Don’t share the viral Instagram Meta AI “legal” post

A new variation of a hoax that has been doing the rounds on Facebook for years has crossed over to Instagram. We’re seeing this post on Instagram Stories a lot suddenly over the last few days. The post is usually posted as a shareable screenshot on Instagram Stories, but it’s also been spotted on...

New Facebook photo rule hoax spreads

Some hoaxes on Facebook are years old, but like a cat with nine lives they keep coming back again and again. This is certainly the case with this most recent hoax. Fact-checking site Snopes is reporting on a hoax that concerns Metas use of our photos, messages and other posts on Facebook. Users a...

YouTube, Discord, and ‘Lord of the Rings’ Led Police to a Teen Accused of a US Swatting Spree

For nearly two years, police have been tracking down the culprit behind a wave of hoax threats. A digital trail took them to the door of a 17-year-old in California...

Friday Squid Blogging: “Mediterranean Beef Squid” Hoax

The viral video of the "Mediterranean beef squid"is a hoax. Its not even a deep fake; its a plastic toy. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered. Read my blog posting guidelines here...

Avoid this "lost injured dog" Facebook hoax

Facebook users are advised to be wary of posts involving injured dogs receiving treatment at a vet surgery, or pets sitting next to people post-operation adorned with bandages and plaster casts. The dog-themed missives all follow a similar format, with the primary change between them being the...

"Baby dumped at the gate" post is a Facebook hoax

Every so often, bizarre but oddly believable scams do the rounds on Facebook. And so we have the latest: A tragic tale of a lost baby left outside the gate of someones house. The abandoned baby Facebook hoax springs into action A post made to Facebook December 1st by someone claiming to be in the...

An 18 year scam odyssey of stranded astronauts

There is a semi-mythical scam which comes around every couple of years, like some sort of digital bad luck version of Halleys Comet. Instead of flood, famine, and the death of Kings, it brings confusion, some level of hilarity, and a slice of sheer disbelief. Unfortunately it also threatens to...

Swatted: A Shooting Hoax Spree Is Terrorizing Schools Across the US

Sixteen states collectively suffered more than 90 false reports of school shooters during three weeks in September—and many appear to be connected...

Don't share the WhatsApp 'Martinelli' phone hacking alert: It's a hoax

Everyone loves a good campfire story prone to exaggeration. However, when told online its not quite got the same effect. Long ago, sites like Myspace would play host to very certain types of messages. "Dont open this post from Johnny Cyberhack, or your account will be stolen and your C drive will...

FBI Email Hoaxer ID’ed by the Guy He Allegedly Loves to Torment

Vinny Troia, the cybersecurity researcher mentioned in a fake alert gushed out to thousands of people from the FBI’s own email system on Friday night, has fingered the guy who allegedly pulled off the exploit. Register now for our LIVE event! Troia – white hat threat hunter, cybercrime investigat...

Hoax Email Blast Abused Poor Coding in FBI Website

The Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI confirmed today that its fbi.gov domain name and Internet address were used to blast out thousands of fake emails about a cybercrime investigation. According to an interview with the person who claimed responsibility for the hoax, the spam messages were sen...

The ‘Groove’ Ransomware Gang Was a Hoax

A number of publications in September warned about the emergence of "Groove," a new ransomware group that called on competing extortion gangs to unite in attacking U.S. government interests online. It now appears that Groove was all a big hoax designed to toy with security firms and journalists...

Man Who Hired Deadly Swatting Gets 15 Months

An Ohio teen who recruited a convicted serial "swatter" to fake a distress call that ended in the police shooting an innocent Kansas man in 2017 has been sentenced to 15 months in prison. Image: FBI.gov "Swatting" is a dangerous hoax that involves making false claims to emergency responders about...

A week in security (August 19 – 25)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we reported on the presence of Magecart on a type of poker software; outlined how the Key Negotiation of Bluetooth KNOB attack works; followed the money on a Bitcoin sextortion campaign; looked back at DEF CON 27; and reported on continuing ransomware attacks on...

Bomb Threat, Sextortion Spammers Abused Weakness at GoDaddy.com

Two of the most disruptive and widely-received spam email campaigns over the past few months -- including an ongoing sextortion email scam and a bomb threat hoax that shut down dozens of schools, businesses and government buildings late last year -- were made possible thanks to an authentication...

WhatsApp Gold Scam is Back with Malware Payload

By Waqas In social media, the emergence of fake news and fake apps isn’t uncommon as thousands of these hoaxes keep circulating around the web to spread confusion among the users. Now, there is a new hoax doing the rounds and making headlines and it is called WhatsApp Gold Scam. Dubbed as WhatsAp...

Glitter Bomb against Package Thieves

Stealing packages from unattended porches is a rapidly rising crime, as more of us order more things by mail. One person hid a glitter bomb and a video recorder in a package, posting the results when thieves opened the box. At least, that's what might have happened. At least some of the video was...

Fake Bomb Threat Emails Demanding Bitcoins Sparked Chaos Across US, Canada

"Pay $20,000 worth of bitcoin, or a bomb will detonate in your building" A massive number of businesses, schools, government offices and individuals across the US, New Zealand and Canada on Thursday received bomb threats via emails that caused nationwide chaos, forcing widespread evacuations and...

Calif. Man Pleads Guilty in Fatal Swatting Case, Faces 20+ Years in Prison

A California man who pleaded guilty Tuesday to causing dozens of swatting attacks -- including a deadly incident in Kansas last year -- now faces 20 or more years in prison. Tyler Raj Barriss, in an undated selfie. Tyler Barriss, 25, went by the nickname SWAuTistic on Twitter, and reveled in...

19-Year-Old Hacker Arrested Over Making Hoax School and Flight Bomb Threats

British police have arrested a 19-year-old teen who is an alleged member of Apophis Squad cybercriminal group responsible for making hoax bomb threats to thousands of schools and airlines; and DDoSing ProtonMail and Tutanota secure email services. George Duke-Cohan was arrested in his bedroom at...