Scam Vfy

AI-powered scam verification. We check phone numbers, websites, texts, and emails against millions of federal complaint records and threat databases.

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

For the first time, text is the #1 way scammers reach you.

The FTC's latest data (covering 2025) shows more people were first contacted by a scammer through a text than through a phone call or email. As recently as 2024, email was #1 and text ranked third.

Why scammers moved to text:

- Texts get read within minutes. Email doesn't.
- Text filtering is newer and weaker than decades of email spam filters.
- AI now writes clean, natural scam texts at scale, erasing the bad grammar that used to give them away.
- Sending millions of texts costs almost nothing.

The channel where scams now begin most often is the one most people are least equipped to check.

#ScamAlert #Smishing

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

If you get a text about an unpaid toll this summer, it is a scam.

The FTC confirmed in May that fake toll-payment texts are now the leading driver of a 40% jump in government-imposter scam reports. The campaign has spread to all 50 states, spoofing real programs: E-ZPass, SunPass, FasTrak, TxTag.

It works because the amount is tiny (a few dollars), almost anyone could plausibly owe a toll, and it arrives by text, now the #1 way scammers make first contact.

The few dollars is never the goal. The payment page captures your card number, billing address, and personal details, resold or reused for far bigger fraud within hours.

Real toll agencies do not text you a link to pay.

#ScamAlert #Smishing

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

Amazon moved Prime Day to June this year. That matters, because the scam wave that shadows it every year is now arriving weeks before shoppers expect it.

The scale is not a guess. In the two months before Prime Day 2025, researchers counted roughly 120,000 fake websites impersonating Amazon. About 92,000 were built to steal your login. McAfee flagged another 75,000 Amazon impersonation texts in the same window.

Amazon says impersonation scams jumped 80% versus the prior Prime Day.

Most of it will reach you as a text: "there's a problem with your order," with a link to fix it. Amazon does not resolve order problems through a link in an unsolicited text.

#ScamAlert #PrimeDay

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

Six weeks ago we flagged this number at 474 complaints. It just hit 1,850.

[phone] now has 1,850 FTC complaints, every single one filed in the last 90 days. That makes it the most-complained-about active scam number in our entire database.

89% robocall. 1,223 of the complaints are tagged "reducing your debt." An automated debt-relief operation running at industrial volume, and it has not slowed down once since April.

When one toll-free number gets blocked, the operation rotates to the next in the block. The 855-909 cluster behind it has grown to 24 numbers and 3,950 complaints.

If [phone] calls you, you already know.

#ScamAlert #Robocalls

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

If anyone asks you to buy a gift card for Mom this weekend, it's a scam.

The "grandparent in trouble" scam pivots every Mother's Day. The script: someone calls or texts pretending to be your son, daughter, or grandchild. They're stranded, they're hurt, they need money fast. Can you grab a few Apple, Google Play, or Target gift cards and read off the codes?

Real family does not ask for gift cards. Ever. There is no scenario where a hospital, a jail, a tow truck, or a hotel takes a gift card.

The FTC publishes a Mother's Day specific gift card warning every year because the volume reliably spikes this weekend.

If you get a frantic call or text from "your kid" this weekend asking for cards, hang up and call them directly on the number you already have saved.

Then call your mom and tell her the same thing.

#MothersDay #ScamAlert #GiftCardScam

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

Mother's Day is Sunday. Here's the flower scam already circulating.

Fake florist websites running Instagram and Facebook ads with prices that beat 1-800-Flowers, FTD, and ProFlowers by 40 to 60 percent. Beautiful product photos. Real-looking checkout. The order goes through. No flowers ever arrive.

The site is usually 6 to 12 weeks old. The "About Us" page is generic stock copy. Customer support is a contact form that goes nowhere.

Three checks before you order:

Look up the domain age. Real florists have been online for years. Search the company name plus "scam" or "complaint." Pay with a credit card, never a debit card or gift card.

If you haven't ordered yet and want it to actually arrive Sunday, stick to a national chain or a local florist your mom can call directly.

#MothersDay #ScamAlert

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

If a CAPTCHA opens your phone's text messaging app, close it immediately.

A new scam circulating right now: fake CAPTCHA pages that look exactly like the real "I'm not a robot" check, except clicking the box opens your SMS app with a pre-filled international number and a long string of random text.

Send it, and you've just paid for a premium-rate international text. Some victims have racked up hundreds of dollars in surprise charges before they even noticed.

It's called International Revenue Share Fraud. The scammer gets a cut of every premium SMS you send.

Real CAPTCHAs run inside your browser. They never need access to your texting app, your contacts, or your dialer. If yours does, that's the scam.

Worth checking your mobile bill this week if you've clicked through any sketchy "verify you're human" pages lately.

#ScamAlert #CyberSecurity

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

This phone number didn't exist 8 days ago.

[phone] was first reported to the FTC on April 28. As of last night, it had 266 complaints in 7 days.

That's a pace of 38 complaints per day, every day. 88% are flagged as robocalls.

The pitch: "We can reduce your credit card debt." Same script that's been running through 17 different numbers in the 217 area code (Springfield, IL) for the past month. Now it's jumped to a toll-free 866.

When a debt reduction operation burns through a 217 number, they spin up a fresh 866 and keep going. The script is identical. Only the phone number changes.

If [phone] calls you in the next 48 hours, you already know.

#ScamAlert #Robocalls

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

Today is the first day of Older Americans Month.

Older adults lost between $10.1 billion and $81.5 billion to fraud in 2024. The FTC publishes both numbers because the upper end factors in the 95% of fraud that goes unreported.

Reported losses alone hit $2.4 billion, up from ~$600M in 2020. That's a 4x increase in 4 years.

The shift: scams targeting seniors are getting bigger per victim. 68% of the total is from individual losses of $100,000 or more. ▎

Five categories where seniors lose the most:
- Investment fraud ($744M) - Tech support scams
- Prize, sweepstakes, lottery
- Romance scams - Government impersonation

All five are well-represented in our 14.5M+ FTC complaint database. All five are the kinds of scams ScamVerify™ was built to catch.

If you have an older parent or grandparent, this is the month to have the conversation. Show them the verify-before-you-trust habit.

#OlderAmericansMonth #ScamAlert #ElderFraud

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

The @FTC recently released the number. 2025 losses to scams that started on social media: $2.1 billion.

That's losses people actually reported. The real number is higher because most fraud goes unreported.

The top scam type was online shopping. Scammers run ads for high-priced items at impossible prices, you click, you pay, the goods never arrive. Or they arrive and they're counterfeit.

Social media is now the #1 pipeline for fraud against older adults too. They lose more money to scams that started on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok than to scams that started on the phone.

A simple test before you click any "deal" ad: search the product name on Google. If the same item is listed on the brand's official site at 3-4x the price, you're looking at a fake.

#ScamAlert #SocialMediaScam #CyberSecurity

https://t.co/HCKcLyBiHa

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

Lost iPhone scam: Apple does not text you about your lost iPhone. Ever.

Not "we found it." Not "click here for the location." Not "verify your Apple ID to recover it." Apple's policy is unambiguous: they do not send unsolicited texts about lost devices.

But here's why this scam works. When your iPhone gets stolen, the thief can read the model, color, and storage off the lock screen. Days or weeks later, you get a text:

"We've located your iPhone 15 Pro Max, 256GB, Natural Titanium in Casablanca. Tap here to view location."

The device details are real. So you click. The page is a pixel-perfect Apple ID login. You enter your password. They use it to remotely unlock the phone and pull every photo, message, and saved password off it.

The fraud expert @monicatorrr quoted in HuffPost on this said it best: when you lose your phone, you panic. You're not thinking cognitively.

Two rules: (1) Mark Lost via https://t.co/NAJ3XqAsoq immediately. (2) Ignore every "we found it" text that follows. Always.

#ScamAlert #PhishingScam #iPhone

https://t.co/FjFxC4GTuq

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

This phishing email arrived overnight. The "deadline" was 8 AM Central European Time this morning. It's now 6 hours past that. Photos are still here.

Look at the branding: it doesn't say iCloud. It doesn't say Google Photos. It doesn't say Dropbox. It just says "Cloud." Because if they pick a real brand, your spam filter catches it.

Now look at the sender: [email protected], routed through https://t.co/4aF2VAVAAa. The .biz.ua suffix is Ukraine. The .azx domain doesn't exist on the public internet. Apple, Google, and Dropbox do not send billing notices from Ukrainian relay servers.

Three other tells:
🚩 "This message was sent from a trusted sender" banner at the top (no real provider writes that)
🚩 "Your data will be deleted by Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:01:09 +0200" (specific-looking timestamp = manufactured urgency)
🚩 Generic "Dear user" instead of your actual name

My family members got the same one. Different "deadline," same template.

#PhishingScam #ScamAlert #CyberSecurity

[FTC @FTC]

With people losing big to investment scams, learn how to spot and avoid them: https://t.co/rGJasZCC40

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

The FTC issued a new warning this month: mortgage relief letter scams are surging.

Here's the pitch. A professional-looking letter arrives in the mail saying your mortgage qualifies for a federal relief program. "Reduced interest rates." "Payment forgiveness." "Act within 10 days."

Pay a $1,500 "processing fee" and the help arrives. It doesn't. The money disappears.

Real government mortgage relief programs never require upfront fees. Not HUD, not FHA, not any legitimate non-profit counselor.

We've broken down fake government documents on this account recently:
📄 Fake parking violation with QR code (Rhode Island)
📄 Fake Order of Arrest warrant ($2,000 bail)
📄 Fake Inflation Protection Credit letter ($1,400 per month)

Add mortgage relief to the list. Same playbook. Different excuse. If it arrived in the mail and asks for money upfront, it's a scam.

🔍 Upload any suspicious letter to https://t.co/S6r29UgwCX for free AI analysis.

#ScamAlert #MortgageScam #CyberSecurity

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

The FBI issued a new warning this week.

Scammers are texting people pretending to be FBI agents. They claim you have a warrant, a federal investigation, or an identity theft case that requires immediate action.

Losses from law enforcement impersonation doubled year over year.

The FBI does not text you. The FBI does not DM you. The FBI does not Venmo you. If you actually have a federal matter, it arrives as a visit, a subpoena, or a certified letter. Not a text.

Our database now tracks 14.3+M FTC complaints all time for calls pretending to be government agencies. Texts are outpacing the calls.

If you get one: screenshot, report to the FBI's IC3, delete. Do not click. Do not reply.

🔍 Got a suspicious text? Screenshot and forward it to [email protected]. AI checks it free.

#Smishing #ScamAlert #FBI

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

🚩 One phone number just got 75 FTC complaints in a single day: #⃣[phone]. Idaho area code.

Category: "Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends."

Here's what makes this one unusual: 0% of the complaints marked it as a robocall.

Every single one of those 75 calls was a live human impersonating a government agency. Not an autodialer. A person, picking up the phone and reading a script.

That's significantly more expensive to operate than a robocall. Which means whoever is running this expects to close enough victims to pay for a call center.

First complaint: April 18. Last complaint: April 18. 75 complaints in one day. Then silence. Either the operation shut down, switched numbers, or flew under the radar for the rest of the week. Either way, this was an organized burst.

#ScamAlert #PhoneScam #GovernmentScam

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

📊 A quiet stat: 7,928 new malicious domains were added to our threat intelligence feed this week alone.

That's from ThreatFox, one of our live data sources. 7,928 fresh URLs designed to steal passwords, deliver malware, or harvest credit card info. All flagged, categorized, and cross-referenced in the last 7 days. URLhaus added another 1,831 on top of that.

When you check a website on ScamVerify™, this is what it's checked against. Not training data from 2023. Live threat intelligence that updates hourly.

Current total: 15.17 million threat records.
→ 14.56M FTC complaints
→ 450K FCC complaints
→ 80K URLhaus entries
→ 76K ThreatFox entries

AI is only useful if the data underneath it is real and current. This is our data layer.

#CyberSecurity #ThreatIntel #ScamAlert

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

The newest phishing email pretends to be from DOGE.

Not the meme. The Department of Government Efficiency.

The pitch: "You have been assigned a personal agent from the Department of Government Efficiency. We are authorized to issue your refund from recovered improper federal expenditures."

Attached PDF. Professional formatting. Real-looking case number. Harvests your SSN, date of birth, and bank details if you click.

Roughly 1,800 people and 350+ organizations have already received it. IP addresses trace back to southern Nigeria.

DOGE does not assign you a personal agent. DOGE does not issue refunds. The IRS issues refunds. And the IRS never initiates contact by email.

If a federal agency emails you claiming to have money for you, assume it's a scam until proven otherwise.

🔍 Got a suspicious email? Forward it to [email protected] for free AI analysis.

#Phishing #ScamAlert #CyberSecurity

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

🚨 Remember the Springfield, Illinois debt reduction scam ring we flagged two weeks ago? It just multiplied.

In April alone, the 217 area code 834 prefix has rotated through 17 phone numbers. Same script. Same category. Same operator.

Top 5 active this month:
#⃣[phone] → 144 complaints
#⃣[phone] → 139 complaints
#⃣[phone] → 137 complaints
#⃣[phone] → 125 complaints
#⃣[phone] → 125 complaints

Across all 17 numbers: 1,400+ FTC complaints in 19 days. That's roughly 73 per day, every day.

This is not 17 separate scammers. It's one operation, burning through numbers as fast as carriers can flag them. When one goes dark, the next lights up.

The tell: identical prefix, identical category, identical 94 to 97% automation rate across all 17 numbers.

#ScamAlert #Robocalls #PhoneScam

🔍 Check any number against 15M+ threat records at https://t.co/S6r29UgwCX

[Scam Vfy @ScamVfy]

Someone just received this in the mail.

It's from the "United States Executive Financial Taskforce, Bureau of Domestic Disbursement" notifying them they've been "officially selected" for the 2026 Inflation Protection Credit. $1,400 per month, direct deposit, signed by "D.J. Trump" himself.

There is no such agency. There is no such program. The signature is fake.

This is the mailed version of the "$2,000 tariff dividend" email scam that PolitiFact flagged in January. Same playbook, now on letterhead.

Red flags:
🚩 No federal "Executive Financial Taskforce" exists
🚩 No "Bureau of Domestic Disbursement" exists
🚩 Real federal programs never ask you to "verify identity" via a button
🚩 "Unclaimed funds will be forfeited in 24 hours" is pure urgency bait

If the President were personally mailing you $1,400 a month, you'd know from every news outlet on Earth, not a mystery letter.

🛡️ Got a suspicious letter? Upload it to ScamVerify™. AI checks the agency, verifies the program, flags fake signatures and seals. Free to try.

#ScamAlert #PhishingScam #CyberSecurity