There are some good insights in Bitdefender’s new “Global Scam Intelligence Report 2026”.
– Young people are now twice as likely to fall for scams as older generations (20% vs 9.7%). That’s because they spend more time on social media platforms where scammers concentrate their efforts.
– Call timing data shows peak scam activity Tuesday through Thursday, 70-80% declines on Sundays, and holiday patterns that mirror those of legitimate corporations. These are organized operations with shifts and schedules.
– The most effective attacks don’t come from strangers. They come from compromised accounts of friends and family, from brands people recognize, from platforms they use daily.
– Fraudsters are capitalizing on news cycles almost instantly. When global events unfolded – such as the deaths of Pope Francis and Diego Jota – scam campaigns followed.
– 1 in 20 of SMS messages analyzed exhibit characteristics consistent with scam infrastructure or coordinated fraud.
