Family Scam Watch
Calm, practical scam alerts for families.
Latest Gobbles
Sherbrooke police say a caller posing as a bank representative tried to get bank cards
87-year-old woman: that’s who was targeted by a phone fraud scheme before Sherbrooke police arrested three suspects on June 15.
Scams are now automated, physical, and everywhere at once
2.5 million scam texts in 14 days is the kind of number that should make your inbox feel personally threatened.
World Cup fever brings fake ticket and merch scams
June 21 is the date to circle: Father’s Day is coming up, and scammers are already riding the World Cup buzz.
Smart gadgets, cloud accounts, and the "trust me" scam's darkest upgrade yet
829 complex cases in a single quarter — the highest figure Refuge has ever logged. That number alone should make families stop scrolling.
The “human Ponzi scheme” line lands on ordinary Americans
52% of mutual fund assets are now invested in index or index-based funds, and over 50% of American households are invested in mutual funds.
The scam landscape is still running hot
1,000 foreign nationals were arrested in Sri Lanka in 2026 alone.
AI voice scams are no longer science fiction
3 seconds is enough for a convincing clone.
Job Scam Crossfire Goes Public
98% of their targets’ personal information may be in scammers’ hands.
That "Amazon Recall" Text Is Designed to Make You Panic-Click
Scammers are now cloning voices and faces from public videos — and the attacks are reaching ordinary families, not just corporations.
A Fake Book Club Is Charging Authors Up to $420 for a "Spotlight" That Doesn't Exist
A Seattle book club that doesn't exist is charging authors up to $420 to appear at it — and the invitation email is almost certainly written by AI.
AI scams are getting slicker, and families are squarely in the crosshairs
Artificial intelligence is giving scammers new ways to trick people and businesses into handing over money or sensitive information. The Co-operative Bank
Seniors, family-phone fraud, and a courier at the door
Sherbrooke police announced on June 1 that an 18-year-old resident was arrested on May 29 following six fraud investigations tied to phone scams targeting
AI Voice-Clone Scams Cost Elder Americans $2.3 Billion in 2026
The FBI and FTC have jointly reported that elder Americans lost $2.3 billion to voice-clone scams in 2026 — and according to one threat assessment, imperso
AI deepfakes are getting good enough to fool a title company
A title company in Hallandale was on a Zoom call to verify someone selling unoccupied land when the “person” on screen turned out to be an AI avatar. The a
AI-powered text spam is getting slicker, cheaper, and harder to spot
AI has helped drive a new wave of spam and scam texts, with AI-powered scam texts surging 1,210% in 2025, far outpacing the 195% growth in traditional frau
Fake invoices for planning matters in Los Angeles
A scam wave is sending official-looking invoices to people with pending land use matters and landmark nominations in Los Angeles County. The pitch is simpl
AI voice clones are now the family-emergency scam with a better costume
Fraudsters are getting smarter and more convincing, and one of the fastest-growing threats today is impersonation and deepfake fraud. These scams don’t nee
AI voices and deepfakes are getting harder to spot
Fraudsters are now using deepfakes, voice cloning, and personalized phishing attacks to run scams that are genuinely difficult to detect. Victims receive c
Fake Uniswap Google ads are quietly emptying wallets
A phishing campaign using sponsored Google search ads impersonating Uniswap has drained multiple wallets, accumulating at least $400,000 in stolen assets.
Your Mom's Voice on the Phone Might Be an AI, And Google Won't Save Your Email
AI can now clone voices so realistically that even close family members can't tell the difference, making your most trusted connections a new target for sc
Deepfake vishing: the phone call is wearing someone else's face
AI voice cloning is now cheap, free, and available to anyone with an internet connection. In just a few seconds, it can learn a person's pitch, rhythm, acc
When “the CFO” on video is not the CFO
In 2024, a finance worker at a multinational firm in Hong Kong received a video call from the company’s Chief Financial Officer. The request was sensitive
Nigerian Suspects Arrested in AI Romance Scam Targeting Older Women in Thailand
A family's emergency call arrived last week — except the panicked voice on the line had been assembled by software from a few seconds of social media audio
Three Seconds of Your Voice is Enough to Empty a Bank Account. Here's How to Fight Back.
The search results for "Scams Are Driving a Wedge Between Banks and Customers" provide a good overview. Key points:
The Millionaire Scammer Who Flashed His Wealth, Then Got Caught
Nothing broke today — but here's what deserves a second read on the scams targeting families, from AI deepfakes to romance cons.
Fake Police Officers Are Draining UK Pensioners' Savings — and the Tactic Is Spreading
Americans over 60 lost nearly $4.9 billion to cybercrime in 2024 — a 43% jump from the year before, and scammers are using your family's social media posts
A Retail Clerk Warned Him Multiple Times. He Still Lost $2,000.
In January 2024, a finance employee at the British engineering firm Arup transferred the equivalent of approximately $25 million to criminals — after watch
Dad Met a Woman in 'Melbourne.' She's Now in Russia, and the Family Has Seen This Before.
Americans reported losing more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, according to Federal Trade Commission data — and scammers are now using AI to run those
Facebook Allowed Fake Medicare Ads to Reach Seniors 215 Million Times Last Year
Scammers running fake Medicare ads on Facebook generated more than 215 million views last year — nearly six times their total reach from all previous years
When the "bank fraud specialist" calls, the fraud may already be in progress
Bank impersonators in the U.S. and a £582,000 investment fraud in England were both stopped — or slowed — not by technology, but by a person who paused and