The article describes a common fraud pattern where scammers impersonate police, government officials, or other trusted authorities over the phone to pressure victims into paying via a Bitcoin/crypto ATM. The victim is told their money is at risk, instructed to withdraw cash, and then directed to scan a QR code at a crypto ATM that sends funds to the criminal’s wallet. It also warns that these transactions are typically irreversible and recovery scams may follow.
Mirage safely runs attacks like this one against your own team, so you find out what happens before a real adversary does.
If anyone on the phone ever tells you to pay at a Bitcoin ATM, that’s not urgent security, that’s a scam. The call sounds official: 'Your identity is being used for crime, your funds are at risk.' They keep you on the line, tell you to withdraw cash, go to a specific Bitcoin ATM, then scan a QR code they text you. Here’s the trick: that QR code tells the ATM to send your cash straight into their crypto wallet. Once it’s gone, it’s almost impossible to reverse, and they may even call back later with a fake 'recovery' offer. Remember this one rule: if anyone ever tells you to pay or move money using a Bitcoin or crypto ATM, hang up immediately and call the real organization using their official number.
This article describes real election-themed scams that use fake voter-support messages, political donation appeals, survey prizes, official-looking penalty notices, and bogus campaign merchandise. The scams pressure voters to click fraudulent links, share personal or payment information, download…
Microsoft says it uncovered and disrupted an underground marketplace (“YAM Store”) that sold phishing kits and access to cloud accounts, enabling massive global phishing and SMS scam campaigns. The operation allegedly supported over a billion scam messages since January 2026 and targeted 75,000+…
A real campaign is targeting logistics firms with fake Google Play pages impersonating well-known logistics brands to trick employees into installing an Android spyware app. Once installed, the spyware can steal newly received SMS messages (including one-time passcodes) and enable call forwarding,…
This weekly roundup describes several real social-engineering campaigns, including fake government-payment posts that compromised thousands of Bluesky accounts and mobile scams disguised as community activities. It also documents AI-generated bank-helpdesk calls that persuaded victims to install an…
This bulletin describes multiple real-world scams where attackers make fake pages and messages look like routine, trusted experiences (search answers, Google login pop-ups, “giveaways,” and official-sounding calls). Examples include a fake Claude Max giveaway using a convincing fake Google sign-in…
Following a Revolut data breach, scammers sent text messages that appeared to come from the same message thread as legitimate Revolut texts. The texts pushed victims to click a link for a fake identity “liveness check,” request camera access, and then capture passwords, information that could be…
