November 2026

Scamwise Trends

Who scammers impersonated, what's spreading, and what to watch for.

Rankings reflect confirmed scam reports to Scamwise, not total scam volume in the wild.

Top Impersonated Brands

The trusted names scammers hide behind

#BrandTag

1.Apple

Big Tech

Account and iCloud phishing and fake AppleCare support calls are the top Apple scams right now.

2.PayPal

Payments

Fake invoices and unauthorized-charge alerts that end in a call to a scam “support” line.

3.Amazon

Retail

Fake order confirmations and account-hold lures are the top Amazon scams right now.

4.MicrosoftUp from #6 last month

Big Tech

Account-security alerts and Defender/365 renewal invoices are the top Microsoft scams right now.

5.Cash App

Payments

Fake security alerts and “pending business payment” holds are the top Cash App scams right now.

6.ChaseUp from #8 last month

Banking

Fake fraud-alert texts and "fraud department" callback calls are the top Chase scams right now.

7.FedEx

Delivery

"Verify your delivery information" texts and customs-fee notices are the top FedEx scams right now.

8.WalmartUp from #9 last month

Retail

Robocalls about a fake purchase "placed on your Walmart account" are the top Walmart scam right now.

9.RobloxDown from #4 last month

Kids / Gaming

Free-Robux generators and chat phishing built specifically to fool kids.

10.Best Buy / Geek Squad

Retail

The Geek Squad renewal-invoice phone scam — call to cancel, and the refund is the trap.

More commonly impersonated brands: Coinbase, Comcast / Xfinity, Costco, DMV, EZ Pass & Toll, McAfee, Norton LifeLock, Poshmark, USPS, Venmo, Wells Fargo, Zelle

Emerging trends

What's circulating now

Shopping

Holiday Scam Storefronts Are the #1 Thing People Check

Fake storefronts remain the single largest category we see, and the holiday crop is in: holiday-merchandise shops have more than tripled since summer, console stores selling discounted Switch 2 and PS5 bundles have doubled, and the Halloween pop-up operators have already re-skinned for December.

"Thanks for Your Purchase": The Fake Receipt Is Back for the Holidays

An order confirmation for something you never bought, like a $351 antivirus plan, a coffee maker or an Amazon order, with a billing number to call "if this wasn't you." The receipt is the bait, the call is the scam, and it's the email twin of the fraud-alert robocall.

Delivery

Package Scams Ramp for Holiday Shipping

Package lures grew faster than anything else we track in October. One template dominates: "verify your delivery information before [date]," sent from a fresh fedex-something domain every few days. UPS is climbing behind it, and scam letters are now arriving by actual mail.

Phone

That "Fraud Alert" Is the Fraud

"A purchase was placed on your account, press one." The robocall has crested, but the script has migrated into texts and emails wearing a bank's or payment app's branding, and it keeps Chase, Cash App and Walmart on the leaderboard.

Health

Medicare Scams Through the December 7 Deadline

We're in the middle of open enrollment and Medicare impersonation climbed again in October: MyChart-branded "free Medicare kit" emails, "grocery allowance" robocalls and "benefits expiring" texts. Watch for "confirm by December 7" as the deadline nears.

Social

The Fake Party Invitation That Spreads to Your Contacts

Steady through the fall and heading into the season it was built for: office-party and Secret Santa e-vites that steal your email password, then mail themselves to everyone you know, and hand the scammer an inbox to mine for next year's targeted lures.

More recent trends: One-Ring “Wangiri” Calls Are Surging, Pig-Butchering's Share Has Doubled, Scammers Use Roblox to Target Kids, Task Scams Turn a Job Offer Into a Deposit