Norton Consumer Cyber Safety Pulse Report: Deception Scams On the Rise

Cybercriminals are Capitalizing on Global Events with Deepfakes and Crypto Scams to Mislead Consumers

TEMPE, Ariz., April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NortonLifeLock's global research team, Norton Labs, today published its quarterly Consumer Cyber Safety Pulse Report sharing the top consumer cybersecurity insights and takeaways from January through March 2022, including how cybercriminals are deceiving victims with deepfakes and crypto scams and accessing their financial or personal information.

Deepfakes are being utilized by bad actors to scam consumers and spread disinformation. The Norton Labs team has spotted deepfakes used to create fake social media profiles, fuel charity scams and other fraudulent ploys, and spread propaganda as part of the ongoing war in Ukraine, in addition to deepfakes used simply to make funny videos.

Crypto scams are also trending as cryptocurrency becomes more widely adopted. Norton Labs tracked over $29 million in bitcoin stolen in 2021 and expects this figure to continue to rise in 2022 as the crypto market's value increases and scammers capitalize on world events, including the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine to steal donations from philanthropic crypto investors. New threats emerge as cybercriminals combine tactics. By presenting realistic disinformation via deepfakes in a phishing scam that collects payment in cryptocurrency, a consumer would have little to no recourse.

"Scammers are always evolving their tactics to make their attacks look more believable," says Darren Shou, head of technology, NortonLifeLock. "Cybercriminals are masters at profiting from deception, so it's crucial for consumers to be aware of the latest scams and to critically analyze anything suspicious they encounter on the internet, whether on social media or in their inbox. We are here to help consumers navigate a changing digital world where you can't always believe what you are seeing."

To help consumers keep their social media accounts safer, NortonLifeLock recently introduced Social Media Monitoring, a new feature that notifies customers about potentially risky links, including scam or hacking attempts, phishing attempts, or malware links in their account feed.¹

From January through March 2022, Norton thwarted over 1 billion threats, or around 11 million threats per day. Phishing attempts were one of the most common threats during this time period, with 16.3 million blocked, highlighting a high volume in attempts to trick consumers. Norton also blocked:

• 78.9 million file threats
• 227 thousand mobile threats
• 86 thousand ransomware attacks

For more information and Cyber Safety guidance, visit the Norton Internet Security Center.

NortonLifeLock Inc. (NASDAQ: NLOK) is a global leader in consumer Cyber Safety, protecting and empowering people to live their digital lives safely. We are the consumer's trusted ally in an increasingly complex and connected world. Learn more about how we're transforming Cyber Safety at www.NortonLifeLock.com. 

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¹ Does not include monitoring of chats or direct messages.

SOURCE NortonLifeLock Inc.