Online fraud Stories

Kiwi Stories

Online fraud stories

New Zealanders hit by scams during big life events

Middle-aged New Zealanders are increasingly exposed as scammers target house moves, job searches and big purchases, research shows.

By Mark Tarre • 5 min read • Last week

Global Stories

Online fraud stories

Malware

Akamai warns commerce is top target for AI bot attacks

Nearly half of commerce traffic across Akamai's network came from AI bots by late 2025, raising fraud and DDoS risks for retailers.

By Sean Mitchell • 4 min read • Today

Unified Communications

Vonage wins a Merit Award for Identity Insights API

Rising fraud pressure is boosting demand for mobile-network identity checks that cut account takeover risk without slowing sign-ups.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 3 min read • Yesterday

Digital Transformation

AI shifts from novelty to infrastructure, firms say

Firms say the bigger payoff now lies in embedding AI into logistics, security and data systems, while poor governance leaves firms exposed.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 4 min read • 2 days ago

Application Security

Cloudflare launches Precursor to spot bots in sessions

With automated traffic now overtaking human visits online, the tool is designed to catch bots that slip past login and checkout checks.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • 3 days ago

Supply Chain

Temu triples brands in intellectual property monitoring

More than 15,000 brands are now covered as the marketplace steps up pre-listing checks to curb counterfeit sales and cut complaint times.

By Sean Mitchell • 4 min read • 3 days ago

Open source

The Yahoo Boys: From prince inheritance emails to dating site scams

F-Secure's Laura Kankaala explains how the Yahoo Boys scam culture has evolved from advance-fee emails into sextortion and romance fraud.

By Jake MacAndrew • 4 min read • 3 days ago

Data Protection

Agentic AI traffic surges as bots dominate the web

Businesses may need to rethink bot blocks, as Decodo says automated systems now make up 57.4% of web requests and shape product discovery.

By Sean Mitchell • 4 min read • Last week

Crypto

Elastic finds AI-assisted banking fraud ring in Mexico

A live fraud campaign targeting Mexican banks, fintechs and crypto services exposed how criminals are using generative AI to draft malware.

By Mark Tarre • 4 min read • Last week

Ransomware

Australia & New Zealand phishing risk drops after training

After a year of security awareness training, only 5.3% of workers in Australia and New Zealand were likely to engage with phishing attempts.

By Mark Tarre • 4 min read • Last week

Malware

German SMEs face lower cyber losses, but risks stay high

Average losses from successful attacks have fallen sharply, but one in three German SMEs says a major breach could still threaten its existence.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 5 min read • Last week

Network Security

Summer holidays leave firms more exposed to cyber fraud

Reduced staffing and delegated approvals during annual leave are giving fraudsters more chances to slip through corporate checks, Everywhen says.

By Joseph Gabriel Lagonsin • 4 min read • Last week

Malware

Google disrupts NetNut proxy network in FBI operation

Millions of consumer devices were pulled into a botnet used for hacking and espionage, prompting Google to disable apps and accounts.

By Sean Mitchell • 4 min read • This month

Email Security

Yahoo Boys, a persistent menace and one of the longest running online crime cultures

Yahoo Boys have evolved from email fraud into an AI-enabled cybercrime subculture, using deepfakes, sextortion and social media to target victims worldwide.

By Laura Kankaala • 8 min read • This month

Fintech

Spain leads Europe in trust for AI shopping agents

Trust in AI shopping agents is weakest in the UK, where payment worries are holding back uptake as Spain shows far stronger confidence.

By Sofiah Nichole Salivio • 4 min read • This month

Stories from Other Regions

Online fraud stories

Data Protection

AI literacy & cyber safety vital for young workers

Employers are being urged to make AI literacy and cyber safety core training, as young workers face a tighter labour market and rising online threats.

By Mark Tarre • 5 min read • Today