All news with #phishing tag

Kaspersky adds notification anti-phishing for Android

🔒 Kaspersky has added a Notification Protection layer to Kaspersky for Android that detects and blocks malicious links embedded in app notifications. The feature automatically hides suspected links and replaces them with a Kaspersky notice titled 'Dangerous link detected,' preserving the original text minus the link. Kaspersky says scanning is automated and no employee reads private messages. Users must enable Accessibility and notification permissions and can combine this with Safe Messaging and Safe Browsing for fuller protection.

Microsoft Warns of LLM-Crafted SVG Phishing Campaign

🛡️ Microsoft flagged a targeted phishing campaign that used AI-assisted code to hide malicious payloads inside SVG files. Attackers sent messages from a compromised business account, employing self-addressed emails with hidden BCC recipients and an SVG disguised as a PDF that executed embedded JavaScript to redirect users through a CAPTCHA to a fake login. Microsoft noted the SVG's verbose, business-analytics style — flagged by Security Copilot — as likely produced by an LLM. The activity was limited and blocked, but organizations should scrutinize scriptable image formats and unusual self-addressed messages.

Gen Z Frequently Falls for Phishing Despite Savviness

🔒 A YouGov survey commissioned by Initiative Sicher Handeln finds many younger internet users — the so-called Digital Natives — struggle to spot common phishing signals. Nearly half of Gen Z (49%) do not recognise unsolicited attachments as suspicious, and fewer notice impersonal salutations, spelling errors, or bogus urgency. The online poll (Sept 8–10, 2025; 2,044 German adults) prompts the Stop, Question, Protect appeal.

How Scammers Use AI: Deepfakes, Phishing and Scams

⚠️ Generative AI is enabling scammers to produce highly convincing deepfakes, authentic-looking phishing sites, and automated voice bots that facilitate fraud and impersonation. Kaspersky explains how techniques such as AI-driven catfishing and “pig butchering” scale emotional manipulation, while browser AI agents and automated callers can inadvertently vouch for or even complete fraudulent transactions. The post recommends concrete defenses: verify contacts through separate channels, refuse to share codes or card numbers, request live verification during calls, limit AI agent permissions, and use reliable security tools with link‑checking.

Researchers Expose SVG and PureRAT Phishing Threats

📧 Fortinet FortiGuard Labs and other researchers detailed phishing campaigns that weaponize malicious SVG attachments to initiate downloads of password-protected ZIP archives and Compiled HTML Help (CHM) files. Those CHM files activate loader chains that deliver CountLoader as a distribution stage for Amatera Stealer and the stealthy .NET miner PureMiner, both run filelessly via .NET AOT and memory-loading techniques. Separately, Huntress attributes a Vietnamese-speaking operator using copyright-themed lures that escalate from PXA Stealer to the modular backdoor PureRAT.

SVG Phishing Targets Ukraine with Amatera Stealer, PureMiner

⚠️ FortiGuard Labs observed a targeted phishing campaign impersonating Ukrainian authorities that used malicious SVG attachments to initiate a fileless infection chain. The SVG redirected victims to a password-protected archive containing a CHM that executed a hidden HTA loader (CountLoader). The loader retrieved and ran in-memory payloads, deploying Amatera Stealer for data theft and PureMiner for cryptomining.

Service Generates Intentionally Suspicious-Looking URLs

🔗 A new online tool converts benign web addresses into deliberately sketchy-looking links that mimic phishing or malware landing pages. The creator's example transforms www.schneier.com into a URL with domains like cheap-bitcoin.online and appended query strings that resemble exploit payloads. Security observers note the service highlights how easily visual trust cues can be subverted. It is a timely reminder for defenders and users to verify URLs beyond surface appearance.

PyPI warns users to reset credentials after phishing

🔒 The Python Software Foundation warns of a phishing campaign using a convincing fake PyPI site at pypi-mirror[.]org that asks users to 'verify their email address' and threatens account suspension. If you clicked the link and submitted credentials, change your password immediately, inspect your account's Security History, and report suspicious activity to security@pypi.org. Maintainers should avoid clicking links in unsolicited emails, use password managers that auto-fill only on matching domains, and enable phishing-resistant 2FA such as hardware security keys.

GitHub notifications abused to impersonate Y Combinator

📩 Attackers abused GitHub's notification system to send fake Y Combinator W2026 invitations by creating issues and tagging users so the platform would deliver legitimate-looking emails. The lure promised participation in a purported $15 million funding program and linked to a typo-squatted domain. That site ran obfuscated JavaScript and presented an EIP-712-style wallet verification prompt that, when signed, authorized draining transactions.

ComicForm and SectorJ149 Deploy FormBook via Phishing

🔒 Security researchers at F6 disclosed a phishing campaign by a previously undocumented group dubbed ComicForm that has been active since at least April 2025, targeting organizations in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The attackers use RR archives containing Windows executables masquerading as PDFs to deploy an obfuscated .NET loader and a chain of DLLs culminating in the FormBook stealer. The malware creates scheduled tasks and adds Microsoft Defender exclusions, while some phishing sites mimic domestic document services and capture credentials by posting them to attacker-controlled domains.

AI-powered phishing uses fake CAPTCHA pages to evade

🤖 AI-driven phishing campaigns are increasingly using convincing fake CAPTCHA pages to bypass security filters and trick users into revealing credentials. Trend Micro found these AI-generated pages hosted on developer platforms such as Lovable, Netlify, and Vercel, with activity observed since January and a renewed spike in August. Attackers exploit low-friction hosting, platform credibility, and AI coding assistants to rapidly clone brand-like pages that first present a CAPTCHA, then redirect victims to credential-harvesting forms. Organizations should combine behavioural detection, hosting-provider safeguards, and phishing-resistant authentication to reduce risk.

Lighthouse and Lucid PhaaS Linked to 17,500 Phishing Domains

🔍 Netcraft reports that the PhaaS platforms Lucid and Lighthouse are linked to more than 17,500 phishing domains impersonating 316 brands across 74 countries. Lucid, first documented by PRODAFT in April, supports smishing via Apple iMessage and RCS and is tied to the Chinese-speaking XinXin group. Both services offer customizable templates, real-time victim monitoring, and granular targeting controls (User-Agent, proxy country, configured paths) that restrict access to intended victims. Lighthouse subscriptions run from $88 per week to $1,588 per year, underscoring the commercial scale of these offerings.

Smashing Security 435: Casting Lures and School Hacks

🎭 In episode 435 of Smashing Security, host Graham Cluley and guest Jenny Radcliffe discuss a sophisticated phishing campaign that used fake casting calls to lure Israeli performers, illustrating how flattering, opportunity-based lures can be as persuasive as fear-based tactics. They also cover Check Point’s findings on Iran-linked activity, the UK ICO’s warning about students hacking schools, and lighter cultural items including Endeavour and a local “Catman” story. The episode blends practical security analysis with humour and sponsored segments.

Microsoft and Cloudflare Disrupt RaccoonO365 Phishing

🔒 Microsoft and Cloudflare executed a coordinated takedown of RaccoonO365, a Nigerian-run phishing-as-a-service platform tracked by Microsoft as Storm-2246. The joint effort seized 338 domains and dismantled infrastructure that reportedly generated hundreds of millions of malicious messages and could bypass some MFA protections. Cloudflare removed intermediary Cloudflare Workers shields and deployed phish warning pages, while Microsoft pursued legal action and criminal referrals. The disruption exposed risks to healthcare providers and highlighted cross-border enforcement limits.

RaccoonO365 Phishing Network Disrupted; 338 Domains Seized

🔒 Microsoft and Cloudflare coordinated a court-ordered disruption that seized 338 domains used by RaccoonO365, a phishing-as-a-service accused of harvesting over 5,000 Microsoft 365 credentials across 94 countries since July 2024. The takedown, executed between September 2–8, 2025, removed malicious Workers scripts, placed interstitial phish warnings, and suspended accounts to cut criminal access. RaccoonO365 was marketed by subscription and used legitimate services like Cloudflare Turnstile and Workers to harden phishing pages and evade detection.

Myth Busting: Why 'Innocent Clicks' Don't Exist Today

🔒 Visiting a suspicious link or scanning an unknown QR code can be risky even if you refrain from entering data or interacting further. Modern webpages can trigger drive-by downloads, exploit browser or plugin vulnerabilities via embedded JavaScript, or silently harvest device and browser metadata to build a digital fingerprint. The piece advises keeping devices patched, avoiding unknown links or QR codes, inspecting URLs and using unshortening and reputation services to vet destinations before proceeding.

HMRC Tax Refund Phishing Reports Decline Sharply in 2025

📉 Bridewell's analysis of FOI data shows a marked fall in HMRC-impersonation phishing reports in the first half of 2025, with 41,202 incidents versus 102,226 in 2024 and 152,995 in 2023. Email-based attacks drove most of the decline while SMS phishing rose. The firm warns AI-enhanced social engineering is increasing and advises users to pause, avoid suspicious links and verify communications via official channels.

Webinar: Securing the Modern Web Edge from Browser Threats

🔒 On September 29 at 12:00 PM ET, BleepingComputer and SC Media will host a live webinar featuring browser security experts from Push Security to examine how modern web browsers have become a primary enterprise attack surface. The session will cover malicious and shadow extensions, session token theft, OAuth abuse, and emerging ClickFix and FileFix techniques, plus mitigation strategies. Attendees will learn practical detection and response approaches to protect SaaS sessions, restore visibility at the web edge, and close gaps missed by traditional endpoint and identity controls.

Domain-Based Attacks Will Continue to Wreak Havoc Globally

🔒 Domain-based attacks that exploit DNS and registered domains are rising in frequency and sophistication, driven heavily by AI. Attackers increasingly blend website spoofing, email domain impersonation, subdomain hijacking, DNS tunnelling and automated domain-generation (DGAs) to scale campaigns and evade detection. Many proven protections—Registry Lock, DNSSEC, DNS redundancy and active domain monitoring—remain underused, leaving organizations exposed. Security teams should adopt preemptive scanning, layered DNS controls, strict asset ownership and employee training to limit impact.

Salty2FA Phishing Framework Evades MFA Using Turnstile

🔒 A newly identified phishing-as-a-service called Salty2FA is being used in campaigns that bypass multi-factor authentication by intercepting verification flows and abusing trusted services like Cloudflare Turnstile. Ontinue researchers report the kit uses subdomain rotation, domain-pairing, geo-blocking and dynamic corporate branding to make credential pages appear legitimate. The framework simulates SMS, authenticator apps, push approvals and even hardware-token prompts, routing victims through Turnstile gates to filter automated analysis before harvesting credentials.