Romance scams blend stolen photos, scripted conversations and slow-burn investment proposals. We catalogue the latest pig-butchering and catfish cases so victims can recognize the pattern before they wire money.
Replying to a 'wrong number' text confirms your number is active and signals you're a polite, responsive person — exactly the profile scammers want. Large-scale operations use AI to hold thousands of...
Malwarebytes research shows that 70% of 18-22 year-olds have faced an AI-driven scam in the past year, well above the general population. AI now powers convincing extortion, impersonation, sextortion...
Bots are sliding into League of Legends players through the Riot client immediately after matches, using flirty AI-generated chat to build trust before steering victims toward paid OnlyFans links....
Screenshots showing a successful bank transfer, a booked flight, or a surging crypto portfolio are no longer reliable proof. Generative AI and cheap editing tools let scammers fabricate convincing...
U.S. prosecutors have charged two suspects with laundering over $43 million stolen through online investment fraud scams, also known as pig butchering. Between 2020 and 2022, the defendants allegedly...
The FBI warns of a fraud scheme where scammers lure victims, often seniors, into fake cryptocurrency investments and then arrange in-person couriers to collect cash payments at the victim's home or a...
Task scams (a pig-butchering variant) start with an unsolicited text or WhatsApp/Telegram message offering easy remote work: 'rate hotels', 'like products', 'optimise apps', earning small amounts....
In 2025 the FBI IC3 received more than 22,000 complaints citing AI involvement, with losses exceeding USD 893 million. Criminals use generative AI to: clone a relative's or executive's voice from...
Pig-butchering is the most damaging investment-fraud scheme of 2025-2026. The scammer builds trust over weeks (often via a 'wrong number' text, dating app, or social media), then introduces a fake...
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) maintains a navigational catalog of fraud types that commonly target individuals across Canada. The list spans dozens of categories — from phishing, romance...
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre publishes a comprehensive A-Z index cataloguing the fraud patterns currently affecting Canadian consumers, businesses and seniors. It groups scams by family such as...
Scammers run WhatsApp/Telegram channels as 'SEBI-registered advisors' or 'Forbes fund managers'. Show 2 weeks of small wins, then demand large deposit. On withdrawal, demand '30% withdrawal tax'/'20%...
Scammers run LINE investment clubs (LINE投資クラブ) via Instagram/LINE ads featuring deepfakes of Japanese celebs (Maezawa, Watanabe). Promise AI-driven FX/crypto trading. 2024: ¥33.4B (~$220M) lost...
Targets C-suite/VP on LinkedIn; scammer poses as 'family-office quant in Zurich', often with purchased verified-looking LinkedIn. Pivots to Bumble Bizz, then Signal. Pitches 'private liquidity pool'...
LinkedIn/Telegram/Upwork DM offers 'remote Web3 analyst' role at $4-8k/mo. After onboarding on Slack, the 'mentor' walks you through a fake DEX (clone of 1inch on uniswap-pro[.]app) and asks you to...