As generative AI evolves and becomes a mainstream part of cyber attacks, new data reveals that deepfakes are leading the way. Deepfake technology has been around for a number of years, but the AI boom has sparked new attacks, campaigns, and players all trying to use the impersonation technology to rob victims of their credentials, personal details or money. We recently covered multiple deepfake campaigns all perpetrated by a single individual that reached a global level.

A recent report from UK Finance covered by the BBC paints a concerning picture of the evolving landscape of financial fraud. With a 16% rise in fraud cases and criminals stealing over £3 million daily, it's clear that awareness of cybersecurity threats has never been more crucial. Why Social Engineering Continues to Triumph At the heart of many of these scams is the fact that even the most robust technological defenses can be circumvented by exploiting humans.

Social engineers rely on two key psychological triggers: urgency and empathy. When people feel rushed or that they are helping someone in need, their normal critical thinking is often overridden. Attackers don’t just hack systems; they hack people, and they’re exceptionally good at it.

From groceries to gadgets, everything can be delivered to your doorstep these days with just a few clicks. In this e-commerce world, logistics and postal companies have become critical players in the retail sector, with brand names that everyone recognizes. But this has also made them goldmines of PII that attackers would do anything to get their hands on.

The U.S. FBI warns that scammers are attempting to trick law firms into transferring money as part of a phony debt collection scheme. The scam “may focus on any type of representation where a lawyer is hired to assist in the transfer or collection of money, e.g. real estate, collection matters, collaborative law agreements in family matters, etc.” The schemes typically take the following steps: The FBI outlines some recommendations to help organizations avoid falling for these scams.

On October 15, 2024, a new Linux variant of the notorious FASTCash malware was uncovered, once again highlighting the vulnerabilities in global banking systems. This malware, attributed to North Korean threat actors, has been responsible for siphoning millions of dollars from ATMs worldwide by compromising interbank payment switches. The latest version targets Linux systems, allowing attackers to manipulate transaction messages and approve fraudulent cash withdrawals.

Yes, it is possible for Google Ads to be scams. According to the 2023 Google Ads Safety Report, Google successfully blocked and removed over five billion fake ads and suspended almost 13 million advertiser accounts. Even though fake Google Ads are prohibited by Google’s policies, many phony ads go undetected if no one reports them, which could lead to you falling for their scams.

Read also: a hacker pleads guilty to $37M crypto fraud, two fraudsters charged in a $1M DoorDash wage theft scheme, and more.

Cato CTRL security researchers have recently discovered a threat actor, ProKYC, selling a deepfake tool in the cybercriminal underground that helps threat actors beat two-factor authentication (2FA) for conducting account fraud attacks. The tool being sold is customized to target cryptocurrency exchanges—specifically ones that authenticate new users leveraging a government-issued document and by enabling the computer’s camera to perform facial recognition.