Fake Social Security and government impersonation scams are designed to make people believe they are dealing with a legitimate government agency. Scammers may pretend to represent the Social Security Administration (SSA), IRS, Medicare, law enforcement, or another government organization. These scams can arrive through phone calls, text messages, emails, social media, letters, or fake websites….
Online shopping is convenient, but it also comes with risks. Fake online stores can look surprisingly professional, use attractive product photos, advertise huge discounts, and even have secure HTTPS connections. In 2026, knowing how to tell if an online store is legitimate before making a purchase is more important than ever. The good news is…
Online shopping is convenient, but it also comes with risks. Fake shopping websites can look like legitimate online stores while being designed to take your money, collect personal information, or send products that are different from what was advertised. Some fraudulent stores copy the logos, product photos, and descriptions of legitimate businesses. Others use social…
Artificial intelligence is making it easier to create realistic-looking videos, images, and cloned voices. Unfortunately, scammers are using these technologies to make impersonation scams more convincing. An attacker could create a fake video of a public figure, imitate a company executive, or clone a family member’s voice and use that identity to request money or…
AI voice scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Criminals can use artificial intelligence and voice-cloning technology to imitate the voice of a family member, friend, business executive, customer-service representative, or other trusted person. The technology itself has legitimate uses, but scammers can misuse it to make fraudulent phone calls sound much more believable. The Federal Trade…
Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday life, helping people write, communicate, create content and solve problems. However, the same technology can also be misused by criminals to make scams more convincing. In 2026, scammers can use AI to generate realistic voices, images, videos, messages, fake profiles and websites. These tools can make familiar scams…
Artificial intelligence has transformed the way people create content, communicate, work, and search for information. Unfortunately, scammers are also using AI to make fraudulent messages, websites, phone calls, images, and videos appear more convincing. AI-powered scams are not necessarily completely new types of fraud. Instead, artificial intelligence can make familiar scams—such as phishing, impersonation, investment…
A CAPTCHA is something most internet users have encountered while visiting websites. You may see an “I’m Not a Robot” checkbox or another human-verification challenge before accessing a page. While legitimate CAPTCHA systems are designed to help websites distinguish people from automated bots, scammers are increasingly abusing the familiar appearance of CAPTCHA pages to trick…
Fake CAPTCHA scams are becoming a clever way for cybercriminals to trick people into installing malware, revealing sensitive information, or allowing unwanted activity on their devices. A CAPTCHA is normally used by legitimate websites to determine whether a visitor is a human rather than an automated program. However, scammers can create fake “I’m Not a…
