Scam Prevention

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. ...

How to Spot and Avoid Online Shopping Scams: Tips from the VA Online shopping has become second nature for most of us. A few clicks and your order is on the way. But the same convenience also attracts scammers. Fraudulent websites, phishing emails, and counterfeit goods cost consumers billions every year. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regularly publishes guidance to help veterans and all shoppers stay safe. Their advice is straightforward and worth following—especially during peak shopping seasons but applicable year-round. ...

New Malware ‘TamperedChef’ Hides in Signed Productivity Apps – What to Watch For On May 21, 2026, cybersecurity researchers disclosed a newly identified malware campaign named TamperedChef. It targets everyday users by disguising malicious installers as legitimate productivity software—and it uses stolen digital certificates to make those installers look authentic. If you download tools like Notepad++ or 7-Zip from unofficial sources, this campaign is worth understanding. ...

New Malware ‘TamperedChef’ Hides Inside Signed Apps – How to Stay Safe If you’ve ever downloaded a free productivity tool from a site you don’t quite trust, you’re not alone. Many of us do it to save money or time. But there’s a new threat that exploits that habit with a nasty twist: malware that carries a valid digital signature, making it look legitimate right up until the moment it steals your passwords or gives an attacker remote control of your machine. ...

Warning: Malware Disguised as Signed Productivity Apps—How to Stay Safe A new malware campaign dubbed TamperedChef is using a trick that makes even cautious users let their guard down: digitally signed software. The attackers are taking legitimate productivity applications—PDF editors, note-taking tools, and similar freeware—modifying them to include information stealers and remote access trojans (RATs), and then signing them with valid code signing certificates. The result is malicious code that appears to come from a trusted publisher. ...

How to Spot Fake Signed Productivity Apps That Steal Your Passwords A new malware strain called TamperedChef is making the rounds by exploiting something most of us take as a green light: a digital signature on an app installer. The attackers package information stealers and remote access trojans inside installers that appear to be legitimate productivity tools—and those installers are cryptographically signed to look trustworthy. If you rely on that signature alone to decide whether an app is safe, this campaign is a reminder that the system has cracks. ...

TamperedChef Malware Hides in Signed Productivity Apps: How to Protect Yourself Intro A new malware campaign called TamperedChef is making the rounds, and it’s worth paying attention to if you regularly download or update productivity apps like Office suites, PDF editors, or project management tools. What makes it particularly tricky is the use of valid digital signatures — meaning the malicious files initially look legitimate to both users and many security tools. The campaign delivers information stealers and remote access trojans (RATs), which can lead to stolen credentials, data exfiltration, or full system compromise. ...

How a New Malware Hides Inside Signed Productivity Apps – What to Know If you’ve ever downloaded a free version of a paid productivity tool from an unfamiliar site, you’re not alone. A lot of people do it to save money or get a feature quickly. But a recent campaign called TamperedChef shows why that habit is riskier than ever. Attackers are taking legitimate productivity applications, injecting malware into them, and then signing the tampered files with valid digital certificates. That means the file looks perfectly normal to your operating system and many security tools. ...

How to spot and avoid online shopping scams: tips from VA.gov Online shopping has become part of daily life, but it has also opened the door for scammers looking to steal money and personal information. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regularly publishes warnings and practical advice to help veterans and their families — and really, anyone — stay safe when shopping online. The guidance from VA News covers the most common tricks fraudsters use and how to avoid them. Because scammers constantly adjust their tactics, it’s worth reviewing the basics regularly. ...