Xinbi Telegram Market Tied to $8.4B in Crypto Crime, Romance Scams, North Korea Laundering

A Chinese-language, Telegram-based marketplace called Xinbi Guarantee has facilitated no less than $8.4 billion in transactions since 2022, making it the second major black market to be exposed after HuiOne Guarantee. According to a report published by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, merchant...

Deepfakes, Scams, and the Age of Paranoia

As AI-driven fraud becomes increasingly common, more people feel the need to verify every interaction they have online...

Google Chrome will use AI to block tech support scam websites

Google has expressed plans to use Artificial Intelligence AI to stop tech support scams in Chrome. With the launch of Chrome version 137, Google plans to use the on-device Gemini Nano large language model LLM to recognize and block tech support scams. Users already have the ability to chose...

Google Rolls Out On-Device AI Protections to Detect Scams in Chrome and Android

Google on Thursday announced it's rolling out new artificial intelligence AI-powered countermeasures to combat scams across Chrome, Search, and Android. The tech giant said it will begin using Gemini Nano, its on-device large language model LLM, to improve Safe Browsing in Chrome 137 on desktops...

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Welcome to this week's edition of the Threat Source newsletter. Authority bias is one of the many things that shape how we think. Taking the advice of someone with recognized authority is often far easier and usually leads to a better outcome than spending time and effort in researching the...

Fake Crypto Exchange Ads on Facebook Spread Malware

Bitdefender exposes Facebook ad scams using fake crypto sites and celebrity lures to spread malware via malicious desktop…...

Pakistani Firm Shipped Fentanyl Analogs, Scams to US

A Texas firm recently charged with conspiring to distribute synthetic opioids in the United States is at the center of a vast network of companies in the U.S. and Pakistan whose employees are accused of using online ads to scam westerners seeking help with trademarks, book writing, mobile app...

New Investment Scams Use Facebook Ads, RDGA Domains, and IP Checks to Filter Victims

Cybersecurity researchers have lifted the lid on two threat actors that orchestrate investment scams through spoofed celebrity endorsements and conceal their activity through traffic distribution systems TDSes. The activity clusters have been codenamed Reckless Rabbit and Ruthless Rabbit by DNS...

Hacking Spree Hits UK Retail Giants

Plus: France blames Russia for a series of cyberattacks, the US is taking steps to crack down on a gray market allegedly used by scammers, and Microsoft pushes the password one step closer to death...

200+ Fake Retail Sites Used in New Wave of Subscription Scams

Bitdefender uncovers a massive surge in sophisticated subscription scams disguised as online shops and evolving mystery boxes. Learn…...

Darcula Phishing Kit Uses AI to Evade Detection, Experts Warn

Darcula phishing platform adds AI to create multilingual scam pages easily. Netcraft warns of rising risks from Darcula-Suite…...

North Korean Hackers Spread Malware via Fake Crypto Firms and Job Interview Lures

North Korea-linked threat actors behind the Contagious Interview have set up front companies as a way to distribute malware during the fake hiring process. "In this new campaign, the threat actor group is using three front companies in the cryptocurrency consulting industry – BlockNovas LLC...

Darcula Adds GenAI to Phishing Toolkit, Lowering the Barrier for Cybercriminals

The threat actors behind the Darcula phishing-as-a-service PhaaS platform have released new updates to their cybercrime suite with generative artificial intelligence GenAI capabilities. "This addition lowers the technical barrier for creating phishing pages, enabling less tech-savvy criminals to...

A week in security (April 12 – April 18)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Text scams grow to steal hundreds of millions of dollars Apple patches security vulnerabilities in iOS and iPadOS. Update now! Hi, robot: Half of all internet traffic now automated "I sent you an email from your email account," sextortion scam claims "Follow me" to...

Text scams grow to steal hundreds of millions of dollars

Text scams alone cost US citizens at least $470 million in 2024, according to new data from the US Federal Trade Commission FTC. Because many scams go unreported, though, this dollar amount might be considerably more. The FTC illustrated this with a graph comparing the reported losses to the numb...

Cyber Signals Issue 9 | AI-powered deception: Emerging fraud threats and countermeasures

Introduction | Security snapshot | Threat briefing Defending against attacks | Expert profile Microsoft maintains a continuous effort to protect its platforms and customers from fraud and abuse. From blocking imposters on Microsoft Azure and adding anti-scam features to Microsoft Edge, to fightin...

Crypto Developers Targeted by Python Malware Disguised as Coding Challenges

The North Korea-linked threat actor assessed to be behind the massive Bybit hack in February 2025 has been linked to a malicious campaign that targets developers to deliver new stealer malware under the guise of a coding assignment. The activity has been attributed by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 t...

Smishing Triad: The Scam Group Stealing the World’s Riches

Millions of scam text messages are sent every month. The Chinese cybercriminals behind many of them are expanding their operations—and quickly innovating...

A week in security (April 7 – April 13)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: The Pall Mall Pact and why it matters Child predators are lurking on dating apps, warns report Your 23andMe genetic data could be bought by China, senator warns WhatsApp for Windows vulnerable to attacks. Update now! Man accused of using keylogger to spy on...

Unraveling the U.S. toll road smishing scams

Cisco Talos has observed a widespread and ongoing financial theft SMS phishing smishing campaign since October 2024 that targets toll road users in the United States of America. We observed that the campaign targets people across several states in the U.S. according to the domain names used in th...