“Giant Company” was one name for a massive scam operation based in Myanmar that successfully stole millions of dollars from Americans. Almost 300 people were arrested in connection with the operation, and nine scam centers were disrupted as part of the crackdown. (Source: Coordinated Takedown of Scam Centers Leads to at Least 276 Arrests; Alleged Managers and Recruiters Charged in San Diego, U.S. Department of Justice)

However, Giant Company is a drop in an ocean of scams. Cybercriminals impersonate your bank, your boss, a delivery company, customer support, or even your family members. They want you to click their links, take their phone calls, open their DMs, respond to their “accidental” texts, and, eventually, send them your hard-earned money. With AI, scammers have extra help making their scams look legitimate, but that’s not the only trick they have up their sleeve.

Homoglyph attacks are one of the more recent techniques to gain popularity among cybercriminals. A homoglyph is a font substitution, a character that looks similar if not identical to another one. For example, a scammer might fake a link or email from Microsoft by using “r” and “n” in sequence to mimic the “m” in “microsoft.” (Source: Reαd carefully: how to spot – and avoid – a homoglyph attack, The Guardian)

• noreply@miсrosoft.com
• noreply@rnicrosoft.com

Can you spot the difference at a quick glance? The second bullet point uses “rn” as a homoglyph for the “m.” The difference is almost undetectable with the right font.

Protect Yourself from Scammers

1. Be cautious of unexpected inbound messages, especially if they seem urgent.
2. Take a few seconds (even just 10 seconds) when reviewing all communication. If something looks a little bit off, then it’s worth a second or a third thought before you act.
3. Look out for urgency, like fear (“you just got hacked!”) and pressure (“you won an expensive grill, claim now!”).

It’s easy to Spot Fraudulent Emails when you know what to look for.

You don’t need to click. You don’t need to respond. A scammer’s worst enemy is your skepticism.