Monday 12 October 2026 · 4-minute read
Hello Champions! We often picture scams as scary messages: pay this fine, or your account is blocked. This week's stories flip that on its head. The scams doing the most damage right now offer people something lovely instead: a job, a bargain, a flattering opportunity. Five things worth knowing, each with something small to do about it.
1. Fake job offers have taken off
BioCatch, a company that helps banks spot fraud, has looked at scam reports from banks in 21 countries. The standout finding: the number of people tricked by fake job offers more than tripled in a year, the biggest jump of any scam type. These scams usually start with a friendly message about easy, flexible work, then ask the victim to pay a fee or move money through their own account. And nine out of ten of these scams now begin on a phone, not a computer.
Talking point: Mention this at your next team catch-up: "If a job offer arrives out of nowhere and asks you to pay anything or move money for them, it's a scam, and real recruiters never do either." Someone in your team, or their family, is probably job hunting right now.
Learn more: BioCatch 2026 Global Scams report
2. The sponsorship that steals your account
Researchers at ESET, a security software company, found criminals sending friendly sponsorship offers to people who make YouTube videos, pretending to be brands like Nike and Spotify. They chat politely, agree on a fee, then invite the creator to a slick partner website. The final step asks them to sign in with their Google account "to verify the channel". Do that, and the criminals take over the whole account, email and all. No threats, no pressure, just flattery.
The lesson works for everyone, not just YouTubers: the sign-in page is the moment that matters.
Talking point: Share this line with your team: "Before you ever type your work or Google password into a website, stop and look at the web address. A real sign-in page belongs to Google or Microsoft or your company, not to the exciting website that sent you there."
Learn more: Help Net Security on the fake sponsorship scam
3. That 70% off deal might be watching you type
Group-IB, a company that investigates online crime, found a network of fake online shops advertised through bargain posts on Facebook and TikTok. The sites copy well-known brands (LEGO and Calvin Klein among them) and have caught shoppers in 66 countries. The unsettling bit: as a victim types their card details, a criminal is watching live, then shows a fake "verify your card" screen to capture the one-time code their bank sends and uses it to approve a payment. A fake order confirmation means the victim may not notice for days.
Try this activity: With the shopping season coming, run a two-minute "spot the fake shop" chat at a team meeting. Ask everyone for their personal rule of thumb, then offer this one: a huge discount found through a social media post that asks for a code from your bank? Walk away, and go to the brand's own website instead.
Learn more: Help Net Security on the fake discount scam
4. The nine tricks scammers use, and one question that beats them
Researchers at Arizona State University in the US studied more than 100,000 scam reports and found the same nine tricks coming up again and again: pretending to be an authority, promising riches, stirring fear, being likeable, rushing you, inventing a cover story, doing you a small favour, holding you to earlier commitments, and claiming everyone else is on board. The researchers' key point: scams target feelings, not intelligence, and happy excitement switches off our attention just as much as panic does. Clever people get caught all the time.
Their best tip is a tiny mindset switch. Instead of asking, "Can I believe this?" ask, "Must I believe this?" and start looking for reasons to doubt.
Try this activity: Pick three of the nine tricks and ask your team to find them in a real scam message someone has received recently (most people have one in their junk folder). Spotting the trick once makes it far easier to spot next time.
Learn more: Arizona State University on how scammers hack your brain
5. We know the better way to sign in. We just don't use it.
Two login technology companies, Yubico and Okta, asked nearly 1,900 technology professionals how they sign in at work. Almost nine in ten knew about passkeys, the newer way to sign in with your fingerprint, face, or device PIN instead of a password, which scammers cannot steal with a fake page. Yet more than four in ten still mainly use a password. The likely reason: about half were handed a password on their first day, and what you start with becomes the habit you keep.
Evidence you can use: When nudging colleagues (or your IT team) towards passkeys, quote this: even technology professionals who know passkeys are safer; still, most type passwords, so waiting for people to switch by themselves does not work. Then set up a passkey on one of your own accounts this week (Google, Apple or Microsoft is a good start) and tell your team how quick it was.
Learn more: Help Net Security on the passkey habit gap
Until next week
One line shared at a team meeting, one passkey set up, one scam spotted in a junk folder. None of it looks like much on its own, but that is how ripples work: someone you nudge this week will nudge someone else next week. Keep going!