Cybersecurity

1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams: Here’s How to Avoid Being Next If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true deal on social media and ended up with an empty package—or nothing at all—you’re far from alone. New research from Pew Research Center, released in November 2025, found that roughly one in three U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. With the holiday shopping season now in full swing, that number might well climb unless we get better at spotting the traps before we fall in. ...

Online Shopping Scams Are Everywhere: How to Spot and Avoid Them In January 2026, the Department of Veterans Affairs published a straightforward reminder: scammers are actively targeting online shoppers, and the risks don’t disappear after the holidays. The VA News alert, titled “Watch out for scams and stay safe while online shopping,” highlights a reality that applies to everyone, not just veterans. Fraudsters continuously refine their tactics, and even cautious buyers can get caught off guard. ...

New Pew Data Reveals How Common Online Shopping Scams Are — and How to Avoid Them If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true deal, only to realize later that the site was fake or the product never arrived, you’re far from alone. A new study from the Pew Research Center found that about one in three American adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just around the corner, scammers are stepping up their efforts. Here’s what the data tells us and, more importantly, how you can protect your money. ...

Nearly 1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online – Here’s What to Watch For A new survey from the Pew Research Center puts a number on something many of us have suspected: online shopping scams are alarmingly common. According to the study, published November 19, 2025, about 32% of U.S. adults – roughly one in three – say they have personally experienced an online shopping scam. With the holiday shopping season upon us, that figure is likely to climb. Here’s what the data shows and how you can avoid becoming a statistic. ...

Microsoft reports 8.3 billion email phishing threats in Q1 2026: What you need to know Microsoft’s latest email threat report for the first quarter of 2026 paints a stark picture: attackers are sending more phishing emails than ever, and they’re using AI and QR codes to slip past traditional filters. The company detected 8.3 billion phishing attempts in Q1 2026 alone — a figure that’s hard to wrap your head around, but one that directly affects anyone who uses email for work or personal life. ...

Online Shopping Scams Are More Common Than You Think – and How to Avoid Them If you’ve ever clicked “buy” on a deal that seemed too good to be true, only to receive nothing or a cheap imitation, you’re far from alone. According to a November 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, about one in three Americans say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That figure covers a wide range of fraud – from fake websites that collect your payment info but never ship anything, to ads on social media that lead to counterfeit goods or outright theft. ...

1 in 3 Americans Hit by Online Shopping Scams, Pew Finds – How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true deal and ended up with nothing but an empty bank account, you’re not alone. According to a new Pew Research Center survey published in November 2025, about one in three U.S. adults say they have experienced an online shopping scam. That’s roughly 33% of American shoppers—a number that warrants attention whether you shop every week or only during the holiday rush. ...

Is That Chrome Extension Spying on You? How to Spot a Malicious Productivity Tool A recent investigation by the FBI into a breach of its own surveillance systems has drawn attention to a growing threat: malicious Chrome extensions disguised as productivity tools. These extensions can bypass standard security controls and exfiltrate data from both individuals and organizations. Here’s what you need to know to protect yourself. ...

Chrome Extensions Turned Dangerous: Are Your Productivity Tools Spying on You? If you use Chrome for work or personal browsing, you probably have a handful of extensions installed – a password manager, an ad blocker, perhaps a note‑taking tool or a grammar helper. They make life easier. But recent investigations have uncovered a troubling trend: attackers are quietly turning these trusted add‑ons into backdoors for data theft and credential harvesting. This isn’t a theoretical risk; it’s happening now. ...

Chrome Extensions Can Spy on You: How to Spot a Dangerous One and Stay Safe Most Chrome extensions start with a good intention: block ads, take notes, or improve grammar. But the same permissions that make them useful can also turn them into a hidden surveillance tool. In recent months, attackers have increasingly weaponized seemingly innocent “productivity” extensions to siphon passwords, read email, and even move laterally inside corporate networks. Understanding how this happens — and what you can do about it — is no longer optional for anyone who uses the browser daily. ...