October 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

Fake iCloud storage alerts and 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

Order, refund, and account-hold lures — plus fake Prime renewal invoices with a number to call.

4.RobloxUp from #7 last month

Kids / Gaming

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

5.Cash AppUp from #9 last month

Payments

Fake “business payment” holds and security alerts around money that’s almost yours.

6.MicrosoftDown from #5 last month

Big Tech

Fake Defender/365 renewal invoices and browser-locking security pop-ups with a “support” number.

7.FedEx

Shipping

Fake "delivery attempt failed" notices and customs-fee texts are the top FedEx scams right now.

8.Chase

Banking

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

9.Walmart

Retail

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

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

Online Scam Storefronts Are the #1 Thing People Check

Fake storefronts remain the single largest category we see, and now they follow the calendar: football-season "helmet grill" shops, a Halloween pop-up wave several times the size of summer's, and an early bumper crop of holiday-merchandise stores that take your card and ship nothing — or a fraction of what was pictured.

Phone

That "Fraud Alert" Is the Fraud

A robocall or voicemail says a purchase was just placed on your account — a $900 PlayStation at Walmart, a $1,100 charge on your Chase card, a $400 Cash App payment — and tells you to press one or call back to cancel. There is no purchase. The call-back is the scam, and it pushed three new brands onto this month's leaderboard.

Social

The Fake Party Invitation That Spreads to Your Contacts

The invite steals your email password; what happens next is the real story. Microsoft's takedown of the EvilTokens phishing service showed hijacked inboxes being mined for invoices, contacts and correspondence — raw material for the next, far more personal imposter scam.

Kids & Gaming

Scammers Use Roblox to Target Kids

Roblox scam submissions have skyrocketed, making it the first kids' platform to reach our top 10. These scams are engineered specifically for how children trust.

Delivery

Package Scams Switch Carriers

The USPS "redelivery fee" text that dominated the spring has faded. In its place: FedEx "delivery attempt failed" emails, customs-clearance payment texts and call-back voicemails, timed for the start of holiday shipping.

Health

Medicare Scams Arrive Ahead of Open Enrollment

Open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, and the scams arrived early: MyChart-branded "free Medicare kit" emails, "grocery allowance" robocalls and "benefits expiring" texts, all after your Medicare number or your card.

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