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Given the amount of phishing scams that we have all faced in the last decade, most of us have developed a basic ability to detect and avoid emails obvious of phishing or SMS messages. Cybercriminals are aware of this, and have evolved their tactics by changing to more complex and convincing schemes designed to avoid skepticism and attract victims.

Its objective remains the same: deceive it to deliver confidential information, especially credit card data. One of the last examples is the increase in subscription scam campaigns. The scammers are creating incredibly convincing websites that sell everything from shoes and clothing to electronics, cheating people to register for monthly subscriptions and voluntarily provide the information of their credit card. Facebook is being used as the main platform to promote these new and sophisticated scams.

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An online shopping woman (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutsson)

What you need to know

Bits defender researchers They have discovered a massive and highly coordinated subscription scam campaign that involves more than 200 active websites designed to resemble real online stores. These sites, often promoted through Facebook ads, sell everything from clothes and electronics to beauty products, but the real goal is to deceive users to register for recurrent payments, often without realizing it.

One of the most common lures is the “Mystery Box” scam, where a surprise package is promised at a bargain price. These offers are made to be fun and harmless, but behind the scene is giving personal and credit card information, however, agree, accept the hidden subscription terms, often written in a small small print.

The scam does not stop there. Once you are convinced and reach the payment page, scammers are often in a second scam, such as loyalty cards or VIP memberships that contain it even more in payments. Everything is designed to confuse it, overwhelm it with supposed benefits and make the scam feel like a good business.

The researchers found that many of these websites share a single direction of Chipre, possibly linked to entities on the high seas linked to documents for paradise. Despite being distributed in different categories and brands, sites often use the same designs, AI agents and payment structures, all pointing to a centralized fraud network.

Scammers frequent frequently frequent the brands that are passed and have begun to go beyond the mysterious boxes, now selling low quality products, counterfeit products, false investment schemes, doubtful supplements and more. To avoid automatic detection, they use several tactics. These include running multiple versions of an ad, with only one of which is really malicious, while the others show harmless images of products, loading images of platform ads such as Google Drive so that they can be exchanged later and cut images to alter recognizable patterns.

List of false products (Bitdefender) (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutsson)

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The scam is expanding

What began with simple “mysterious box” has become an expanding and coordinated campaign. These scams now have false surveys, “Escalonadas” VIP memberships and deceptive credit systems that make the purchase process intentionally confusing. Users are promised deep discounts or access to exclusive offers, but in reality they are only being locked in recurrent payments.

Many of the scam website date back to the same physical address in Chipre, pointing out what seems to be a centralized operation. The researchers also found links with entities mentioned in Paradise documents, suggesting that these scammers are hiding behind the high seas infrastructure.

And they are no longer just mysterious boxes. The same scam format is being used to sell low quality products, false supplements and even false investment opportunities. With a high quality site design, aggressive advertising and increasingly sophisticated tactics, subscription scams are becoming the new face of online fraud.

An online shopping person (Kurt “Cyberguy” Knutsson)

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10 proactive measures to protect your data

Although scammers become more sophisticated, there are practical steps that can take at this time to protect their personal and financial information from subscription fraud and other online threats. Here are ten proactive measures to help maintain your safe data:

1) Always read the small print: One of the simplest but most effective ways to protect themselves from subscription scams is to reduce speed and read the small print, especially on payment pages. Scammers often hide recurring terms of payment in a small or slightly color text that is easy to lose. What seems like a unique purchase could register for a biweekly or monthly charge. Taking only one time to scan for hidden terms before hitting the “payment” can help you avoid weeks of silent billing.

2) Avoid mysterious or VIP style offers: These offers are often used for curiosity and the promise of surprise or luxury for a low rate. Actually, the “mystery” is the trap: you may not receive anything or an element of low quality, while without knowing it, it is part of a recurring subscription. Scammers use the illusion of exclusivity or urgency to press quick decisions.

3) Do not trust blind ads on social networks: Facebook, Instagram and other platforms are a seedbed for these scams, with criminals that execute paid ads that mimic brands or known influences. These ads are often linked to professional but false shop windows. If you are interested in an agreement you see online, do not click immediately. Instead, look for the or offer brand in a separate tab and verify if it exists outside social networks.

4) Investigate before buying: Before buying any unknown place, take some quick steps to verify your legitimacy. Look for the brand’s name along with words such as “scam” or “reviews” to see what others have experienced. Look for the company’s physical address and verify if it really exists using tools such as Google Maps. Make sure the Use HTTPS website, check the site contact information and review cross verification reviews in confidence third -party sites such as Better Business Bureau or Consumer Reports.

5) Use strong antivirus software: Adding a strong antivirus program to its devices can provide an additional defense layer against fraudulent websites and phishing attempts. Strong antivirus software warns you about suspicious links, malicious advertisements and spring downloads for malware. Get my elections for the best antivirus protection winners 2025 for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

6) Invest on personal data elimination services: Scammers often trust personal information leaked or available publicly to attack victims with convincing subscription scams. Investing in a personal data removal service can help minimize your fingerprint by eliminating your information from the data broker databases and reducing the possibilities of being attacked in future campaigns. Regularly monitoring and cleaning your online presence makes it more difficult for scammers to exploit your data for financial gains. See my best selections to obtain data removal services here.

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7) Be careful with payment methods: Use safe payment options such as credit cards, which often offer better fraud protection than bank transfers, gift cards or cryptocurrency.

8) Limit personal information shared on social networks: Scammers often collect details of public profiles to create convincing scams. Check your privacy settings and only share the necessary information.

9) Use strong and unique passwords and enable multifactorial authentication: He creates strong and unique passwords for each of his online accounts, especially those linked to their finances or purchases. Allow Multifactorial authentication Whenever possible, since this adds an additional security layer and makes it difficult to access their accounts, even if their password is compromised. In addition, consider using a password administrator to generate and store complex passwords. Get more details about me The best password administrators reviewed by experts of 2025 here.

10) Keep your updated devices and software: Regularly update Your operating system, browsers and applications. Safety updates often patch the vulnerabilities that scammers explode to obtain access to their information or install malicious software.

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Kurt key takeway

While the increase in subscription scams and deceptive ads is worrying, it is especially worrying that platforms such as Facebook continue to allow these fraudulent ads not to be controlled. Facebook has repeatedly failed to examine or prevent these malicious campaigns from reaching vulnerable people. The platform’s adoption approval system should be more proactive to detect and block advertisements that promote scams, particularly those that are passed by brands or creators of known content.

How do you feel about the role of Facebook by allowing scam ads to circulate? Get us knowing in Cyberguy.com/contact.

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