The back catalogue. These have rolled off the live radar, but the tricks still go around.
← Back to what’s currentSpending hours pouring everything into an AI chatbot can quietly mess with your mood, because it feels like it gets you when it actually can’t. It’s not a real friend, and it’s no replacement for actual people when things get heavy.
Some phones, usually ones that just use the front camera, can be fooled by a photo of your face. Face scanners that map your face in 3D are much harder to trick.
People are being targeted on WhatsApp with messages carrying what looks like a business document — but it’s really a script file in disguise. Open it on a Windows PC and it can quietly install software that hands a stranger control of your computer.
Some accounts on social media are pulling people in with emotional sob stories, deepfake videos and ‘artisan’ shops selling stuff that doesn’t actually exist. The sad story rushes you so you pay before you think to check anything.
People are being targeted via Instagram after hackers worked out how to social-engineer Meta’s AI support bot into resetting passwords. Once they’re in, they lock the real owner out and take over the account. It’s proof that even an official help tool can be played.
Scammers are spinning up websites that look exactly like the official FIFA shop, selling tickets and merch that don’t exist. Hand over your card and details and they just vanish with both.
Blackmailers are taking ordinary photos and videos of young people and using AI to twist them into fake or embarrassing images, then using those to threaten them. The pictures aren’t real, but the threats are — and the goal is to scare you into paying or sending more.
Apps claiming to show you the call log of any phone number got over seven million people to pay up — but they did nothing they promised. Google pulled them, but copycats with new names keep popping back up.
Scammers are sending fake breach warnings designed to panic you into clicking a link or typing in your login. The whole point is to rush you — fear makes people skip the checks they’d normally do.
Scammers can now clone someone’s voice with AI to fake an urgent call, like a mate or family member begging for help fast. The whole trick runs on panic, so they push you to act before you think.
New research for Safer Internet Day 2026 shows almost every young person in the UK uses AI, and most say it makes life better. But more than half are uneasy about it being used to make fake or dodgy images of them — deepfakes built from real photos.
People with a following on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube are being targeted with fake ‘brand deal’ DMs that hand over login details or drop malware. Once they’re in, they hijack the account to push scams to everyone following you.
Scammers are video-calling people on WhatsApp out of nowhere, claiming to be from your bank or an app’s support team and that something dodgy has happened to your account. Then they talk you into sharing your screen — and every verification code and password that pops up, they’re reading in real time.