Moonlock by MacPaw

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.

Researchers discovered hundreds of fake ads running on the verified, legitimate HBO Max Reddit account directing users to malware-serving sites. When they pulled the string to see what was going on, they found a large-scale cybercriminal operation. Dubbed PasteSwitch, this operation impersonated Claude, Codex, Alfred, HBO Max, Homebrew, GitHub, utility, and wallet pages. It also posed as several well-known brands.

There are many kinds of Mac apps. Most, if not all, interact with your data in some way. Unfortunately, this includes shady data-tracking apps. There are also apps that are simply not well designed or are flawed. And then there are straight-up malicious Mac apps used by cybercriminals. On the plus side, Apple recently released a new security update that patches more than a dozen vulnerabilities related to apps and how they access your data.

If you subscribe to Spotify to listen to your favorite music ad-free, you may be familiar with reminders to renew your subscription or update your payment information via email. This email approach is where Spotify scams often take place. Is Spotify a scam? No. But in a Spotify scam, fraudsters may trick users into opening an email that appears to be from Spotify so that they click on a malicious link and enter their payment details and/or login credentials. Is Spotify legit? Yes.

In the past months, the speed of evolution of cybersecurity AI agents has become evident and concerning. From Meta to OpenAI and Anthropic, major AI companies have all recently publicly admitted that their AI agents have hacked other companies, escaped sandboxes, tried to cover up their tracks, and manipulated cloud and credentials.

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.

Dating apps like Hinge are no stranger to romance scams. In fact, they are an easy means for cybercriminals to find potential targets. With AI tools so readily available, it is easier than ever for fraudsters to trick victims with fake photos or generated images of their likeness for fraudulent purposes. Fortunately, some basic awareness of the methods they use could save you from engaging with scammers on Hinge.

North Korean hackers are back, targeting Mac users with fake malicious apps. These apps, linked to the Contagious Interview threat campaign, breach your Mac with the OtterCookie infostealer if installed. North Korean “Contagious Interview” hackers pose as fake recruiters and lure their targets with promises of employment. The jobs, however, are fake. This new report links lure websites targeting Web3 and blockchain developers, accounting professionals, and other sectors.

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.

The world of online scams has changed. Gone are the days of dealing with isolated, low-level scammers manually sending emails and calling you up on the phone. Instead, we are dealing with a highly sophisticated, tech-resourceful, industrialized cybercriminal scamming sector. And it’s generating millions of dollars every year. Many scams may seem low-value, but they are no joke.