New Startup Sends Parents Fake Scams So They Never Fall for Real Ones Oct 5, 2026  — New Startup Sends Parents Fake Scams So They Never Fall for Real Ones Oct 5, 2026 · Most families find out a parent is vulnerable to scams the hard way: a frantic phone call, a drained bank account, a stack of gift card receipts nobody can explain. A new online service called PhoolPhisher wants families to find out the easy way. PhoolPhisher lets adult children send realistic but completely harmless fake scam emails to their parents and other loved ones. If someone clicks the bogus link, nobody loses a dime. The sender gets notified, and the person who clicked learns exactly what they missed. The idea is simple, a little mischievous, and timely. Scammers already flood inboxes every day. PhoolPhisher says families should get there first. New users get five free scam test emails. Sign up free at phoolphisher.com A $7.7 Billion Problem According to the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report, Americans 60 and older reported $7.7 billion in losses last year, up 59% from 2024 and the highest of any age group. The average reported loss was roughly $38,500. Phishing and spoofing generated more complaints than any other crime the FBI tracked, and AI is making fake messages harder than ever to spot. Those are only the reported cases. Many victims never come forward at all. Warning an elderly parent about scams rarely sticks. Showing them usually does. Borrowing a Trick From Corporate America PhoolPhisher was founded by Jon Rapoport, an entrepreneur with an MBA background. The idea borrows from a practice big companies have used for years: sending employees simulated phishing emails so they learn to spot real attacks. Rapoport wondered why families, who face the same threats with far less training, had nothing similar. "Everyone knows someone who would click that link," Rapoport said. "I wanted to give families a way to find out before a criminal does, and to make the lesson stick without anyone getting hurt or embarrassed." The company motto sums it up: "Phish'em, Phool'em, Protect'em." How It Works 1. Pick the scam. Choose from realistic templates like fake bank alerts, credit card fraud warnings, sweetheart scams, and catfishing messages. 2. Send it. PhoolPhisher delivers the test to your mom, dad, grandparent, teen, or anyone else you add. 3. Get notified. If they click, you get an alert, and they see a page explaining the warning signs they missed. Tests go out periodically, and users choose how often and which scams to send, so the lessons keep pace with the latest tricks. Parents also use it to test teens, and business owners use it to test new hires. After the free trial, plans run $9.95 a year for up to 5 people, $14.95 for up to 10, and $19.95 for up to 20, with custom pricing for companies. Try It Free PhoolPhisher is offering five free scam test emails to new users, enough to test both parents and a few more loved ones before spending a cent. Sign up free at phoolphisher.com/register The worst case is a laugh and a quick lesson. The best case could save someone you love their life savings. Sources • FBI: Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions (2025 Internet Crime Report) • FBI 2025 Internet Crime Report (PDF)

FTC warns about email scam masking as party invitations  — The Federal Trade Commission is warning partygoers everywhere about a new phishing scam involving event invitations. In a May 26 blog post, the FTC sounded the alarm on "You’re invited" texts and emails that are actually phishing scams. "Scammers send unexpected messages that look like they're from well-known invitation platforms like Evite or Paperless Post," the FTC post says. The invitation may then ask users to share login credentials, according to the warning.

A Featured Phool Gets His Revenge Scam of elderly man goes so well, con artists strike again. But this time the Phool is ready for them.  — Two scammers stole $25,000 from a senior in Ventura County. But once they find their mark, scammers love to try again -- so they reached out a second time, but this time the victim was ready -- with the police. The scammers now face jail time and our Featured Phool got his money back. The moral of the story: shame is a scammer's weapon. They count on their victims to feel so much shame that they don't get help. This victim went to the police and successfully landed his scammers in jail.

Phishing exploits the gap between tools and trust  — Experts at Vanguard describe phishing scams today in a straightforward primer. The key insight: "While phishing is often framed as a single event, it can also mark the starting point for broader scams that evolve over time. In many cases, escalation is not driven by the message itself, but by the response—small actions that signal availability, trust, or willingness to continue the exchange." The most effective way to avoid being phished is to never engage. Don't respond and feed the interaction.

Woman loses nearly $1M in romance scam, shares red flags she missed | 7 On Your Side  — CONNECTICUT (WABC) -- Valentine's Day is next Friday! So, if you're single and looking for love, you may be trying to find your soulmate online. It's one of the top ways to connect, but unfortunately, dating apps are another avenue for online scammers to take advantage of others looking for romance. Romance scams are all over the headlines, often involving international rings of criminals to trick victims into sending them a lot of money. Who doesn't want to be loved? These types of scams are so successful because many of us are vulnerable, and it's not a quick, hit send me money for a plane ticket, and then they disappear.

'It's a crazy world out there': Information security officer talks online scam safety in age of AI  — ST. LOUIS — Valentine's Day is nearly here — but with romance comes romance scams, and they're here to stay. One cybersecurity professional and Metropolis native is sharing how to spot scammers — and how AI is changing these scams.

The last time she spoke to her son was in a FaceTime cooking lesson. The next day she was the victim of a deadly scam  — Mario Hall last saw his mother on the other end of a FaceTime call, teaching him how to make pepper steak. She’d propped her phone near the stove in her kitchen in Dublin, Ohio, so he could see the pan. From his home in Columbia, South Carolina, he watched and followed along as she added peppers and seasoned the beef. “I’d told her I wanted some pepper steak, but I didn’t know how to make it. And that was one of the meals she used to make for me when I was younger,” Hall told CNN this week. “So she was like, ‘well, get on FaceTime and let’s just walk through it.’ ”

Online Job Scams Are on the Rise, and Gen Z Is Struggling With Them, Study Says  — There are a lot of factors contributing to the hellscape that is the current job market: few open roles, fierce competition, AI automation and terrible global economic conditions, to name just a few. And it's increasingly a minefield, where promising-looking postings might really just be scams.

What The Tech: Young People Engage with Scams Even More Than Seniors  — Seniors may be losing the most money, but it's actually young people who are engaging with scams the most. Shopping scams, employment scams, and romance scams are at the top of the list for scam attempts hooking young victims.

He lost $1 million to scammers — then they came back posing as lawyers to steal even more  — Cybercriminals stole more than $1 million from an 81-year-old man in a romance scam. But then, the scammers tried again -- posing as lawyers from the U.S. Treasury’s financial crimes division they offered to help.