Phishing

A Third of Americans Have Been Scammed While Shopping Online. Here’s How to Stay Safe If you’ve ever clicked “Buy Now” on a deal that seemed too good to be true—and later realized you paid for nothing—you are far from alone. A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that about one in three U.S. adults have experienced an online shopping scam. That’s roughly 33 percent of the country. The number is a stark reminder that digital convenience comes with a real, and growing, risk. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online: How to Avoid Being Next Nearly a third of U.S. adults say an online shopping scam has happened to them, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. With holiday shopping already underway and major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, the timing of this data is a good reminder to slow down before you click “buy.” ...

One in Three Americans Has Been Scammed While Shopping Online: How to Protect Yourself If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or paid for a product that turned out to be counterfeit, you’re not alone. A new survey from the Pew Research Center found that about a third of U.S. adults say they’ve experienced an online shopping scam. That number is high enough to suggest that most of us either know someone who’s been burned or have been burned ourselves. ...

1 in 3 Americans Has Been Scammed Shopping Online: What You Can Do If you’ve ever bought something online that never arrived, or paid for a product that turned out to be a counterfeit, you are far from alone. According to a new study from the Pew Research Center published in November 2025, about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That figure cuts across age groups, though younger adults and people who use payment apps like Venmo or Cash App report even higher rates of victimization. ...

1 in 3 Americans Have Been Scammed Shopping Online — Here’s How to Stay Safe If you’ve ever clicked a too-good-to-be-true ad, entered your card info on a lookalike site, or paid a “seller” via a payment app for something that never arrived, you’re not alone. New research from the Pew Research Center shows that about a third of Americans say they’ve had an online shopping scam happen to them. That’s roughly one in three online shoppers who have lost money, had their identity stolen, or dealt with a fraudulent transaction. ...

Don’t Get Hooked: How to Spot Online Shopping Scams Before You Click Every holiday season, government agencies like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs publish warnings about shopping scams. But the threat doesn’t disappear after December. Fake websites, phishing emails, and too-good-to-be-true deals appear year-round, often targeting people who may not follow tech news closely. Recent alerts from VA News (.gov) and a Fox News article about ID.me highlight how scammers are getting more sophisticated. Knowing what to look for can save you money, stress, and potential identity theft. ...

Fake Productivity Apps with Real Signatures: How Malware Is Hiding in Plain Sight Most people assume that if a piece of software carries a valid digital signature, it’s safe. That assumption is exactly what attackers behind the “TamperedChef” campaign are exploiting. They are taking productivity apps—things like document editors, note‑taking tools, and file converters—signing them with legitimate code‑signing certificates, and then distributing them through unofficial download sites. Once installed, these apps deliver password stealers and remote access trojans (RATs) without raising obvious red flags. ...

Beware of TamperedChef Malware: How Fake Productivity Apps Can Steal Your Data Most of us have been taught that a digital signature on an app is a sign of safety. When you download a program and Windows or macOS tells you it’s from a verified publisher, you feel reassured. A newly reported malware campaign called TamperedChef exploits that trust by using signed installers of popular productivity apps to quietly deliver information-stealing software and remote access trojans (RATs). If you’ve ever downloaded a free office suite, a note-taking tool, or a PDF editor from outside an official app store, this story is worth your attention. ...

How to Spot Malware Hidden in Signed Productivity Apps A new malware campaign, tracked as TamperedChef, is making the rounds by doing something that sounds contradictory: using legitimately signed installer files to deliver stealers and remote access trojans. If you’ve ever downloaded a “cracked” version of Microsoft Office or a free copy of a paid productivity tool, this is the kind of threat you need to watch out for. ...

Beware of Fake Productivity Apps: New Malware Uses Signed Apps to Steal Your Data Recent reports from cybersecurity researchers detail a campaign called “TamperedChef” that distributes information-stealing malware and remote access trojans (RATs) through productivity applications that appear legitimate—and in some cases, are signed with valid digital certificates. For the average user, this is a reminder that even software that passes a security certificate check can still be dangerous. ...