A new report from Akamai has found that online scams surpassed traditional phishing attacks for the first time in 2026, nearly doubling from about 3.2 million to approximately 6.4 million year-over-year. The researchers say this signals a “shift toward higher-return fraud tactics focused on direct financial and consumer deception.”
Lead Analysts: Maddhav Grandy, Prabhakaran R and Jeewan Singh Jalal
Lead Analysts: Prabhakaran R and Jeewan Singh Jalal
Phishing remained the most common initial access vector for attackers in the third quarter of 2026, according to a new report from Cisco Talos. Ransomware gangs are using voice phishing attacks to trick employees into granting them a foothold within organizations.
Fraudsters are exploiting the increased public interest in prediction markets such as PolyMarket and Kalshi, according to researchers at Recorded Future. Criminal groups known as “traffers” are providing fellow crooks with “websites, administrative panels, cryptocurrency payment infrastructure, victim-management capabilities, technical support, and promotional guidance” to target users of prediction markets.
More details released on the $6.3 billion Binance cryptocurrency theft reveal that hackers allegedly linked to North Korea posed as recruiters, convincing a Binance employee to download a fake assignment as part of a broader and sophisticated campaign.
