Using a 1930s trade law, Homeland Security targeted the man—who hasn’t entered the US in more than a decade—following posts on X condemning the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Plus: The NSA tests Anthropic’s Mythos Preview to find vulnerabilities, a Finnish teen is charged over the Scattered Spider hacking spree, and more.

The exploit, dubbed CopyFail and tracked as CVE-2026-31431, allows hackers to take over PCs and data center servers. The Linux vulnerabilities have been patched—but many machines remain at risk.

You’re scrolling through Facebook or TikTok and see it. 

A flash sale from a brand you recognize. A limited-time investment opportunity. A job posting that promises quick money. 

The ad has comments. The account looks polished. Maybe someone you follow even liked it. 

So you click. 

From there, things move fast. You’re pushed to act quickly, enter your information, or send payment before the “deal” disappears. And just like that, the money is gone or your account is compromised. 

This isn’t an edge case anymore. According to new FTC data, nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam in 2025 said it started on social media, with total losses hitting $2.1 billion. 

That’s why McAfee+ Advanced includes comprehensive protection designed to help you spot and stop scams at every step, including McAfee’s Scam Detector, which flags suspicious links and messages and explains why they may be risky, along with identity and privacy tools that help protect your information if a scam slips through. 

How Social Media Ad Scams Work 

A social media ad scam is when scammers use paid ads, fake profiles, or hijacked accounts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok to promote fake products, services, or investment opportunities in order to steal money or personal information. 

Step	What happens	What to do	How McAfee helps
1	You see an ad, post, or DM promoting a deal, job, or investment	Don’t engage immediately, even if it looks legitimate	Scam Detector flags suspicious links and messages before you interact
2	The ad links to a website or moves you into DMs	Avoid clicking unfamiliar links or continuing off-platform	Safe Browsing helps block risky or newly created websites
3	You’re pressured to act quickly or “secure your spot”	Slow down and verify the company independently	Scam Detector explains urgency tactics and why they’re risky
4	You’re asked to pay, share login info, or download something	Never send money or credentials based on a social media interaction	Identity Monitoring helps protect your personal data if exposed
5	The product never arrives, the investment disappears, or your account is compromised	Report the scam and secure your accounts immediately	Personal Data Cleanup and monitoring help reduce ongoing exposure

Red Flags To Watch For 

• Deals that feel unusually cheap or urgent  
• Ads linking to unfamiliar or slightly misspelled websites  
• Requests to move conversations off-platform quickly  
• Payment requests via apps, crypto, or wire transfer  
• Accounts with limited history or inconsistent engagement  

And that is the first part of This Week in Scams! This Friday we’re taking a different format to talk about this new FTC data and all that it reveals.  

Let’s keep digging in: 

FTC Report: Social Media Scams Are Now The Most Costly Fraud Channel 

New data from the FTC shows just how dominant social media has become in the scam landscape. 

• Social media scams drove $2.1 billion in reported losses in 2025  
• Losses have increased eightfold since 2020  
• Investment scams alone accounted for $1.1 billion of those losses 

Where Scams Are Happening And What’s Changing 

Category	What to know
Most common scams	Shopping scams lead, with over 40% of victims reporting purchases from social media ads that never arrived
Most costly scams	Investment scams drive the biggest losses, often starting with ads or group chats showing fake success
What’s changing	Scammers are using platform tools like ads, targeting, and profile data to reach people more precisely than ever

How Scams Play Out Across Platforms 

Platform	How scams typically start	What to watch for
Facebook	Ads, Marketplace listings, hacked accounts	Fake stores, duplicate listings, urgent purchase pressure
Instagram	Sponsored posts, influencer impersonation	“Limited drop” scams, fake brand collaborations
TikTok	Ads, stolen videos/profiles, comment links, bio links,	“Get rich quick” schemes, external link funnels, reselling via TikTok
WhatsApp	Group chats, investment communities	Fake testimonials, coordinated pressure to invest

 How McAfee Protects You from Scams and Cyber Threats 

McAfee+ Advanced gives you multiple layers working together so you are not left figuring it out after the damage is done:   

• Identity Monitoring alerts you if your personal info shows up where it should not, so you can act fast  
• Personal Data Cleanup helps remove your information from data broker sites, making you harder to target in the first place  
• Scam Detector flags suspicious texts, emails, links, and even deepfake videos before you engage  
• Safe Browsing helps block risky sites if you do click  
• Device Security helps detect malicious apps or downloads  
• Secure VPN keeps your data private, especially on public Wi-Fi    

McAfee Safety Tips This Week 

Our advice based on this week’s scams and schemes: 

• Treat social media ads like any other unknown source, not a trusted recommendation  
• Pause before clicking, especially when urgency is involved  
• Verify brands by going directly to their official website  
• Avoid sending money or personal information through social media  
• Use tools like Scam Detector to check suspicious links before engaging  

And we’ll be back next week with more scams making headlines.

The post Ad Impersonation Scams and Record-Breaking Social Media Fraud Losses: This Week in Scams appeared first on McAfee Blog.

OpenAI is rolling out Advanced Account Security for people concerned that their ChatGPT or Codex accounts could be potential targets of phishing attacks.

Secure Access adds Security Insights to speed up SOC Ops. Now, an analyst uses a three-click workflow, reducing investigation time from minutes to seconds.

Dive into the architecture behind Cisco’s holistic, mutilayered PQC strategy to understand how Cisco is operationalizing the secure communications and secure products across the communication planes, inside the chipset, and down to the firmware that loads before your operating system even boots.

Spyware appears to have captured everything from intimate photos to private messages from the smartphone of European celebrity. They were publicly accessible until a researcher flagged the exposure.

The war in Iran has drawn attention to arrests in the United Arab Emirates over online content, but the legal framework behind that enforcement has existed for years.

AI agents may soon be buying your stuff for you. The FIDO Alliance has teamed up with Google and Mastercard to try to ensure that shopping in the near future isn't a complete disaster.

Explore what’s new in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN 26.1.1, simplifying SASE adoption, enabling AI-ready networking, and streamlining operations.

The suspected shooter at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner faces three felony charges. He remains in custody following Monday’s hearing.

A 31-year-old engineer and self-described indie game developer is suspected of firing shots at the annual event attended by President Donald Trump, high-profile media figures, and US government officials.

Plus: Spy firms tap into a global telecom weakness to track targets, 500,000 UK health records go up for sale on Alibaba, Apple patches a revealing notification bug, and more.

A new scam making the rounds takes a familiar delivery trick and upgrades it with hyper‑realistic messaging and a QR code that looks safe to scan. 

But don’t be fooled. 

It’s the same delivery scam playbook scammers have relied on for years, just repackaged with better design and more convincing details. 

You get a message with a notice that looks something like this, a real message received by our team and tested against McAfee’s Scam Detector. 

 

That added layer of realism is what makes this version more dangerous. But it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. McAfee’s Scam Detector flagged both the suspicious language and the QR code in this message before any interaction. 

If you receive something like this, pause. Do not scan the code. 

You can also protect yourself with McAfee’s Scam Detector, which flags suspicious links and messages, including delivery scams and QR‑based attacks, and explains why they may be risky. 

What is the USPS QR Code Scam and How Does it Work? 

The USPS QR code scam is a phishing attempt where scammers impersonate postal services and use QR codes instead of clickable links to direct victims to malicious websites. 

Once scanned, the QR code can lead to a fake USPS page that asks for payment, login credentials, or personal information. 

How the scam works 

Step	What happens	The red flags	What to do	How McAfee helps
1	You receive a text about a delivery issue or missed package	Urgency, you’re not tracking a package	Be skeptical of unsolicited delivery messages	Scam Detector flags suspicious messages
2	The message includes a QR code instead of a link	QR codes instead of official tracking links  is a red flag	Do not scan QR codes from unknown sources	QR scanning protection warns before opening risky destinations
3	You scan the code and land on a fake USPS page	Generic or slightly off branding on the webpage	Do not enter any information	Safe Browsing blocks known malicious sites
4	The page asks for payment or personal details	Requests for small “redelivery” or “processing” fees  are not normal	Exit immediately and do not submit anything	Scam Detector explains why the page is risky, and Identity Monitoring supports you when if your info gets out.

What To Do If You Get This Message 

• Do not scan the QR code  
• Go directly to the official USPS website to check tracking  
• Delete the message  
• Report it as spam  
• Monitor your accounts if you interacted with it  

And that, my friends, is scam number one in this week’s This Week in Scams. 

Let’s get into what else is on our radar. 

A Major Health Data Breach Exposes 500,000 Records 

A massive health data incident is raising new concerns about how sensitive information is handled and shared. 

According to reporting from the Associated Press, data tied to 500,000 participants in a major U.K. health research project was found listed for sale online. The dataset included biological and health-related information, though it did not contain direct identifiers like names or contact details. 

Access to the data had been granted to research institutions, but that access has since been revoked. Authorities say no purchases were made, and the listing has been removed. 

Still, the situation highlights a growing reality: once data is accessed or shared, control over it becomes harder to guarantee. 

What This Breach Says About Data Privacy 

Scams are no longer isolated events. They are layered. 

A data breach does not just stay a breach. It becomes fuel for future scams. Exposed information can be used to make phishing messages more convincing, personalize attacks, and build trust with targets. 

That is why detection alone is not enough anymore. Protection has to account for both incoming threats and what happens when data is already out there. 

How McAfee Protects You In A World of Scams and Data Breaches  

McAfee+ Advanced gives you multiple layers working together so you are not left figuring it out after the damage is done:  

• Identity Monitoring alerts you if your personal info shows up where it should not, so you can act fast 
• Personal Data Cleanup helps remove your information from data broker sites, making you harder to target in the first place 
• Scam Detector flags suspicious texts, emails, links, and even deepfake videos before you engage 
• Safe Browsing helps block risky sites if you do click 
• Device Security helps detect malicious apps or downloads 
• Secure VPN keeps your data private, especially on public Wi-Fi   

McAfee Safety Tips This Week  

As always, we have some best practices and safety tips for navigating life online:  

• Pause before clicking, especially when a message creates urgency   
• Go directly to websites or apps instead of using email links   
• Be skeptical of routine account alerts that push immediate action   
• Double-check sender addresses and URLs closely   
• Use tools like McAfee’s Scam Detector to flag suspicious links and messages before interacting   
• Turn on identity monitoring so you’re alerted if your data is exposed  

And we’ll be back next week with more scams making headlines.

The post Fake USPS QR Code Text Scams and a Major Health Data Breach: This Week in Scams appeared first on McAfee Blog.

A US surveillance program that lets the FBI view Americans’ communications without a warrant is up for renewal. A new bill aims to address mounting lawmaker concerns—with smoke and mirrors.

Researchers have finally cracked Fast16, mysterious code capable of silently tampering with calculation and simulation software. It was created in 2005—and likely deployed by the US or an ally.

One group of hackers used AI for everything from vibe coding their malware to creating fake company websites—and stole as much as $12 million in three months.

The Firefox team doesn’t think emerging AI capabilities will upend cybersecurity long term, but they warn that software developers are likely in for a rocky transition.

A lawsuit from the Consumer Federation of America accuses Meta of misleading consumers about its efforts to combat scams advertisements on its platforms.