Fraud & Scams

Americans lost nearly $900 million to AI-powered scams, FBI says

Deepfakes, voice cloning, and other AI-powered scams cost Americans nearly $900 million in 2025, says the 2025 FBI Internet Crime…

Pirated PC games are delivering password-stealing malware

Cybercriminals are hiding malware in cracked and repacked games, infecting more than 400,000 devices worldwide.

A week in security (June 1 – June 7)

A list of topics we covered in the week of June 1 to June 7 of 2026

FTC Gives Final Approval to Order Against Illuminate Settling Allegations It Failed to Secure Students’ Personal Data

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission finalized a modified order requiring Illuminate Education Inc. to…

AI: Threat, tool, or both?

Public concern about AI is rising. We look at what's driving it, and why cybersecurity occupies a unique place in this debate.

FTC Issues Report to Congress on Adoption Practices

The Federal Trade Commission issued a report to Congress detailing the agency’s efforts to protect consumers interested in private…

Travel scams are everywhere. Here’s how to avoid them

Learn how to spot travel scams, avoid risky bookings, and keep your personal information out of the wrong hands.

Meta’s AI support bot happily handed Instagram accounts to hackers

Hackers convinced an AI support bot to hand over Instagram accounts by changing recovery email addresses.

Emerging Hospice Fraud Targeting Medicare Recipients

FTC Seeks Comment on X Corp. Petition to Set Aside or Modify FTC Order Concerning Twitter

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a petition from X Corp., formerly known as Twitter, to set aside or modi…

FTC Sues to Stop Deceptive Mortgage Assistance Relief Operation that Targets Homeowners

At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a U.S. district court in California has temporarily halted an allegedly deceptive mortg…

FTC, Nevada Will Require Tax-Relief Scammers to Pay Cash and Turn Over Assets Worth Nearly $10 Million to Settle Charges They Misled Consumers about Tax-Relief Services

The operators of a tax debt relief scheme will surrender over $8 million in cash and turn over additional assets to settle the Fed…

FTC Sues to Stop Amare Global Holdings from Misrepresenting the Health Benefits of Its Dietary Supplements for Children and Adults

The Federal Trade Commission today sued multilevel marketer (MLM) Amare Global Holdings Inc. and three of its principals for misre…

Threat Actors Spoofing FIFA Websites in Advance of the 2026 World Cup

Kali365 Phishing-as-a-Service Kit Hijacks Microsoft 365 Access Tokens

FTC to Require Cox Media Group, Two Other Firms to Pay Nearly $1 Million to Settle Charges They Deceived Customers About “Active Listening” AI-Powered Marketing Service

The Federal Trade Commission will require Cox Media Group (CMG) and two smaller marketing firms to pay a total of $930,000 to sett…

FTC Sends Warning Letters to Companies About Compliance with the TAKE IT DOWN Act

The Federal Trade Commission sent warning letters today to a dozen websites advising them of their obligation to comply with the T…

FTC Begins Enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act

The Federal Trade Commission today began enforcing the TAKE IT DOWN Act (TIDA), a law requiring platforms, at the request of victi…

Federal Court Holds Payment Processor Cliq in Contempt for Violating FTC Order

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge ordered Cliq Inc., a payment processing company, and its operators…

IC3 Cryptocurrency Kiosk Complaint Data By State

Shutterstock to Pay $35 Million to Settle FTC Allegations Over Illegal Subscription and Cancellation Practices

Shutterstock Inc. will pay $35 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the online digital photo and video plat…

Lead Defendants in the IM Mastery Academy MLM Scheme to Turn Over Tens of Millions of Dollars in Assets to Settle FTC Charges

The Federal Trade Commission and State of Nevada will require five individual and corporate IM Mastery Academy defendants, includi…

FTC and Illinois Take Action to Stop Deceptive Conduct by Company that Created Thousands of Business Listings of Fake Local Home Repair Businesses

The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, and the state of Illinois sued Chicago-based company Pr…

FTC Chairman Ferguson Advises Companies to Comply with the Take It Down Act

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson sent letters today to more than a dozen prominent technology companies remind…

FTC to Co-Host Workshop on Financial Services with Institute for Consumer Financial Choice on May 14-15

The Federal Trade Commission will co-host a workshop on May 14-15, 2026, with George Mason University Law School’s Institute for C…

FTC to Ban Kochava and Subsidiary from Selling Sensitive Location Data to Settle Charges They Sold Location Data Linked to Millions of Mobile Devices

The Federal Trade Commission will prohibit data broker Kochava and its subsidiary from selling, sharing or disclosing sensitive lo…

New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams

New data from the Federal Trade Commission show that, in 2025, nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam said that…

FTC Takes Action Against High-Level MLM Participants who Deceived Workers About the Amount of Money They Can Earn

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against high-level participants in a multilevel marketing (MLM) company over allegat…

FTC Sues to Stop Deceptive Health Care Scheme

At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a U.S. district court in Florida has temporarily halted a nationwide operation that all…

Court Orders Operator of Timeshare Exit Scheme to Pay $140 Million Related to FTC Allegations the Scheme Took Millions from Consumers

Following an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has ordered one of the key operators of a timeshare ex…