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Articles by Anina Otaibi
The 12 Best Cloud Contact Center Platforms for Midsize and Enterprise Teams
Independent. Human-Curated. Established 2007. Editorial Board· 16 min read Technology and cybersecurity writer since 2020 · bylines at Datamation and Enterprise Storage Forum.
How to spot a Dropbox phishing email when everything looks real
Phishing attacks are on the rise, with the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) reporting a 10% increase and more than 425,000 attacks recorded in June of 2026 alone. And Dropbox phishing emails are just one way attackers target their victims. With the familiar blue box branding, many Dropbox phishing emails look like legitimate notifications or account alerts, until you click on a link and get your Dropbox account stolen. So, how can you distinguish a genuine email from a Dropbox scam?
Why Trust Wallet scams keep working: Tactics, red flags, and defenses
In the world of cryptocurrency, your digital assets are only as safe as the tool you use to store them. There are many options when it comes to crypto wallets, including Trust Wallet, a free, self-custody crypto wallet. Unfortunately, scams targeting Trust Wallet are a valid concern for users. In December of 2025, hackers breached the Trust Wallet Chrome extension to access wallets, leading to a loss of around $7 million.
Are there scams on Zillow? Types, red flags, and reporting options
Over the past 5 years, Americans have reported close to 65,000 online rental scams to the FTC, with cumulative losses of around $65 million. But such scams aren’t limited to shady posts on social media. In fact, even popular, legitimate platforms aren’t safe from scams, including industry giants like Zillow. Zillow is an online real estate marketplace that connects landlords and agents with prospective renters and buyers. Unfortunately, its growing popularity has made it a target for scammers.
Is Vinted legit? Why so many Vinted scams start with leaving the app
Vinted continues to be one of the fastest-growing online markets for secondhand goods. In 2025 alone, it grew by 47% year over year, generating over $1 billion in annual revenue. But putting all the financial achievements aside, is Vinted legit? And are there scams on Vinted? In this guide, we’ll examine Vinted scams, how they work, and ways to use the platform safely. Vinted is a legitimate online secondhand market founded in 2008 in Lithuania.
How Robinhood scams can lead to account takeovers and stolen money
Since 2013, the commission-free investing platform Robinhood has grown from a brokerage mobile app to a publicly traded company with a market cap of $97.01 billion at the time of this writing. Unfortunately, the platform’s large user base makes Robinhood scams a growing concern. Scams on Robinhood take advantage of people’s trust in the well-known investing platform, impersonating its branding and name to steal logins, verification codes, and funds.
The Depop scams no one warns you about until it’s too late
As one of the first apps to directly connect secondhand item sellers to buyers, Depop now has over 56 million registered users worldwide and close to 600,000 daily new listings. But wherever people are, scams follow. So, is Depop legit? And how can you protect yourself from scammers while using the platform? From fake payment messages to dishonest buyers and sellers, we’ll be covering some of the most common Depop scams and how to spot them. Depop is a perfectly legitimate online resale market.
The Upwork scams nobody talks about until it’s too late
Upwork continues to be one of the world’s largest freelancer marketplaces online, with more than 18 million professionals and 784,000 clients as of Q1 2026. But when it comes to online platforms, there’s no such thing as safety in numbers, as this scale makes Upwork highly attractive to fraudsters looking for their next victim. So, is Upwork legit? And how can you protect yourself from Upwork fraud? Let’s take a look.
9 tricks behind every Bumble scam that can start with a single photo
Is Bumble safe to use? Bumble is safe to use thanks to its built-in protections and verifications, but you should still watch for impersonations and bots. What percentage of Bumble profiles are fake? It’s estimated that around 10% of all online dating profiles are fake, but this isn’t exclusive to Bumble. Can a verified Bumble profile still be a scam? Yes. Verification only confirms identity or photo checks, but it can’t confirm the person’s intentions or prevent scams.
Is CCSPayment a scam or legit? What CCS Offices notices really mean
Why did I get a letter or text from CCSPayment? CCS may be collecting a debt assigned to you by a creditor, insurer, toll agency, or utility provider. Can a CCSPayment legally text or email me? Yes, debt collectors have the right to contact you via text or email to notify you of standing debts or overdue payments. What happens if I ignore a suspicious CCSPayment message? Legitimate CCS notices typically have multiple notice periods and can be verified online through CCSPayment.com.
Guests, hosts, and the Airbnb scams that target both
With over 5 million hosts and 2.5 billion guest arrivals in 2025, Airbnb is one of the most widely used online marketplaces for hosting and short-term rentals. However, this large-scale operation creates countless opportunities for scammers, from fake listings and phishing attempts to chargeback scams.
What an Apple scam actually looks like, from fake emails and texts to calls
Fraudulent attempts to impersonate Apple or its support agents have become a popular way for scammers to steal users’ financial and personal information. Apple scams are particularly popular among online criminals because the Apple ecosystem is among the most trusted, with many built-in security features.
Black Friday scams: 11 ways scammers trick online shoppers
Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer some of the best deals and shopping opportunities, whether it’s online or in person. But the promise of huge savings is often exploited by criminals looking to scam shoppers out of their money or credit card information. In Europe, Visa blocked 40% more suspected fraud attempts on Black Friday than the weekend before it.
AnyDesk scams: How fraudsters turn legitimate software into a scam
AnyDesk is a piece of remote-access software that lets you use a device from anywhere, but with this useful functionality comes the risk of malicious hackers exploiting it. According to the 2025 InsurSec report, remote access attacks made up 80% of all ransomware incidents. So, how do you keep yourself safe from an AnyDesk scam when the software itself isn’t malware? In this report, we’ll take a look.
Is OfferUp legit? How to spot 15 OfferUp scams and fake buyers
Imagine finding your dream laptop listed on OfferUp, lightly used and in excellent condition, but you end up getting scammed for hundreds of dollars instead. If something like this has ever happened to you, you’re not alone. In 2025, the FTC received over 3 million fraud reports totaling $15.9 billion in reported consumer losses. So, before buying or selling something on OfferUp, how do you make sure you don’t end up as the next person filing a fraud report?
Is AliExpress safe? Common scams, safety tips and buyer protection
AliExpress is one of the largest online retailers today, selling a wide variety of goods, from clothing and home goods to electronics, at highly affordable prices. But none of this matters if the website itself can’t be trusted. In this guide, we’ll break down whether AliExpress is a legitimate site and how to spot and avoid scams on the site. AliExpress is a long-standing and perfectly legitimate online retailer. It is not a scam operation.
Is that Evite real or a scam? How to spot the invitation red flags
In 2025, Americans lost $15.9 billion to scams, up from $12.5 billion in 2024, according to the FTC. From all reported scams, phishing and imposter scams accounted for $3.5 billion of the total losses. Since early 2026, the FTC has also noted a spike in reports of spoofed Evite emails and text messages, often urging the user to enter their email and password in order to “Accept” the invitation. So, how do you spot fake invites before clicking?
Sugar daddy and sugar baby scams: Signs, tactics, and recovery steps
Are sugar daddies real, or is it usually a scam? Some sugar daddy/baby arrangements are genuine, but unsolicited offers involving generous gifts and allowances are strong scam indicators. Can you get your money back after a sugar daddy scam? Your chances of recovery will depend on the payment method and how quickly you reported it. Contact your bank or payment platform immediately and dispute the transaction. Gift cards and crypto are never reversible.
How to spot an Apple ID scam and what to do if you fall for one
Your Apple Account, previously your Apple ID, controls access to your iCloud, purchases, devices, passwords, and personal data. This makes your Apple ID an incredibly valuable target for scammers and hackers, who use phishing schemes and social engineering to attempt to take over your account. In this guide, we’ll explain how to recognize a scam that targets your Apple ID, how to spot fake Apple support alerts, and what to do if you’re being targeted.
Gift card scams: 12 scheme types, red flags, and prevention tips
In the rapidly changing landscape of online threats, gift card scams continue to be one of the costliest forms of payment fraud. In 2024, the FTC received over 40,000 fraud reports involving gift cards, with losses upward of $212 million. Even worse, scammers are getting creative, employing AI in their schemes to trick more and more people. In this guide, we’ll explain the most common types of gift card scams and how to avoid them.
12 Tinder scams: Warning signs, scam types, and what victims should do
There were 23,159 recorded romance fraud complaints reported in the FBI’s 2025 IC3 Annual Report, totaling over $929 million in losses to victims. These numbers may seem shocking, but scammers frequently use dedicated dating apps like Tinder to build trust with their victims through romance scams before distributing malware or luring them into sending money.
How to spot a FedEx scam and what to do if you’ve already clicked
You receive a text from FedEx, but instead of confirming the delivery of your package, it notifies you that your address is incomplete or that you have unpaid fees on your account. To top it off, the message is accompanied by a suspicious-looking link. If you click, you’ve just fallen for a FedEx scam. Scammers pose as FedEx to trick you into sharing payment details, passwords, or other personal info. It usually starts with a fake delivery text or email made to look official.
Facebook scams: How to recognize them before it’s too late
As one of the largest social media platforms, Facebook is a scammer’s goldmine, giving attackers access to billions of potential targets. In 2025, 30% of the people reporting scams said it started on social media, with combined losses reaching $2.1 billion. The prevalence of scams on social media might tempt some users to delete their Facebook accounts altogether. But don’t make any major decisions yet. Learning the signs of a scam is more important than ever.
Apple Pay scams: how to spot them and what to do if you’re scammed
Apple Pay is one of the most flexible and secure payment methods you can use for online and in-person purchases in lieu of credit cards. But just because it has built-in fraud warnings doesn’t mean scammers can’t exploit a loophole here or there. Scammers who target your Apple Pay will make sure you’re unable to get your money back. So spotting the warning signs early is your best bet.
What it is, how it works, and how to detect it
The standard approach of most antivirus tools is to identify malware by comparing files to a database of hundreds of thousands of known threats. Consequently, as soon as a new piece of malware is identified by cybersecurity professionals, it gets added to the list and can be filtered out. But what happens if the malware can continuously disguise itself and change its code to evade detection? This sophisticated threat is what’s known as polymorphic malware.
Is Tor Browser safe to use and truly anonymous?
Is Tor Browser safe to use without a VPN? You can certainly use Tor without a VPN, as long as you stick to known and trustworthy websites. However, if you’re venturing out or visiting sites where Tor traffic isn’t welcome, you might want to consider pairing it with a VPN. Does using a VPN make Tor Browser safer? When properly configured, using a VPN with Tor can help keep you safe from compromised entry or exit nodes in the Tor network. Can you safely browse the dark web with Tor Browser?
Is my Mac infected?
While Macs are known for having some of the best security features straight out of the box, the idea that they are fully immune to malware infection is a myth. Strange behavior could be due to user error or a sophisticated method of attack, but it’s important to recognize the signs of your Mac being infected with malware as soon as possible. In this article, we cover how to tell if your Mac is infected and what to do about it.
What is ClickFix malware, and how do you remove it from a Mac?
Some of the most dangerous cyber attacks aren’t highly sophisticated or particularly powerful. Instead, they target user psychology through social engineering, tricking you into performing an action that opens up your device to threats like malware. ClickFix attacks are a recent example of such tricks. Attackers are now utilizing a variety of ClickFix social engineering techniques to slip malware past modern security tools. But what are ClickFix attacks? And what makes them so dangerous?
The Firefox password manager mistakes you’re probably making-and the fixes Original
Having strong passwords is the single most important security measure you can take. And to keep your passwords long and hard to guess by malicious actors, you need a reliable password manager to help you keep track. After all, you’ll need a different password for every website or app you use to minimize risks. You might’ve noticed Firefox prompting you to save your password for later whenever you log into a site. Firefox's built-in password manager feature is free and easy to use.
These apps were draining my phone’s battery without me even knowing
A low phone battery always seems to be a problem, whether your phone is a couple of years old or brand new. That’s because, more often than not, the secret battery killers are all the apps running in the background of your phone. But you don't have to keep struggling with a drained phone battery.
I stopped paying for antivirus after I learned this about these 5 Windows Security features
For years, I thought that using third-party antivirus software was non-negotiable. I went back and forth a lot between paying for one and opting for the free version, hoping to find the perfect one for me. And while they did keep my device safe, they were very annoying! They sent multiple pop-ups and notifications throughout the day, slowed down my computer to a crawl during scheduled scans, and constantly wanted to upsell me on a different product.
What is cookie theft?
Think about the last time you opened a website and found yourself already logged in. Or maybe you recently revisited a site and discovered that your preferences were still there, days or even weeks later. This happens thanks to browser cookies. But even a helpful feature like cookies can be exploited by bad actors. This is the case with cookie theft. Cookies are simple identification tokens that let a website recognize you when you visit it for the second time.
How to remove calendar virus from iPhone and Mac
The Calendar app on your iPhone is one of the most peaceful and quietest apps on your device. You record an event — an upcoming task or a loved one’s birthday — and your calendar sends you a quick reminder to keep track of it at the right time. But what happens when those push notifications become insistent? Or what if they start sending you reminders to “quickly download” a piece of software or sign up for a free trial?
How to remove a redirect virus from your browser quickly
When you hear the term “redirect virus,” it’s easy to imagine what it does. If, every time you go to look something up on your browser, you find yourself mysteriously redirected to a different website, a redirect virus could be to blame. In some cases, a query you typed into Google or DuckDuckGo will be redirected to Bing, Yahoo, or another search engine instead. Don’t worry, you’re not changing your browser settings or default search engine in your sleep.
I thought malware was making my laptop hot-it was actually something else
I couldn’t recall clicking on a malicious link or downloading a suspicious file, so when my antivirus scan came back clean, I began considering other possibilities. If it wasn’t malware or spyware, then maybe there’s an underlying issue with the hardware or software of my laptop; hopefully, an easy fix! 6 Defective fan Your laptop overheating could be a hardware problem. Your device relies on one or more internal fans to regulate the temperature of its components.
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