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Latest Online Scams You Need To Know About | Data Breach 101
Oct 6, 2025
Welcome to Data Breach 101, a Tom's Guide limited series dedicated to smarter online decision making when it comes to your personal data. Scams are more sophisticated than ever, and the best way to protect yourself is to stay up-to-date on the most common scams out there today. From fake job offers to deepfake calls to suspicious unpaid toll texts, consider this classroom-style video your no-shame guide to becoming a pro scam spotter.
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You clicked it. You panicked. Maybe you even entered your password. Don't worry, we've all been there
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Today, we're tackling the biggest scams happening right now, and more importantly, how to dodge them like a pro
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Scams are basically emotional landmines. They're designed to make us panic, rush, give us a sense of emergency
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or maybe get way too excited about that opportunity that almost seems too good to be true
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And the kicker? New tech like AI deepfakes make scams even more convincing
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Last year alone, people lost nearly $12.5 billion to scams. That's billion with a B
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But don't worry. After this episode of Data Breach 101, you'll know exactly what to watch for
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So what are the scams you're most likely to run into online these days
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Let's go through them rapid-fire style. You must settle the balance within the next 12 hours to avoid severe penalties
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Pay now with a link to complete payment. This one is good
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It's threatening. It's realistic. But if you look closely, random number, strange URL, nothing too specific
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I'm a recruiter and we're currently looking for a part-time assistant to join the team
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You can work remotely on the job and the job only takes one hour per day
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And you'll get paid up to $1,300. Guarantee you, you reach out to this WhatsApp number
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They'll ask you for your bank information to pay you. Real jobs don't ask for sensitive info like this before you've even interviewed
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Hey, Dad, I was just in an accident and I need you to send me some money
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I will send you a link to pay with. Imagine getting a frantic call from your loved one
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Only it's not them. AI can now fake voices and videos so well, it's scary
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Rule of thumb, if the urgent request feels weird, double check through another channel
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Don't be afraid to sound a little insensitive in order to validate that the loved one calling you
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in an emergency is who they say they are and actually needs what they're asking for
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Send me your email address right now so I can send you payment If you trying to sell products in an open marketplace beware of interested buyers demanding your personal information such as your phone number
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email, or financials. Big Zelle and PayPal scams are rampant these days. Use services that offer
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seller protection or insist on cash in person at the time of the exchange. Stay suspicious and trust
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your gut. Okay, now that we know some of the most common scams to be on the lookout for
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let's play a quick round of we have limited your account due to suspicious activity click here to
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restore access is it real or is it a scam fake hover over the link it doesn't even go to paypal.com
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always check the url before you click you get a dm from your friend they say they're stuck overseas
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They lost their wallet and they need you to wire them $500 ASAP
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A real friend who needs your help? Or a bad actor with a knack for impersonations
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Fake. Most likely. This is a classic scam called a stranded traveler scam
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Even if losing a wallet in Prague is totally something that would happen to your bestie
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always double-check with them using another method. Don't just reply to the DM
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Last question, be sure to sound off on how you're doing so far in the comments
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So, you get a voicemail saying the IRS is filing a lawsuit against you
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and if you don't go back immediately, there will be legal consequences
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Is jail time on the table, or are you being targeted? Fake
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Big time. The IRS and other government agencies do not call you out of the blue threatening lawsuits
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They don't text you, they don't demand payment over the phone, and they definitely don't sound like a robot
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on 2% battery life. Thanks for playing It's a Scam! Before we move on to our scam spotting survival tips we partnered with Jen for this Data Breach 101 series Let hear what their experts have to say about the state of scams today
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Every day, a new type of scam is popping up and likely you are actually hearing some stories from
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your people around you. First of all, whenever you receive anything online, you have to actually
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really stop for a second and think. This is like, I think, the most important one
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And then you have to verify who you're talking to. I think the most interesting one are actually the deepfake scams
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With AI, a lot of data is out there. People tend to share much more
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And when they share much more, basically, the attackers will be compromising that and creating very personalized deepfake scams
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And it's becoming much more difficult to spot them. And it's so much more successful
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We are hearing a lot of cases already where you're getting a call
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In the past, you would get these Hi Mom scam messages, which is like, okay, Mom, something
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happened, my phone broke, and I need you to send me a message right now or bring me money
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or whatever. But right now, we have a more sophisticated version of it, which your son or your daughter
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is calling you on the phone with their voice, completely very realistic
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And it's becoming much more difficult for you to spot whether this is a scam or not
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To be able to actually fight against scams, detection is not enough
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So actually in anti-scam communities, there are three very important pillars. One of them is actually a pillar that is focusing on pre-scam
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So education and awareness plays a very important role here. And the second pillar, of course, is detection, and we talked about it
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But the third pillar is actually support. You might want to have a support to figure out how to actually act when the scam happens
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Or if the scam was a little bit more emotionally damaging, you might want to actually get support
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emotional to recover from it. We are actually trying to identify the vulnerable
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populations, people whose data is breached, so we can actually inform them that the scam can happen
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and at the same time try to actually delete their data as much as possible so the scam doesn happen to them People will need to be really vigilant Try to always think a couple times before they make any online decisions
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And be well aware of scams and try to protect themselves as much as possible
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Layla, thank you for those awesome tips. Okay, how do you actually spot a scam when it lands in your inbox or your texts
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You just need to remember one word. slams. S, sender. Check who's really sending that message. Scam emails often come from weird
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addresses like this one or random Gmail accounts pretending to be a company. L, links. Hover before
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you click. If the link looks off like not an official website, it's spelled weird or filled
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with random numbers, do not touch it. A, attachments. Be super suspicious of unexpected attachments
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Even if they look harmless like PDFs, they could be hiding malware
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M, message. Read the message carefully. Typos, bad grammar, super dramatic urgency like act now or lose everything
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Scammers love that energy. S, suspicious elements. This is your catch-all. Anything that just feels off
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Like wrong logos, generic greetings like dear customer, fake urgency, weird payment requests
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Trust your gut. If something slams you in the face, slow down
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It just might be a scam trying to slip past you. Even if you spot all of the red flags
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know what to look out for, and keep your safety tools in mind, mistakes will still happen
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Scammers are getting smarter every single day. So if you ever think you might've fallen for one
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don't panic. And episode two of Data Breach 101 will go over your game plan of what to do
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if you got scammed. If you found this video helpful, subscribe, and let's help each other out in the comments. Tell us about the scams you've
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been seeing online lately. That does it for me, but just remember, stay smart, stay skeptical
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and stay tuned
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