Security Awareness: The Latest Scams of 2025
Today, we'll dive into the most recent ways scammers try and reach out to you so you know what to look out for and how to avoid getting phished.
Security Awareness: The Latest Scams of 2025
Scammers are always at large trying to trick you into giving them your personal data. They can get creative in trying to look as convincing as possible. Today, we'll dive into the most recent ways scammers try and reach out to you so you know what to look out for and how to avoid getting phished.
1. SMS Scams
SMS scams have been at large lately. Bad actors try and get you to reach out the them by texting you with an "urgent" matter, trying to get you to reply to the message. Examples of these messages include:
- The attacker poses as the IRS and threatens the recipient with arrest and financial ruin unless they call the number in the text. If the recipient calls, they may be scammed into sending money.
- A message saying that a recipient's vehicle has an unpaid toll invoice with a link to click on to "pay the toll" to avoid late fees. They often ask the recipient to pay by a certain date to push urgency and make them send money via the link.
- The scammer will use company names such as UPS or FedEx with purported links to their site. Usually, an attacker tells the user that they’ve won money or provides a malicious link for tracking packages.
2. AI Scams
With the rise of AI, scammers are taking advantage of new technology and creating AI-powered scams. AI can be used to enhance different types of popular scams and make them more convincing. For example, scammers can use AI to write more convincing and natural-sounding phishing emails and text messages. They can also generate eye-catching images such as fake ads, social media, and even identification documents. There has also been a that trick recipients into thinking that the scammer is someone else, even going as far as to use fake and cloned voices.
3. Scholarship Exams
Scammers can also try to reach you through offering fraudulent scholarships. Often sent by email, they will send messages claiming that you are eligible to receive a scholarship or that your application has been accepted. If they try and make you apply for a scholarship, they usually encourage you to send them money upfront but provide little or nothing in exchange. Some scams can look just like a real scholarship program, but they require you to pay an application fee.
Be aware that scholarship programs would not reach out to you first asking you to apply, often making you apply first before reaching out. If you were not actively seeking a scholarship and had not applied for one, the message is most likely a scam.
How to Avoid These Scams
If you receive a suspicious message, it's best to be aware of how to determine if it is legitimate and avoid getting scammed.
The best way to avoid scams is to not click any hyperlinks from suspicious or unknown numbers/senders. Don't trust messages asking for personal information, especially if they seem to come from legitimate organizations. Be aware that companies would not reach out via text or email for urgent matters.
Be cautious of messages pushing urgency and with unusual requests. Strange phrasing, grammatical mistakes, and unnatural details could be signs of an AI scam.
You should also never respond to these messages. For SMS scams, even something like replying "stop" or "wrong number" can let the scammer know that your number is active, putting you at risk for future attacks.
Trust your instincts: If a message feels suspicious, it mostly likely is. If you receive a message that you suspect to be a phishing message, please forward it to InfoSec@MiamiOH.edu. This allows the information security team to block sites that may be associated with phishing attacks. If you ever feel you may have responded to a fraudulent message or clicked a link in one, please contact IT Help immediately at 513-529-7900.
For more tips about remaining secure online and at Miami, visit MiamiOH.edu/infosec.
