Beware Ukraine-themed fundraising scams

Unfortunately scammers continue to focus on the invasion of Ukraine to make money. A flurry of bogus domains and scam techniques are spreading their wings. They appear to focus on donation fakeouts but there’s a few other nasty surprises lying in wait too. The lowest of the low There are few lowe...

“A little gift for you” SMS spam appears to come from your own phone number

If youve received a spam SMS message sent from your own phone number, dont panic. No, you werent hacked. And youre not the only one who has received such a message, which looks a bit like this: A colleague received this same spam SMS message that has been going around more frequently these past f...

Looking over your shoulder: when small mistakes have big consequences

People up to no good get themselves caught in an endless number of ways. This has always been the case in the real world, and continues to be true online. No matter how talented, how daring the schemes, greed and the desire for fame often win out. This has disastrous consequences for those caught...

Actor’s verified Twitter profile hijacked to spam NFT giveaways

When we refer to hijacked verified profiles on Twitter, it’s most commonly some sort of Elon Musk themed scam. The hijackers compromise the account, switch the picture to Elon, and then start spamming cryptocurrency links. Alternatively, they may keep the account as it is and spam images claiming...

REvil ransomware gang busted by Russian Federal Security Service

Eight members of the REvil ransomware group have been arrested in Russia and will be pressed with criminal charges. Russias intelligence bureau, the FSB, announced on Friday that it had conducted an operation together with the Interior Ministry in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the regions of Moscow...

“Spray and pray” job applications could make it harder for you to spot a scam

AI can help you send more job applications. But when you lose track of where you’ve applied, a fake recruiter’s message can start to look like the reply you’ve been waiting for. Job hunting can feel like shouting into the void. You send applications, rewrite cover letters, and wait for replies th...

Grindr users’ sensitive data shared through ad auctions without valid consent

Norway’s privacy regulator Datatilsynet has fined advertising technology company Xandr 92 million Norwegian kroner, approximately $9.6 million, for unlawfully processing and sharing sensitive information about Grindr users. While the decision concerns users in Norway, the data-sharing practices...

Google issues Android security updates: who can get them and how

Google has published security fixes for Android. The October updates are available for Android operating system versions 14, 15, 16, 16-qpr2, and 17 where “qpr” stands for Quarterly Platform Release. QPRs are interim updates Google pushes out between major yearly cycles. These Android security...

Another ShinyHunters suspect arrested

The net is tightening around the Shiny Hunters cybercrime group following the reported arrest of a second member. On Saturday, Reuters said that 16 year-old Saif al-Din Khader had been arrested in Jordan and was in FBI custody. This follows the arrest earlier in September of another member in the...

A week in security (September 28 – October 4)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Fake xStocks, Pendle, and other sites bait crypto users with rewards votes Shadow AI explained: The work shortcut that could leak your company’s secrets Convincing Free Mobile phishing emails appear after data breach Malwarebytes earns another Top Product award in...

Crypto customers targeted by scammers after email marketing provider breach

An attacker breached an email marketing platform and launched targeted attacks against the newsletter subscribers of some of its customers, especially those working in cryptocurrency and adjacent fields. The incident was a supply-chain phishing campaign carried out through Brevo, an email marketi...

TikTok phishing: How to spot fake login and verification pages

Phishing pages don’t need to be sophisticated. They just need to look convincing enough to make you trust them. TikTok phishing often starts with an email or message designed to make you think you need to act on your account. It might claim your account has been suspended, reported, or hit with a...

This old-school scam is still working

When we read about this new malware tactic, or that novel social engineering approach, it’s easy to forget that there are scammers out there making a living from ancient methods. Recently, one of our researchers received this variation on the good old Nigerian advance-fee scam. From: Mrs.Inga-Bri...

Axios supply chain attack chops away at npm trust

Researchers found that compromised Axios versions installed a Remote Access Trojan. Axios is a promise-based HTTP Client for node.js, basically a helper tool that developers use behind the scenes to let apps talk to the internet. For example, Axios makes requests such as “get my messages from the...

Grok continues producing sexualized images after promised fixes

Journalists decided to test whether the Grok chatbot still generates non‑consensual sexualized images, even after xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, promised tighter safeguards. Unsurprisingly, it does. After scrutiny from...

Scam-checking just got easier: Malwarebytes is now in ChatGPT

If you’ve ever stared at a suspicious text, email, or link and thought “Is this a scam… or am I overthinking it?” Well, you’re not alone. Scams are getting harder to spot, and even savvy internet users get caught off guard. That’s why Malwarebytes is the first cybersecurity provider available...

GhostFrame phishing kit fuels widespread attacks against millions

GhostFrame is a new phishing-as-a-service PhaaS kit, tracked since September 2025, that has already powered more than a million phishing attacks. Threat analysts spotted a series of phishing attacks featuring tools and techniques they hadn't seen before. A few months later, they had linked over a...

Chinese gangs made over $1 billion targeting Americans with scam texts

We regularly warn our readers about new scams and phishing texts. Almost everyone gets pestered with these messages. But where are all these scam texts coming from? According to an article in The Wall Street Journal: “It has become a billion-dollar, highly sophisticated business benefiting...

Don’t connect your wallet: Best Wallet cryptocurrency scam is making the rounds

Phishers and scammers can’t get enough of sending their feeble attempts to Malwarebytes’ employees. For which we can’t thank them enough because it means we can warn you, our readers. This time the scammers tried to impersonate Best Wallet—an app that lets people store, send, and receive...

Claude AI chatbot abused to launch “cybercrime spree”

Anthropic—the company behind the widely renowned coding chatbot, Claude—says it uncovered a large-scale extortion operation in which cybercriminals abused Claude to automate and orchestrate sophisticated attacks. The company issued a Threat Intelligence report in which it describes several...

AI browsers could leave users penniless: A prompt injection warning

Artificial Intelligence AI browsers are gaining traction, which means we may need to start worrying about the potential dangers of something called "prompt injection." Large language models LLMs—like the ones that power AI chatbots including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini—are designed to follow...

Weight loss scams, or why ‘Jodie Foster’ wants me to lose weight

It seems like it's hard to move on social media without some kind of mention of weight-loss injections these days. And, sure, these drugs can have a positive affect for many people, but not all these cases of weight loss are real, nor are the people promoting them who they say they are. Weight-lo...

Microsoft, PayPal, DocuSign, and Geek Squad faked in callback phishing scams

Microsoft, DocuSign, Adobe, McAfee, NortonLifeLock, PayPal, and Best Buy’s Geek Squad are being impersonated online through malicious emails that contain fake telephone support numbers and dangerous QR codes that can ensnare victims into phishing scams. The brands and their products are frequentl...

How Los Angeles banned smartphones in schools (Lock and Code S06E10)

This week on the Lock and Code podcast … There's a problem in class today, and the second largest school district in the United States is trying to solve it. After looking at the growing body of research that has associated increased smartphone and social media usage with increased levels of...

Zoom attack tricks victims into allowing remote access to install malware and steal money

Be careful when talking to people you've not met with before over the Zoom video conferencing system; you might get more than you bargained for. Two CEOs were recently targeted by a Zoom-based attack. One spotted it in time - and sadly, one did not. The attack is by a crime group that the Securit...

1 in 10 people do nothing to stay secure and private on vacation

This year, Spring Break vacationers are packing more than their flip-flops, bucket hats, and sunglasses—they’re also packing a few cybersecurity anxieties for the trip. According to new research from Malwarebytes, 52% of people said they “worry about being scammed while traveling,” while another...

A week in security (February 24 – March 2)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Millions of stalkerware users exposed again PayPal’s "no-code checkout" abused by scammers Countries and companies are fighting at the expense of our data privacy Roblox called "real-life nightmare for children" as Roblox and Discord sued Android happy to check you...

Insurance company accused of using secret software to illegally collect and sell location data on millions of Americans

Insurance company Allstate and its subsidiary Arity unlawfully collected, used, and sold data about the location and movement of Texans’ cell phones through secretly embedded software in mobile apps, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Attorney General Paxton says the companies didn't...

Explained: the Microsoft connected experiences controversy

Recently we've seen some heated discussion about Microsoft’s connected experiences feature. As in many discussions lately there seems to be no room for middle ground, but we're going to try and provide it anyway. First of all, it’s important to understand what the “connected experiences” are...

8 security tips for small businesses

Small businesses and startups are known to face some extra challenges when it comes to cybersecurity. Because they don’t have the size or budget to have a fully-fledged dedicated security team, it often comes down to one person that doesn’t have the time to do everything that is recommended or ev...

LinkedIn bots and spear phishers target job seekers

Microsoft's social network for professionals, LinkedIn, is an important platform for job recruiters and seekers alike. It's also a place where criminals go to find new potential victims. Like other social media platforms, LinkedIn is no stranger to bots attracted to special keywords and hashtags...

Comcast and Truist Bank customers impacted by debt collector’s breach

A data breach at Financial Business and Consumer Solutions FBCS, a US debt collection agency, has led to the loss of data of some Comcast Cable Communications and Truist Bank customers. FBCS is in the business of collecting unpaid debts on behalf of its customers. The data breach occurred in...

Hacked GPS tracker reveals location data of customers

Stalkerware researcher maia arson crimew strikes again. Big time. We know maia as a researcher that loves to go after stalkerware peddlers, which Malwarebytes—as one of the founding members of the Coalition Against Stalkerware—loves to see. This time the target company, Tracki, is one selling GPS...

A week in security (August 12 – August 18)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Dozens of Google products targeted by scammers via malicious search ads Microsoft patches bug that could have allowed an attacker to revert your computer back to an older, vulnerable version We’re making it easier for you to protect your identity X accused of...

A week in security (November 20 – November 26)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Windows Hello fingerprint authentication can be bypassed on popular laptops Citrix Bleed widely exploitated, warn government agencies Chrome pushes forward with plans to limit ad blockers in the future $19 Stanley cup deal is a Black Friday scam Malwarebytes consum...

Credit card thieves target Booking.com customers

Staff in the hospitality industry are trained to accommodate their guests, and when they have a few years of experience under their belt you can be sure they'll have received some extraordinary requests. Which is something that clever cybercriminals are taking advantage of. Researchers at...

Facial recognition tech lands innocent woman with bogus carjacking charge

Detroit law enforcement wrongly arrested a 32 year old woman for a robbery and carjacking she did not commit. She was detained for 11 hours and had her phone taken as evidence before finally being allowed to leave. The reason for the false arrest is down to a facial recognition error, the kind th...

Public and free WiFi: Can I safely use it?

We've got into the habit of expecting internet access wherever we go. But data costs can be expensive, and out of your own home often the only WiFi available is public, passwordless and free. In security, we've been trained to carefully contemplate anything that's free, because, well, often when...

AI generated Pentagon explosion photograph goes viral on Twitter

Twitters recent changes to checkmark verification continue to cause chaos, this time in the realm of potentially dangerous misinformation. A checkmarked account claimed to show images of explosions close to important landmarks like the Pentagon. These images quickly went viral despite being AI...

Why we should be more open about ransomware attacks

The UKs National Cyber Security Centre NCSC has published an article that reflects on why its so concerning when cyberattacks go unreported, saying: ...we are increasingly concerned about what happens behind the scenes of the attacks we dont hear about, particularly the ransomware ones. One of th...

Microsoft vs Google spat sees users rolling back security updates to fix browser issues

We like to imagine were in total control of our desktop experience, carefully curated to look and work the way we want it to. However, every so often a story comes along which reminds us how little control we have when the big players notice one another's existence. A recent Windows update really...

Google Authenticator WILL get end-to-end encryption. Eventually.

Following criticism, Google has decided to bring end-to-end encryption E2EE to its Google Authenticator cloud backups. The search giant recently introduced a feature that allows users back up two-factor authentication 2FA tokens to the cloud, but the lack of encryption caused some commentators to...

DNA testing company fined after customer data theft

DNA Diagnostics Center DDC, an Ohio-based private DNA testing company, last week reached a settlement deal with the Ohio and Pennsylvania state attorneys general in relation to a 2021 breach that saw the theft of 45,000 residents' personal details. Overall the attack compromised over 2.1 million...

How the CISA catalog of vulnerabilities can help your organization

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA maintains a "known exploited vulnerabilities catalog" which can be useful if you need help prioritizing the patching of vulnerabilities. In essence it is a long list of vulnerabilities that are actually being used by criminals to do harm,...

US Department of the Interior's passwords "easily cracked"

It's bad news for the US Department of the Interior--a Government watchdogs security audit has revealed its passwords are simply not up to the job of warding off cracking attempts. The audit's wordy title was not kind: P@s$w0rds at the U.S. Department of the Interior: Easily Cracked Passwords, La...

Vehicle Identification Numbers reveal driver data via telematics

There are many ways that data collection, and data availability, make less sense as the years pass by. This is frequently accompanied by a resistance to change, to improve these processes, because "thats how weve always done it". Sadly this is often the case even when those data collectors have...

A week in security (November 28 - December 4)

Last week on Malwarebytes Labs: Fraudster site iSpoof shut down, 142 arrested internationally 3 threats to watch out for this Cyber Monday Twitter user data leaks continue to drip from the faucet China-made equipment banned by FCC due to national security threat Sensitive police records stolen an...

BOD 23-01: Improving asset visibility and vulnerability detection on federal networks

On October 3, 2022, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA issued Binding Operational Directive 23-01 BOD 23-10. This directive requires all Federal Civilian Executive Branch FCEB entities to maintain an inventory of all IPv4- and IPv6-networked assets, perform regular, periodi...

5 technologies that help prevent cyberattacks for SMBs

The intel you need to secure your business--delivered straight to your inbox From industry tips and best practices to the latest Malwarebytes product releases and how-tos, our Business newsletter is chock-full of the best of our business blog. Subscribe to our Business newsletter today. Now more...

Facebook’s misleading privacy claims land Meta a $25 billion penalty

Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal may feel like very old news. But the consequences are still arriving, and the latest comes with a $25 billion price tag. Reuters reports that a New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in civil penalties after a jury found that Facebook misled...