Scammers Timing Text Scams for Maximum Impact

11:02 AM ETDeveloping

Technology Desk

In Short: Scammers are employing strategic timing and targeted methods to maximize the effectiveness of their scams, according to new research from cybersecurity company Malwarebytes.

New research from Malwarebytes indicates that scammers are becoming more strategic about when and how they contact potential victims, with job scams often arriving via email and tech support scams through phone calls.

Scammers are timing their campaigns to coincide with busy periods, with scam text volume peaking around noon and climbing as the week progresses. This suggests a deliberate approach rather than random messaging.

The company found that scam texts targeting Americans reached their highest volume around noon, and by Friday, people were receiving roughly 50% more fraudulent texts than at the beginning of the week.

The tactics include using publicly available information and AI to create convincing and emotionally impactful content, as seen in recent online extortion schemes that leverage social media and group texts.

What's still developing

That tells me scammers are paying attention to more than what they send you.
Of course, a text arriving at noon does not automatically mean somebody is trying to scam you.
His likeness appeared in about 30% of impersonation scams observed by the company.
If your phone seems to light up with suspicious texts right when your day gets busy, you may not be imagining it.
And the timing is only part of the strategy, because the type of scam often determines exactly where they try to reach you.
Reported tactics by online extortionists include threats to post or send explicit imagery of employees in places online designed to be seen by the organization and its customers, such as social media platforms or, as in the scenario reported in the WSJ, by group text.
Here are the questions every organization should be asking today: AI is supercharging old scams into something faster, more convincing, and more invasive.
The scheme was sophisticated, leveraging publicly available social media photos and AI tools to fabricate convincing pornographic content and to map out family relationships for maximum emotional impact.

Sources

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