Scams this month
From checks . A snapshot, not a live feed.Worldwide: about the same as last week
At a glance: New York
Things people checked
4in 10
were scams
Compared with the US overall
About average
How serious the scams are, not how many.
How the scams worked, step by step
Each percentage is a share of all the scam tactics we spotted. Pick a step to see what to watch for.
When a scam first reaches you
- 14%
Fake versions of real brands
Brand Impersonation
Type the company's web address yourself instead of following a link or ad.
How to spot it: Fake versions of real brands - 11%
Phishing emails
Phishing Email
Check who really sent it, then go to the site from your own bookmark, not the email.
How to spot it: Phishing emails - 10%
Scam calls
Vishing
Hang up and call back on a number you already trust.
How to spot it: Scam calls
Across the US
How serious scams were in each state, compared with the US overall.
- Alaska: about average
- Maine: about average
- Wisconsin: more serious
- Vermont: not enough checks yet
- New Hampshire: more serious
- Washington: about average
- Idaho: about average
- Montana: not enough checks yet
- North Dakota: not enough checks yet
- Minnesota: milder
- Illinois: about average
- Michigan: about average
- New York: about average
- Massachusetts: milder
- Oregon: milder
- Nevada: more serious
- Wyoming: not enough checks yet
- South Dakota: not enough checks yet
- Iowa: about average
- Indiana: about average
- Ohio: milder
- Pennsylvania: about average
- New Jersey: about average
- Connecticut: milder
- Rhode Island: about average
- California: about average
- Utah: more serious
- Colorado: more serious
- Nebraska: milder
- Missouri: about average
- Kentucky: about average
- West Virginia: not enough checks yet
- Virginia: more serious
- Maryland: about average
- Delaware: about average
- Arizona: about average
- New Mexico: about average
- Kansas: about average
- Arkansas: milder
- Tennessee: more serious
- North Carolina: milder
- South Carolina: about average
- District of Columbia: about average
- Oklahoma: more serious
- Louisiana: more serious
- Mississippi: more serious
- Alabama: milder
- Georgia: about average
- Hawaii: about average
- Texas: more serious
- Florida: about average
States are shaded milder, about average or more serious, compared with the US overall. Use the arrow keys to move between states.
How scams reached people, and who they pretended to be
How scams reached people, out of 100
They pretend to be
Companies, most copied first
Apple
"Your Apple ID is locked" or "iCloud storage full"
Google
A "new sign-in" security alert with a link to check your account
PayPal
An invoice for something you never bought, with a number to call
Geek Squad
An auto-renewal charge, with a number to call to cancel it
Microsoft
A virus warning pop-up that tells you to call support
Amazon
A call about an order or refund you didn't make
Famous names, often in fake giveaways and investment ads · worldwide
- MrBeast
- Donald Trump
- Elon Musk
All 42 scam tactics we saw worldwide
Picked you out
5% of tacticsReached you
49% of tacticsWon your trust
16% of tacticsGot in
18% of tacticsTook over
7% of tacticsStayed in
1% of tacticsCashed out
4% of tactics
Urgent + money or a code = stop and check.
Not sure about a message, link or call?
Check it with ZeroBased on things people checked with Zero. We only describe a place once it has at least 50 checks, and we show percentages, never totals.