A follower recently brought this so called collaboration offer to my attention, and it is a textbook example of the Instagram brand ambassador scam. The message arrives looking friendly and polished, with someone claiming to be the Director of Collaboration at BfitAmazing. The recipient is called “darling,” praised enthusiastically, and invited to join the "brand family” as an ambassador for a London based activewear label.

For years, online scams were dismissed as small time fraud, few emails, a few fake profiles and a few unlucky victims. What exists today is a global scam economy structured, financed, technologically assisted, and increasingly protected by weak regulation, corruption, and geopolitical blind spots.

Multi factor authentication has long been presented as the gold standard of account security, yet criminal groups have proven it is not a final barrier. Cyber Criminals have developed a diverse set of methods designed to exploit users, corporate processes, and overlooked technical gaps. These methods demonstrate MFA is only as strong as the environment around it. 

A Facebook follower recently brought this Facebook Marketplace scam to my attention, and it highlights how far criminals will go to exploit the trust people place in familiar platforms. The individual received what looked like a formal notice from Facebook claiming a buyer had already paid several hundred dollars for an item and the money was sitting in a pending state.

Messaging platforms have become core to modern digital life: social contact, business coordination, media sharing, document exchange, even financial-transaction setup. Among them, Xchat is currently being marketed by Elon as “the next best thing” promising greater freedom, fewer restrictions, easier onboarding, and a more open file-sharing environment.

Comment sections across social platforms have quietly evolved into high-yield hunting grounds for scammers. What once were simple reactions, quick questions, or casual exchanges now function as entry points into elaborate criminal funnels. The scammers behind these comments operate under a variety of guises, and each form has a distinct motive.

Rebate-based text scams are circulating widely again, and they are strategically crafted and geo-targeted to follow current local trends. The premise is simple and tempting: unexpected money is waiting, and all you need to do is verify a few details.

The surge of online pet sales has opened a new door for organized scam operations targeting families looking for puppies, kittens, and specialty household pets. In recent years, these scams have become more refined, more convincing, and harder to trace. At the center of many of these operations are individuals or groups posing as reputable breeders.

normalization

I recently read an article by The White Hatter, a blogger who focuses on cyber safety for youth. Their article discussed how new age assurance algorithms could create a surge in phishing scams aimed at teenagers. The examples were compelling, but the moment I finished reading, I began considering the bigger picture. 

Soaring food prices globally have created a perfect storm for online scammers. As consumers search for deals, bargains, and affordable sources of essential products, fraudsters exploit these pressures by offering fraudulent promotions designed to steal your money.