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Social media scams are exploding: How to protect your money and identity What happened Social media scams are costing Americans billions as fraud continues to shift online. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data shows that older Americans alone lost $2.4 billion to scams in 2024, and overall losses from social media–originated fraud run well into the billions. These aren’t isolated incidents — they represent a structural shift in how scammers operate. ...

Police AI surveillance is expanding: Here’s how it affects your privacy What happened The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office recently announced an expansion of its artificial intelligence‑powered surveillance capabilities, according to a May 3 report in the Sarasota Herald‑Tribune. While the exact details of the new tools were not fully disclosed in the report, the move fits a wider national trend: law enforcement agencies increasingly use facial recognition, drone video analytics, and predictive algorithms to monitor public spaces. ...

The Chrome Extension Backdoor: How Productivity Tools Become Enterprise Attack Vectors Browser extensions are meant to save time—tab managers, grammar checkers, password fillers, ad blockers. But according to a recent report by Security Boulevard, attackers have found a way to turn these same tools into entry points for data theft. The FBI has also acknowledged the rising sophistication of such attacks, including its own investigation into a breach of its surveillance systems that may have involved compromised browser extensions. For ordinary users and enterprise IT teams alike, the risk is real and immediate. ...

1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams: What to Look For and How to Stay Safe If you’ve bought something online that never arrived, or paid for a “deal” that turned out to be a trap, you’re far from alone. According to a Pew Research Center study published in November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That number is a stark reminder that fraud has become a routine part of e‑commerce, not an edge case. ...

Don’t Click That “Google Security Alert”—It’s a Scam. Here’s What to Look For A wave of phishing emails and browser pop-ups impersonating Google’s security team is making the rounds, and they look convincing enough to fool many regular users. According to a report published by Reader’s Digest in late April 2026, these fake alerts claim there’s a problem with your account—something about suspicious activity or a login from an unrecognized device—and urge you to click a link to verify your identity or fix the issue. ...

How a Chrome Extension Could Hand Hackers Your Passwords – What to Check Now If you use Chrome for work, you’ve probably installed a few extensions to save time—password managers, Grammarly, ad blockers, screenshot tools, or a tab organizer. They seem harmless, even indispensable. But behind the scenes, some of these tools are turning into a silent pipeline for stealing credentials, cookies, and corporate data. ...

That ‘Google’ Email Looks Real? It’s a Scam — Here’s How to Spot It If you use Gmail, Google Drive, or any Google service, you’ve probably seen a security alert in your inbox that looks official — a message about an unusual sign‑in, a password change request, or a warning that your account will be suspended. Scammers are now sending these fake notifications with such accuracy that even cautious users can be fooled. The email might use the right logos, include your name, and even link to a page that looks exactly like Google’s sign‑in screen. But make no mistake: it’s a phishing attempt designed to steal your login credentials and, eventually, your personal data. ...

How to Spot the New Google Phishing Scam That Looks Totally Real You open your inbox, and there it is: a message from Google warning about suspicious activity on your account. The logo is correct, the layout looks just like every other email from Google, and the language sounds official. Most people would click the “Secure your account” button without a second thought. ...

Is That Productivity Extension Spying on You? How to Spot a Chrome Extension Backdoor You probably have a handful of Chrome extensions installed right now—maybe a grammar checker, a password manager, a tab organizer, or a note-taking tool. They make your browser smarter, but they also open a direct line into everything you do online. In recent months, security researchers have documented a growing number of cases where malicious or compromised productivity extensions have been used to steal credentials, inject ads, and even gain a foothold in corporate networks. These aren’t obscure add-ons from unknown developers. Some of them looked perfectly legitimate, with thousands of users and decent ratings. ...

Don’t Click That ‘Google’ Alert: New Scam Tricks Users – How to Spot It If you get an email or a browser pop-up that looks like it came directly from Google, warning you about a security issue or a locked account, think twice before clicking the link. A new wave of Google impersonation scams is making the rounds, and they’re convincing enough to fool even experienced users. Recent coverage in Reader’s Digest highlights how these attacks work and why they’re so dangerous right now. ...