Beware the Evolving Scam Tactics: Scotty's Cybersecurity Insights

All right, listen up—Scotty here. I know scams like I know my router password, and that baby’s 28 characters long with special symbols. Now, let’s plug into what’s been happening in Scam Land over the past few days. Spoiler alert: it’s been wild.

Just yesterday, June 3rd, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of 32-year-old Dmitri Reznikov, a name you’ll want to remember if you ever ran into fake crypto wallets on Telegram or Discord. This guy ran a whole operation out of Eastern Europe, pushing fake investment platforms that promised NFTs that “absolutely would skyrocket overnight.” Instead, investors got zip. Oh—and he was also behind a phishing ring targeting Coinbase users with login prompts that looked painfully legit. If you clicked, he had you. Always check the URL, folks. If it ain't coinbase dot com, it ain’t your friend.

Meanwhile, over in Los Angeles, a group pretending to be from the IRS—classic move—were busted just last Friday. They’d spoof caller IDs and even had AI voices replicating official IRS agents. Deepfake voices now? We’re there. It’s 2025, and anyone can be anyone… for the price of a decent voice model. Some victims were told they owed taxes from 2020 pandemic relief funds, and if they didn't pay immediately via Apple gift cards—yeah, still happening—they’d be arrested. Rule one: No government is getting you to Venmo them your freedom.

Now let’s talk fake job offers. This one stings, people. Scammers recently started using LinkedIn—yes, your precious network—to offer roles at major names like SpaceX and Tencent. One guy, Marcus Liu—recent grad from Chicago—got offered a “remote developer role” at what he thought was Amazon Web Services. They sent him onboarding docs, even ran a fake orientation. You know when they finally asked for sensitive info to “set up payroll”? He was toast. Always verify the company domain before signing anything. No “hr-aws-careerjobs dot net” is offering you six figures.

And let me hit you with one more, because it’s spicy. There’s a partnership scam going around where social media influencers are getting emails about “collaboration deals” with brands like Rolex and Louis Vuitton. Email looks slick, attachment has the brief, you open it—and boom: info stealer malware scripts inject into your system. If it’s a gig too good to be true and they want you to download a ZIP file, close that tab like it's your ex texting you “sup?”.

Bottom line? Scammers are evolving. They’ve got AI, deepfakes, Web3 lingo, and they’re lurking in your inbox right now. Keep software updated, use two-factor authentication that isn't SMS, and question everything with a digital sniff test. If your gut says “this is sketch”—trust it.

That's your quick and dirty download from Scam HQ today. I’m Scotty, reminding you: in cyberspace, trust should be earned—never downloaded. Stay safe, stay smart, and don’t get got.