// #fraud
2 articles
CallPhantom: 28 Fake Android Apps with 7.3M Play Store Downloads Charged for Fabricated Call Data
ESET researchers have identified 28 Android applications — collectively downloaded 7.3 million times from the Google Play Store — that charged users for access to fabricated call history, SMS logs, and WhatsApp message records that the apps could not actually retrieve. The CodedCallPhantom campaign, active primarily in India and South-East Asia, combines financial fraud (charging for non-existent data) with personal data collection used for follow-on targeting.
FTC: Americans Lost $2.1 Billion to Social Media Scams in 2025 — AI-Enhanced Fraud Doubles Investment Losses
The US Federal Trade Commission's annual consumer fraud report records $2.1 billion in social media scam losses in 2025, a 47% increase from 2024 driven by AI-generated deepfake impersonations, synthetic romance fraud accounts, and AI-personalised investment scam targeting. Investment scams account for 53% of losses at $1.1 billion. The report carries compliance implications for organisations under FTC Section 5 and EU AI Act Article 50 transparency obligations.