cybercrime

Field Guide to AI, Security and Cybercrime

• AI Trading Bot Scams: How the Pitch Works

  The bot, the dashboard and the steady profits are props. The only tests that matter are the regulator's register and a withdrawal.

  Opinion · 5 min

• Deepfake Impersonation of Minors: A New Bullying Frontier

  AI-generated impersonations of children are a potent new tool for bullying, exploiting legal gaps and causing unique emotional harm.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Recovering From Identity Theft: The Order That Matters

  Creditors respond to paperwork, not distress. A methodical sequence of steps is your fastest path to resolution.

  Opinion · 7 min

• Synthetic Identity Fraud: Credit for a Person Who Never Existed

  A real identifier, an invented name, and years of good behaviour, followed by one afternoon of borrowing everything at once.

  Opinion · 7 min

• AI Romance Scams: One Operator, Hundreds of Relationships

  Language models let a single scammer sustain many convincing partners, and the old tells are gone.

  Opinion · 9 min

• AI Sextortion: What Parents Should Do in the First Hour

  The image does not have to be real for the threat to work, which changes the conversation you need to have.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Can AI Write Malware? What Has Actually Changed for Attackers

  Language models cut the cost of variation and lures far more than they invent new attacks.

  Opinion · 9 min

• Charity Scams After Disasters: How to Verify Before Donate

  Fake appeals surge after crises. Learn how to verify charities and donate safely to avoid funding fraudsters.

  Opinion · 9 min

• Crypto Wallet Drainers: The Signature You Did Not Read

  Drainers rarely steal seed phrases; they get you to sign a permission that outlives the session.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Deepfake-as-a-Service: Fraud Tools Now Come With Support

  Face swaps, voice clones and fake documents are packaged for criminals who cannot build them.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Fake CAPTCHA Scams: Never Paste What a Website Tells You To

  ClickFix pages turn the visitor into the installer, bypassing every filter in between.

  Opinion · 10 min

• Fake Customer Support Numbers: The Scam That Starts in Search

  When you search for a help line, the results page itself can be the phishing channel.

  Opinion · 7 min

• GPS Spoofing Explained: When Location Data Lies

  Jamming announces itself; spoofing keeps the map calm and confident while it moves you somewhere else.

  Opinion · 7 min

• How to Check If a Website Is Legit Before You Buy

  Padlocks and glowing reviews are cheap to fake; payment method and domain history are not.

  Opinion · 9 min

• How to Report a Scam and Actually Improve Your Chances

  The order you report in, and how fast, decides whether any money can be stopped.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Infostealer Malware: Why a Stolen Cookie Beats a Stolen Password

  After an infostealer, changing passwords is not enough; sessions must be killed everywhere.

  Opinion · 9 min

• Initial Access Brokers: The Market Behind a Ransomware Attack

  The intrusion you suffer was often bought, and your leaked logins set the price.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Keyless Car Theft: Relay Attacks and What Actually Stops Them

  A signal-blocking pouch works only on the nights you remember it; layers the relay cannot reach work every night.

  Opinion · 9 min

• Kids' Gaming Account Scams: Free Currency, Stolen Skins, Lost Accounts

  A child's game account holds items that sell for real money, which is why it is hunted like a bank login.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Money Mule Job Scams: The Offer That Makes You the Launderer

  The 'payment processing assistant' role is a way to put your name on someone else's crime.

  Opinion · 9 min

• Phishing Kits That Bypass MFA: A Subscription Business

  Adversary-in-the-middle phishing is sold with dashboards, updates and support.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Ransomware as a Service: How the Criminal Franchise Works

  Brands come and go; affiliates, brokers and negotiators stay in business.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Rental Scams: Fake Listings, Absent Landlords and Lost Deposits

  The fake listing is a copy of a real one; what gives it away is who controls the keys and how they want paying.

  Opinion · 7 min

• Scam Compounds: The Forced Labour Behind Scam Messages

  Many of the people typing scam texts are themselves trafficked, which the fight against them must address.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Selling Online? Fake Payment Confirmations and Overpayment Tricks

  Screenshots and emails prove nothing; the only proof of payment is money you can see in your own account.

  Opinion · 9 min

• Should You Pay a Ransomware Demand? The Case Against Certainty

  Payment buys a promise from a counterparty with no reason to keep it.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Tech Support Scams: What Happens After You Install Remote Access

  The remote tool is the pivot from a fake virus warning to a fake refund and a real bank transfer.

  Opinion · 10 min

• The Wrong Number Text: How Pig Butchering Scams Actually Run

  Behind the friendly stranger is a staffed sales funnel with scripts, handoffs and a fake trading app.

  Opinion · 7 min

• What Your Stolen Identity Sells For, and Why It Is So Cheap

  Low prices for stolen records reflect oversupply, not low harm.

  Opinion · 8 min

• When Ransomware Hits a Hospital, It Is a Patient Safety Event

  Treating a hospital cyberattack as an IT outage underprepares the clinicians who carry it.

  Opinion · 8 min

• Why Cybercrime Markets Moved From the Dark Web to Chat Apps

  Convenience, reach and disposable channels beat hidden services for most criminal commerce.

  Opinion · 8 min