A Scam Email Dissected  — Scam emails are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but many still follow recognizable patterns. Let's examine a recent scam email that claims to offer a $500 Costco reward for completing a 30-second survey and explore the red flags and takeaways to help you protect yourself.

Online scams target immigrants without legal status as deportation fears linger  — Jose is a Venezuelan national living in North Texas who has been preparing for his asylum hearing scheduled for July. Last week, he received an email he thought was from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services notifying him his hearing had been moved up almost two months. It read: “The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services informs you that your virtual hearing had been scheduled for May 9, 2025 at 5:00 p.m., New York local time.” “It caught me by surprise because I wasn’t expecting this,” Jose – who asked to only use his first name -- said in Spanish.

Barclays Scams Bulletin: Romance scam reports rise 20 per cent as online dating hits 30-year anniversary  — Barclays Scams Bulletin: Romance scam reports rise 20 per cent as online dating hits 30-year anniversary One in 10 UK adults have been targeted, or know someone who has been targeted, by a romance scam In the first quarter of 2025, romance scams were up 20 per cent year-on-year Victims lost £8,000 on average last year, increasing to £19,000 for those 61 and over Three quarters of consumers want tech companies to do more to prevent romance scammers on their platforms The Barclays Scams Bulletin tracks scam data across personal and business current accounts, paired with expert commentary from Barclays digital safety experts

You’d never fall for an online scam, right?  — Wrong, says cybersecurity expert. Con artists use time-tested tricks that can work on anyone regardless of age, IQ — what’s changed is scale. Online scams are on the rise. Last year, American consumers lost $12.5 billion due to cybercrime, which represents a 22 percent increase over the previous year, according to a report by the FBI. Cybercriminals use psychological trickery to dupe victims into giving up their money, and their tactics are becoming more sophisticated. They post fake ads on social media platforms, send emails with phishing links or malware, and recently in the Boston area, solicit payments for unpaid tolls via text message.

Security training cuts phishing risk by 86% globally in a year  — A recent study shows that security training targeting phishing scams reduces risk by 86% in the corporate space. *PhoolPhisher is a tool that offers security training for phishing scams in the consumer space.

Fake Loan Followup  — Beware: Loan-Related Emails May Be Targeted Spam—Even If You Just Applied

Don't Fall for This New Gmail Phishing Scheme  — If you receive an email from Google that appears to be a legitimate security alert, do not proceed. Scammers are taking advantage of vulnerabilities in Google's authentication protocols to send phishing messages that appear convincing enough to steal unsuspecting users' account credentials. Here's how to protect yourself.

New Google email scams are alarmingly convincing - how to spot them  — A sophisticated phishing scam has been taking advantage of Google security flaws to convince people that the malicious emails and websites are legitimate. In a series of X posts spotted by Android Authority, developer Nick Johnson explained how he was targeted by a phishing attack that exploits flaws in Google's own infrastructure. In his first post, Johnson includes a screenshot of the scam email claiming that Google had been served a subpoena requiring it to produce a copy of his Google account data.

‘Hello pervert’: the sextortion scam claiming to have videoed you  — Hello pervert” is how the email starts and frighteningly it appears to have been sent from your own account. It is a ransom note with the recipient warned that they have been recorded in a compromising act, and will be exposed unless they pay up. The sender warns “this is a very bad situation for you”, or something similarly threatening.

Did you get an email from an Indiana government agency about unpaid tolls? It's a scam.  — A former email provider for the State of Indiana has been hacked and is sending fraudulent toll road scam emails, the Indiana Office of Technology confirmed in a statement on the morning of May 13.

FBI issues new warning; be on the lookout for specific language in emails  — he FBI has issued a new warning about scammers targeting your email in more sophisticated ways. The FBI wants the public to be aware of scammers trying to exploit mass casualty events and disasters, like the New Orleans attack New Year's Day and the raging wildfires in Los Angeles. Plus, be on the lookout for messages that stress urgency.