Sources & trust
Our guidance is based on official government, law-enforcement, and reputable cybersecurity sources. Below are the key sources behind our trend and scam pages. Read our methodology for how we select and label them, and why we treat forum or social-media stories as anecdotal.
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Law-enforcement alert
Warns about smishing and vishing campaigns using AI voices to impersonate officials, with verification and reporting guidance.
- FTC Consumer Advice - Imposter scams High reliability
Government alert
Reports imposter scams as a top category, a sharp rise in overdue-toll texts, and growth in romance scams; advises never sending money to new acquaintances.
- HHS HC3 - QR codes and phishing as a threat (white paper, 2023) High reliability
Government cybersecurity report
Describes quishing (QR-code phishing) attacks, their prevalence, and recommended defences.
- Huntress - Pig butchering scam: signs, examples & protection High reliability
Cybersecurity blog
Deep analysis of pig-butchering scams, phases, statistics and global impact, including large 2024 investment-fraud losses.
- Google - November 2025 fraud and scams advisory High reliability
Cybersecurity report
Covers online job scams, review extortion, AI product impersonation, malicious VPN apps, fraud-recovery scams and holiday scams.
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Government report
Reports 112k+ fraud reports in 2025 with $704M losses; investment and spear-phishing were top dollar-loss categories; warns about AI deepfakes.
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre - Fraudsters impersonating the CAFC High reliability
Government warning
Details bank-investigator, tech-support and recovery-pitch scams; stresses the CAFC never requests payment or remote access.
- CFPB - Classic warning signs of fraud and scams High reliability
Government consumer advisory
Lists classic scam warning signs and tips such as not paying upfront and not scanning unknown QR codes.
- NITI Aayog - Digital Arrest: The Modern-Day Cyber Scam High reliability
Government research paper
Explains digital-arrest scams, why they succeed, the modus operandi, and Indian government initiatives.
- Washington State DFI - WhatsApp 'professor' crypto scam warning High reliability
State government alert
Describes WhatsApp/Telegram 'professor' crypto investment groups, red flags, and blocked-withdrawal patterns.
- TrendAI (Trend Micro) - Unmasking task scams High reliability
Cybersecurity blog
In-depth analysis of task scams, their lifecycle, and victim cases.
- FTC - ReportFraud.ftc.gov High reliability
Government reporting
Official US channel to report fraud and scams to the FTC.
- FTC - How to recognize and avoid phishing scams High reliability
Government advice
Plain-language FTC guidance on spotting phishing.
- FBI IC3 - Internet Crime Complaint Center High reliability
Law-enforcement reporting
Official FBI portal to report internet crime and online fraud.
- CISA - Avoiding social engineering and phishing High reliability
Government advice
US cyber-defence agency guidance on phishing and social engineering.
- APWG - Anti-Phishing Working Group High reliability
Industry research
Cross-industry coalition publishing phishing-activity trend reports.
- Google Safe Browsing High reliability
Vendor security
Google service that flags unsafe sites; report phishing pages.
- Google Safety Center High reliability
Vendor security
Google's hub for account-security and scam-protection guidance.
- Scamwatch (Australia) High reliability
Government advice
Australian government scam-awareness and reporting site.
- National Anti-Scam Centre (Australia) High reliability
Government body
Australia's coordinating body for scam disruption and data.
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre High reliability
Law-enforcement body
Canada's central agency for reporting fraud and scams.
- Action Fraud (UK) High reliability
Law-enforcement reporting
UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
- NCSC (UK) - National Cyber Security Centre High reliability
Government cyber agency
UK cyber-security guidance; forward phishing to report@phishing.gov.uk.
- FCA ScamSmart (UK) High reliability
Regulator advice
UK financial regulator's investment-scam warning resource.
- Ofcom (UK) - report spam texts to 7726 High reliability
Regulator advice
UK communications regulator; 7726 spam-text reporting guidance.
- ScamShield (Singapore) High reliability
Government tool
Singapore's official anti-scam app and resource.
- Singapore Police - I Can ACT Against Scams High reliability
Law-enforcement advice
Singapore Police Force scam advisories and reporting.
- UAE TDRA High reliability
Regulator
UAE telecom regulator; spam and number-related reporting.
- UAE - Aman / eCrime (Dubai Police) High reliability
Law-enforcement reporting
Dubai Police platform to report electronic crime.
- Dubai Police High reliability
Law-enforcement body
Official Dubai Police services and reporting.
- Abu Dhabi Police High reliability
Law-enforcement body
Official Abu Dhabi Police services and reporting.
- India - National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal High reliability
Government reporting
India's portal to report cybercrime (helpline 1930).
- CERT-In (India) High reliability
Government cyber agency
India's computer emergency response team.
- RBI - Sachet / RBI Says High reliability
Regulator
Reserve Bank of India portal on unauthorised schemes and awareness.
- NPCI - UPI safety High reliability
Payments body
India's payments body; UPI safety and dispute guidance.
- CFPB - Fraud and scams High reliability
Regulator advice
US consumer-finance regulator guidance on fraud.
- SEC - Investor.gov High reliability
Regulator advice
US securities regulator's investor-fraud resources.
- CFTC - Customer protection / fraud advisories High reliability
Regulator advice
US commodities regulator advisories, incl. romance/crypto fraud.
- Europol - scams & fraud awareness High reliability
Law-enforcement body
EU law-enforcement agency awareness campaigns.
- ACCC (Australia) High reliability
Regulator
Australian competition and consumer regulator.
- USPIS - US Postal Inspection Service High reliability
Law-enforcement reporting
Report USPS-related mail and text fraud.
- USPS - Smishing and package scams High reliability
Corporate security
USPS guidance on fake-delivery text scams.
- UPS - Fight fraud High reliability
Corporate security
UPS fraud-awareness and reporting.
- FedEx - Report fraud High reliability
Corporate security
FedEx fraud-reporting and awareness.
- DHL - Fraud awareness High reliability
Corporate security
DHL guidance on impersonation and fee scams.
- Royal Mail - Scam protection High reliability
Corporate security
Royal Mail scam-protection guidance.
- Australia Post - Scam alerts High reliability
Corporate security
Australia Post scam alerts.
- Microsoft - Security & report High reliability
Vendor security
Microsoft security guidance and scam reporting.
- Microsoft - Report a scam / phishing High reliability
Vendor security
Microsoft's report-a-scam guidance.
- Apple - Recognise and report phishing High reliability
Vendor security
Apple guidance to identify and report phishing.
- Meta - Facebook Help (security) High reliability
Vendor security
Meta/Facebook account-security and reporting.
- Instagram - Help & safety High reliability
Vendor security
Instagram account-security and reporting.
- WhatsApp - Help Center High reliability
Vendor security
WhatsApp safety and account-security guidance.
- LinkedIn - Safety & scams High reliability
Vendor security
LinkedIn guidance on recognising scams and reporting.
- TikTok - Safety Center High reliability
Vendor security
TikTok safety and reporting resources.
- DocuSign - Trust Center High reliability
Vendor security
DocuSign trust center and abuse reporting.
- PayPal - Security Center High reliability
Vendor security
PayPal security and phishing-reporting guidance.
- Zelle - Pay It Safe High reliability
Vendor security
Zelle safety guidance.
- Coinbase - Security High reliability
Vendor security
Coinbase security guidance.
- MetaMask - Support & security High reliability
Vendor security
MetaMask support and security guidance.
- Visa - Security & fraud High reliability
Vendor security
Visa cardholder security guidance.
- Mastercard - Safety & security High reliability
Vendor security
Mastercard safety and fraud guidance.
- Chase - Security center High reliability
Bank security
Chase fraud and security guidance.
- Bank of America - Security center High reliability
Bank security
Bank of America security center.
- HSBC - Fraud & cybersecurity High reliability
Bank security
HSBC fraud and security guidance.
- DBS - Security & anti-scam High reliability
Bank security
DBS security and anti-scam guidance.
- Google Threat Analysis Group High reliability
Vendor research
Google's threat-research blog (supporting source).
- Microsoft - Security blog / threat intelligence High reliability
Vendor research
Microsoft threat-intelligence research (supporting source).
- FBI IC3 - Annual report High reliability
Law-enforcement report
FBI IC3 yearly internet-crime statistics.
- Brown University OIT - Latest top five text message scams Medium reliability
University advisory
Lists top text scams: copycat bank alerts, fake gifts, fake delivery problems, phony job offers and account security alerts; notes bank-alert texts multiplied sharply since 2019.
- AARP - Biggest scams to watch for in 2026 Medium reliability
Consumer protection article
Lists top predicted 2026 scams including employment, recovery, digital arrest, sextortion and romance scams; recommends family 'secret phrases'.
- Remote Work Europe - Remote job scams guide Medium reliability
Industry article
Lists major remote-job scams, citing AI-generated postings and deepfake interviews.
- Peoples Bank - AI scams in 2026: how to protect yourself Medium reliability
Banking blog
Explains AI-generated voice scams, personalised phishing and fake websites, with verification tips.
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Consumer protection summary
Summarises FTC data showing $470M lost to text scams in 2024; top scams included package delivery, job opportunities, fraud alerts, unpaid toll and wrong-number scams.
- Aramex - official site Medium reliability
Corporate
Aramex official site for verifying shipments.
- Emirates Post - official site Medium reliability
Corporate
Emirates Post official site.
- India Post - official site Medium reliability
Government
India Post official site.
- Canada Post - Fraud prevention Medium reliability
Corporate security
Canada Post fraud-prevention information.
- Cash App - Help & security Medium reliability
Vendor security
Cash App support and security guidance.
- PayID (Australia) Medium reliability
Industry
Official PayID information and safety.
- Binance - Support & security Medium reliability
Vendor security
Binance security and support resources.
- Trust Wallet - Security Medium reliability
Vendor security
Trust Wallet security guidance.
- State Bank of India - official site Medium reliability
Bank security
SBI official site for verifying and reporting.
- KrebsOnSecurity Medium reliability
Security journalism
Reputable independent security journalism (supporting, not official).
- Chainalysis - Crypto crime research Medium reliability
Vendor research
Crypto-analytics research on scam and fraud flows (supporting).
Looking for where to report a scam? Use the official reporting directory. Found an outdated link? Tell us so we can review it.