Researchers at Barracuda have identified CypherLoc, a clever web-based scam that locks internet browsers and then tricks people into calling fraudulent technical support lines. Since the beginning of 2026 the kit has been used in around 2.8 million attacks worldwide. The deception represents a new evolution in so-called scareware, moving away from installing obvious harmful software and instead operating entirely inside the victim's web browser. It relies on fear and confusion rather than tra
scareware (2)
Cybersecurity researchers have unmasked a novel ad fraud scheme that has been found to leverage search engine poisoning (SEO) techniques and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content to push deceptive news stories into Google's Discover feed and trick users into enabling persistent browser notifications that lead to scareware and financial scams.[1]
The campaign, which has been found to target the personalized content feeds of Android and Chrome users, has been codenamed Pushpaganda by HUMA
