolution: EITest from October through December 2016

Unit 42 details the EITest campaign's late-2016 changes: gates and obfuscation dropped, with Rig EK variants delivering ransomware and infostealers.

Unit 42 tracks the EITest campaign through late 2016, noting it abandoned the gate between compromised websites and exploit kit landing pages after its October 2016 report, and stopped obfuscating injected script URLs by October 15. The campaign primarily uses the Rig-E (Empire Pack) variant and sometimes Rig-V of Rig EK to deliver Cerber and CryptoMix ransomware plus infostealers such as Gootkit, the Chthonic banking Trojan, Ursnif variants, and Latentbot. Tracked since 2014 by Malwarebytes Labs and others, EITest targets unpatched Windows systems without specific victimology.

Palo Alto Unit 42 · 29d agoThreat actor in the wild

Week in review: Salesforce and ServiceNow portals exposed for 17 months, exploited Metabase 0-day

Weekly digest: exploited Metabase zero-day breached Framework; Salesforce/ServiceNow portals read for 17 months; Microsoft patched 400+ flaws.

Help Net Security's week in review aggregates top stories: a 'City-Forum' campaign tracked by Reco has been pulling records from Salesforce and ServiceNow portals worldwide for 17 months, and Framework suffered a breach via an exploited Metabase zero-day exposing customer contact and IP data. It also covers Microsoft's August 2026 Patch Tuesday fixing 400+ flaws including exploited zero-day CVE-2026-68820, Cisco's fix for exploited firewall DoS bug CVE-2026-20349 (added to CISA KEV), and a second N-able N-central hotfix for actively exploited CVE-2026-18577. Other items include GitHub expanding Dependabot malware alerts to eight package ecosystems and EU AI Act enforcement beginning on 2 August 2026.

Help Net Security · Aug 16, 2026Industry in the wildCVE-2026-18577CVE-2026-68820CVE-2026-203491