Beware of “Parcel Expert” job offers: They’re parcel mule scams

A parcel mule scam, also called a reshipping scam, is a fake job offer designed to recruit people into handling stolen goods. It usually starts with a fake remote job offer that promises easy money for receiving, inspecting, repackaging, and forwarding packages from home. The “employer” may claim...

Google can be liable for false AI Overviews, court rules

A German court has ruled that Google can be held directly responsible for defamatory claims produced by its AI Overviews. Basically, the court said that telling people they should double-check AI search results is not enough to deny liability for what those results say. This kind of warning may n...

A week in security (May 18 – May 24)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Update Chrome now: Critical bugs could let attackers run code Microsoft Defender vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild TikTok, YouTube, and Roblox face scrutiny, but age gates won’t fix child safety Catch spyware in the act with Windows Webcam Monitoring...

Actively exploited cPanel bug exposes millions of websites to takeover

Security researchers are warning about a newly discovered vulnerability in the widely used web server management software cPanel and WebHost Manager WHM. This is a critical, actively exploited authentication-bypass bug in cPanel/WHM that lets attackers gain administrative access to the interface...

March 2026 Patch Tuesday fixes two zero-day vulnerabilities

Microsoft releases important security updates on the second Tuesday of every month, known as Patch Tuesday. This month’s update fixes 79 Microsoft CVEs including two zero-day vulnerabilities. Microsoft defines a zero-day as “a flaw in software for which no official patch or security update is...

Chrome flaw let extensions hijack Gemini’s camera, mic, and file access

Chrome’s Gemini “Live in Chrome” panel Gemini’s embedded, agent-style assistant mode within Chrome had a high‑severity vulnerability tracked as CVE‑2026‑0628. The flaw let a low‑privilege extension inject code into the Gemini side panel and inherit its powerful capabilities, including local file...

AI-generated passwords are a security risk

Using Artificial Intelligence AI to generate your passwords is a bad idea. It's likely to give that password to a criminal who can then use it in a dictionary attack—which is when an attacker runs through a prepared list of likely passwords words, phrases, patterns with automated tools until one ...

How fake party invitations are being used to install remote access tools

“You’re invited!” It sounds friendly, familiar and quite harmless. But in a scam we recently spotted, that simple phrase is being used to trick victims into installing a full remote access tool on their Windows computers—giving attackers complete control of the system. What appears to be a casual...

Get paid to scroll TikTok? The data trade behind Freecash ads

Loyal readers and other privacy-conscious people will be familiar with the expression, “If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably false.” Getting paid handsomely to scroll social media definitely falls into that category. It sounds like an easy side hustle, which usually means there’s a catch. I...

WhisperPair exposes Bluetooth earbuds and headphones to tracking and eavesdropping

WhisperPair is a set of attacks that lets an attacker hijack many popular Bluetooth audio accessories that use Google Fast Pair and, in some cases, even track their location via Google’s Find Hub network—all without requiring any user interaction. Researchers at the Belgian University of Leuven...

Online shoppers at risk as Magecart skimming hits major payment networks

Researchers have been tracking a Magecart campaign that targets several major payment providers, including American Express, Diners Club, Discover, and Mastercard. Magecart is an umbrella term for criminal groups that specialize in stealing payment data from online checkout pages using malicious...

How private is your VPN?

When you're shopping around for a Virtual Private Network VPN you'll find yourself in a sea of promises like "military-grade encryption!" and "total anonymity!" You can’t scroll two inches without someone waving around these fancy terms. But not all VPNs can be trusted. Some VPNs genuinely protec...

Fantasy Hub is spyware for rent—complete with fake app kits and support

Researchers at Zimperium identified Fantasy Hub, a new Android spyware developed and sold as a subscription on Russian-language cybercrime forums. Malware-as-a-Service MaaS means cybercriminals rent out to malware to other criminals, complete with the infrastructure necessary to harvest and abuse...

Phishers target 1Password users with convincing fake breach alert

In a very recent and well-targeted phishing attempt, scammers tried to get hold of the 1Password credentials belonging to a Malwarebytes’ employee. Stealing someone’s 1Password login would be like hitting the jackpot for cybercriminals, because they potentially export all the saved logins the...

Update your Chrome today: Google patches 4 vulnerabilities including one zero-day

Google has released an update for its Chrome browser to patch four security vulnerabilities, including one zero-day. A zero-day vulnerability refers to a bug that has been found and exploited by cybercriminals before the vendor even knew about it they have "zero days" to fix it. This update is...

A week in security (August 11 – August 17)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Italian hotels breached for tens of thousands of scanned IDs National Public Data returns after massive Social Security Number leak Romance scammers in Ghana charged with more than $100 million in theft Netflix scammers target jobseekers to trick them into handing...

Startup takes personal data stolen by malware and sells it on to other companies

A tech startup is using personal data stolen by infostealer malware that it has found on the dark web, and then selling access to that data. And it claims to be working within the law. According to 404 Media, for as little as $50, Farnsworth Intelligence will give companies a look at records from...

A week in security (July 7 – July 13)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Deepfake criminals impersonate Marco Rubio to uncover government secrets McDonald’s AI bot spills data on job applicants Millions of people spied on by malicious browser extensions in Chrome and Edge No thanks: Google lets its Gemini AI access your apps, including...

Android threats rise sharply, with mobile malware jumping by 151% since start of year

The Android threat landscape in the first half of 2025 has entered a new phase. An era marked not just by volume, but by coordination and precision. Attackers are no longer simply throwing malware at users and hoping for results. They’re building ecosystems . Recent Malwarebytes threat research...

Fake bank ads on Instagram scam victims out of money

Ads on Instagram—including deepfake videos—are impersonating trusted financial institutions like Bank of Montreal BMO and EQ Bank Equitable Bank in order to scam people, according to BleepingComputer. There are some variations in how the scammers approach this. Some use Artificial Intelligence AI...

Google fixes another actively exploited vulnerability in Chrome, so update now!

Google has released an update for the Chrome browser to patch an actively exploited flaw. The update brings the Stable channel to versions 137.0.7151.68/.69 for Windows and Mac and 137.0.7151.68 for Linux. The easiest way to update Chrome is to allow it to update automatically, but you can end up...

AI is getting “creepy good” at geo-guessing

If you are worried about revealing your exact location—or if you maybe even fib about it at times—there are some good reasons to worry about what is visible in background photos, because Artificial Intelligence AI is getting very good at guessing where you are based on the smallest of clues. And...

Did DOGE “breach” Americans’ data? (Lock and Code S06E08)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … If you don't know about the newly created US Department of Government Efficiency DOGE, there's a strong chance they already know about you. Created on January 20 by US President Donald Trump through Executive Order, DOGE's broad mandate is “modernizing...

“I sent you an email from your email account,” sextortion scam claims

In a new version of the old “Hello pervert” emails, scammers are relying on classic email spoofing techniques to try and convince victims that they have lost control of their email account and computer systems. Email spoofing basically comes down to sending emails with a false sender address, a...

“This fraud destroyed my life.” Man ends up with criminal record after ID was stolen

This is a sad story that illustrates how losing your ID can effectively ruin your life and reputation. 19-year-old dual German Tunisian national Rami Battikh travelled to the UK in 2019, bringing both his passport and his German national ID. When he returned to Germany, Rami noticed that his Germ...

Warning over free online file converters that actually install malware

The FBI Denver Field Office has warned of an increasing number of scammy websites offering free online file converter services. Instead of converting files, the tools actually load malware onto victims’ computers. The FBI warned specifically about that malware leading to ransomware attacks, but...

Reddit will start warning users that upvote violent content

In a post on r/RedditSafety by a Reddit administrator, the platform announced that it will start sending warnings to users that upvote violent content. Reddit is a social media platform and online forum where users can share and discuss content across a wide range of topics. The platform's...

DeepSeek found to be sharing user data with TikTok parent company ByteDance

A couple of weeks ago we reported on the concerns surrounding data collection and security at DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company which recently made headlines for shaking up the industry after seemingly appearing from nowhere to become top of the app download charts. Now South Korea’s Personal...

WhatsApp says Paragon is spying on specific users

WhatsApp has accused the professional spyware company Paragon of spying on a select group of users. WhatsApp, the Meta-owned, end-to-end encrypted messaging platform, said it has reliable information that nearly 100 journalists and other “members of civil society” were targets of a spyware campai...

Cybercrime gets a few punches on the nose

It’s not often that we get to share good news, so we wanted to grab this opportunity and showcase some progress made by law enforcement actions against cybercrime with you. Europol notified us about the take-down of two of the largest cybercrime forums in the world. With over 10 million users,...

A week in security (January 13 – January 19)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: iMessage text gets recipient to disable phishing protection so they can be phished The new rules for AI and encrypted messaging, with Mallory Knodel Lock and Code S06E01 Insurance company accused of using secret software to illegally collect and sell location data ...

A week in security (January 6 – January 12)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Dental group lied through teeth about data breach, fined $350,000 AI-supported spear phishing fools more than 50% of targets US Cyber Trust Mark logo for smart devices is coming GroupGreeting e-card site attacked in "zqxq" campaign Massive breach at location data...

Update now! Apple releases new security patches for vulnerabilities in iPhones, Macs, and more

Apple has released security patches for most of its operating systems, including iOS, Mac, iPadOS, Safari, and visionOS. To check if you’re using the latest software version, go to Settings or System Settings General Software Update. It’s also worth turning on Automatic Updates if you haven’t...

TikTok ban in US: Company seeks emergency injunction to prevent it

TikTok has requested an emergency injunction to stop or postpone the planned ban on the platform in the US. Back in March, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would effectively ban TikTok from the US unless Chinese owner ByteDance agreed to give up its share of the immensely popular...

100 million US citizens officially impacted by Change Healthcare data breach

In April, we reported that a “substantial proportion” of Americans may have had their health and personal data stolen in the Change Healthcare breach. That was based on a report provided by the UnitedHealth Group after the February cyberattack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare. The attack on...

iOS 18 is out. Here are the new privacy and security features

On September 16, 2024, Apple released iOS 18. Besides a lot of exciting new features, iOS 18 comes with some privacy and security enhancements. One of the most promising new features is the new Passwords app. Built on the foundation of Apple's password management system Keychain, Passwords makes ...

“Nearly all” AT&T customers had phone records stolen in new data breach disclosure

In a déjà-vu nightmare, US phone giant AT&T has notified customers that cybercriminals managed to download phone call and text message records of "nearly all of AT&T cellular customers from May 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022 as well as on January 2, 2023". In a filing with the Securities and Exchang...

Ticketmaster hackers release stolen ticket barcodes for Taylor Swift Eras Tour [updated]

The cybercriminals who claimed responsibility for the Ticketmaster data breach say theyve stolen 440,000 tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. As proof, an entity using the handle Sp1d3rHunters, a merger of Sp1d3r and ShinyHunters who are both aliases associated with the breach, leaked 170k...

Authy phone numbers accessed by cybercriminals, warns Twilio

Twilio has warned users of the Authy multi-factor authentication MFA app about an incident in which cybercriminals may have obtained their phone numbers. Twilio said the cybercriminals abused an unsecured Application Programming Interface API endpoint to verify the phone numbers of millions of...

US bans Kaspersky, warns: “Immediately stop using that software”

The US government will ban the sale of Kaspersky antivirus products to new customers in the United States starting July 20, with a follow-on deadline to prohibit the cybersecurity company from providing users with software updates after September 29. The move follows years of allegations that the...

How to tell if a VPN app added your Windows device to a botnet

On May 29, 2024, the US Department of Justice DOJ announced it had dismantled what was likely the world’s largest botnet ever. This botnet, called “911 S5,” infected systems at over 19 million IP addresses across more than 190 countries. The main sources of income for the operators, who stole a...

A week in security (May 20 – May 26)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: How AI will change your credit card behind the scenes Criminal record database of millions of Americans dumped online Microsoft AI "Recall" feature records everything, secures far less How to remove a user from a shared Android device How to remove a user from a...

How to back up your Mac

Backing up your Mac computer doesn’t need to be intimidating. By taking advantage of a user-friendly feature released by Apple several years ago, the entire backup process can be handled almost automatically, preserving your most important files, photos, applications, and emails from cyberthreats...

Vans warns customers of data breach

Skater brand Vans emailed customers last week to tell them about a recent “data incident.” On December 13, 2023, Vans said it detected unauthorized activities on its IT systems, attributed to "external threat actors." An investigation revealed that the incident involved some personal information ...

Webinar recap: 6 critical cyberthreats in 2024 and how to counter them

Our webinar on the 2024 State of Malware report is now available on-demand. Featuring cybersecurity experts Mark Stockley and Jérôme Segura, this webinar unpacks 2024’s most critical cyberthreats, including big game ransomware, malvertising, and emerging challenges to mobile and Mac security. Key...

Malwarebytes Premium blocks 100% of malware during external AVLab test

Malwarebytes Premium earned a perfect score in the latest AVLab Cybersecurity Foundation “Advanced In-The-Wild Malware Test,” catching and stopping 100% of malware samples, outperforming multiple competitors in the field, and continuing a longstanding tradition of proven, perfect protection for...

Wyze cameras show the wrong feeds to customers. Again.

Last September, we wrote an article about how Wyze home cameras temporarily showed other people’s security feeds. As far as home cameras go, we said this is absolutely up there at the top of the “things you don’t want to happen” list. Turning your customers into Peeping Tom against their will and...

How to lock out your ex-partner from your smart home

Stalkers can use all kinds of apps, gadgets, devices, and phones to spy on their targets, which are often their ex-partners. Unfortunately, while they no doubt have many positive uses, smart home devices give stalkers an array of tools to keep an eye on their targets. If you are the partner that...

Facebook introduces another way to track you – Link History

In what seems like yet another attempt to adapt its platform to prepare for new regulations, Facebook has started rolling out a new feature called Link History. Link History allows users to view and re-visit links they have visited with their Facebook browsing activity. Obviously Facebook will te...

DNA data deserves better, with Suzanne Bernstein: Lock and Code S05E01

This week on the Lock and Code podcast… Hackers want to know everything about you: Your credit card number, your ID and passport info, and now, your DNA. On October 1 2023, on a hacking website called BreachForums, a group of cybercriminals claimed that they had stolen—and would soon...