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Hackers linked to a notorious cybercriminal group have conducted cyberattacks on multiple US retail companies in the last 10 days, prompting the FBI to step up cyber-intelligence briefings for major companies in the sector, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The criminal group – known for aggressively extorting major US corporations in recent years – is suspected of being involved in ransomware attacks on between three and five US retailers in recent days, the sources said.

The flurry of activity in the US tied to the cybercriminal group – a loose collection of hackers that the cyber industry calls Scattered Spider – has led the FBI and major technology companies like Google to urge US retailers to raise their digital defenses. The group is considered dangerous and unpredictable, in part because it is comprised of youths in the US and the UK known for aggressively extorting their victims.

Ahold Delhaize USA was targeted, which has the same parent company as the Giant and Food Lion grocery chains. The hackers managed to log into an account at one its US retail locations, but the incident was isolated and contained, according to an internal Ahold Delhaize report reviewed by CNN.

The FBI has been in touch with some of the major US retail brands to warn them of the threat from Scattered Spider, the sources said.

“We can confirm [a cybercriminal group] successfully targeted multiple retail organizations in the US,” said John Hultquist, chief analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, though he declined to name them.

Scattered Spider is suspected of being involved in a spate of ransomware attacks in the last month on major UK retail giants Harrods and Marks & Spencer. The latter company appeared hardest hit. The hackers stole customer data from Marks & Spencer and disrupted online orders.

Scattered Spider shot to infamy in September 2023 when they were linked to a pair of damaging hacks on famous Las Vegas casinos and hotels MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment.

The hacking group has “a history of focusing their efforts on a single sector at a time, and we anticipate they will continue to target the sector in the near term,” Hultquist said. “US retailers should take note.”

“US-based retailers are aware of the threats posted by cybercriminal groups that have recently attacked several major retailers in the United Kingdom, and many companies have taken steps to harden themselves against these criminal groups’ tactics over the past two years,” Christian Beckner, a vice president at the National Retail Federation, said in a statement.

Almost anyone who has used the internet has probably experienced that alarming moment when a window pops up claiming your device has a virus, encouraging you to click for tech support or download security software. It’s a common online scam, and one that Google is aiming to fight more aggressively using artificial intelligence.

Google says it’s now using a version of its Gemini AI model that runs on users’ devices to detect and warn users of these so-called “tech support” scams.

It’s just one of a number of ways Google is using advancements in AI to better protect users from scams across Chrome, Search and its Android operating system, the company said in a blog post Thursday.

The announcement comes as AI has enabled bad actors to more easily create large quantities of convincing, fake content — effectively lowering the barrier to carrying out scams that can be used to steal victims’ money or personal information. Consumers worldwide lost more than $1 trillion to scams last year, according to the lobbying group Global Anti-Scam Alliance. So, Google and other organizations are increasingly using AI to fight scammers, too.

Phiroze Parakh, senior director of engineering for Google Search, said that fighting scammers “has always been an evolution game,” where bad actors learn and evolve as tech companies put new protections in place.

“Now, both sides have new tools,” Parakh said in an interview with CNN. “So, there’s this question of, how do you get to use this tool more effectively? Who is being a little more proactive about it?”

Although Google has long used machine learning to protect its services, newer AI advancements have led to improved language understanding and pattern recognition, enabling the tech to identify scams faster and more effectively.

Google said that on Chrome’s “enhanced protection” safe browsing mode on desktop, its on-device AI model can now effectively scan a webpage in real-time when a user clicks on it to look for potential threats. That matters because, sometimes, bad actors make their pages appear differently to Google’s existing crawler tools for identifying scams than they do to users, a tactic called “cloaking” that the company warned last year was on the rise.

And because the model, called Gemini Nano, runs on your device, the service works faster and protects users’ privacy, said Jasika Bawa, group product manager for Google Chrome.

As with Chrome’s existing safe browsing mode, if a user attempts to access a potentially unsafe site, they’ll see a warning before being given the option to continue to the page.

In another update, Google will warn Android users if they’re receiving alerts from fishy sites in Chrome and let them automatically unsubscribe, so long as they have Chrome website notifications enabled.

Google has also used AI to detect scammy results and prevent them from showing up in Search, regardless what kind of device users are on. Since Google Search first launched AI-powered versions of its anti-scam systems three years ago, it now blocks 20 times the number of problematic pages.

“We’ve seen this incredible advantage with our ability to understand language and nuance and relationships between entities that really made a change in how we detect these scammy actors,” he said, adding that in 2024 alone, the company removed hundreds of millions of scam search results daily because of the AI advancements.

Parakh said, for example, that AI has made it better able to identify and remove a scam where bad actors create fake “customer service” pages or phone numbers for airlines. Google says it has has now decreased scam attacks in airline-related searches by 80%.

Google isn’t the only company using AI to fight bad actors. British mobile phone company O2 said last year it was fighting phone scammers with “Daisy,” a conversational AI chatbot meant to keep fraudsters on the phone, giving them less time to talk with would-be human victims. Microsoft has also piloted a tool that uses AI to analyze phone conversations to determine whether a call may be fraudulent and alert the user accordingly. And the US Treasury Department said last year that AI had helped it identify and recover $1 billion worth of check fraud in fiscal 2024 alone.

Microsoft’s Edge Add-ons store has reportedly removed some extensions that were injecting ads into Google and Bing search results. The latest move by the Microsoft comes just months after Google removed over 500 malicious extensions from its Chrome Web Store. Ad frauds are getting bigger as more people are joining the Web world. Bad actors inject ads into search results to install malware or serve phishing content to users. In May, Microsoft took down some extensions from its Edge Add-ons store that were specifically clones to an extension called Dark Reader and contained malicious code to affect users.

Technology blog Techdows reports that Microsoft has removed most of the extensions injecting ads into search results that were already pulled by Google from the Chrome Web Store. The list of removed extensions include Screenshot & Screen Elite, Forest Wallpaper HD Custom New Tab, Cs Go Wallpaper HD Custom New Tab, Boku No Hero Academia Wallpaper HD New Tab, cows wallpaper HD Custom, and Supercars — sports cars wallpaper HD New Tab, among others.

Gadgets 360 was able to verify the removal of the reported extensions from the Edge Add-ons store. We have also reached out to Microsoft to get further information on the matter.

In comparison to Google’s Chrome Web Store, Microsoft’s Edge Add-ons store is quite a new place for extensions. The Redmond-based company, however, appears to have the system ready to remove the extensions that could inject adware through search results.

A Google spokesperson recently stated that it did regular sweeps to find extensions violating its policies. However, a recent report by researchers at Awake Security claimed that Chrome spyware extensions were downloaded 32 million times.

Delhi Police on Friday busted a gang of cyber cheaters and unveiled a web of deception and financial scams with the arrest of seven people from Delhi-NCR and Bihar.

As per Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi’s Shahdara, Rohit Meena, the gang used to lure innocent people by giving them lucrative offers and then extorted money from them.

“A gang of cyber cheaters was busted with the arrest of seven persons from Delhi-NCR and Bihar. Rs 4-5 crore worth of transactions were detected. They lured innocent people by giving them lucrative offers and taking money from them,” said DCP Meena.

The official further said that each person in the cyber fraud gang used to target more than 10 people in a day. More than 100 SIM cards, 11 mobile phones, bank accounts and ATM cards were also recovered,” the DCP said.

Earlier last week, Delhi police busted an international cyber fraud syndicate and arrested a Ghana national.

The arrested accused was identified as Ebo Quansah Elijah, a resident of Ghana, officials said.

According to an official statement, the operation began following a complaint received at the Cyber Police Station, reporting a cyber fraud incident involving a total loss of Rs 101,100.

An FIR under Section 420 IPC was registered on the basis of the complaint received, added the official statement.

The investigation revealed the modus operandi of the mastermind, who enticed Indian victims with digital products through WhatsApp conversations and provided them with account numbers for money transfers, the statement added.

Technologically proficient con artists now have an easier time targeting victims as the age of machine learning and artificial intelligence infiltrate every part of people’s lives, both personal and professional. Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting smartphone users nationwide because of the many false calls and texts they get. Scammers even create fake websites, tricking unsuspecting users with graphics.

The Indian government’s cyber agency, Cyberdost, has sent a warning regarding a new fraud that targets iPhone users exclusively. As per Cyberdost, messages are being sent over iMessage to iPhone users informing them that a wrong address is preventing a package from being delivered.

Cyberdost’s tweet states: “New Transnational #Scam Alert: #iPhone users are learnt to be receiving scam messages via #iMessage regarding package / courier from random accounts. Clicking on suspicious links may be avoided and read receipts may be disabled for such messages.”

The fraudulent message urges recipients to respond within 24 hours to avoid the parcel being returned, and includes a web link. Cyberdost warns that this is a scam, and clicking the link could lead to becoming a victim. They advise reporting such messages and refraining from clicking on suspicious links. Additionally, users should never share their bank account information or send money to unknown individuals.

Important Tips to Avoid This Scam

• Do not click on links in suspicious messages.
• Disable read receipts for messages from unknown senders.
• Legitimate companies will not pressure you to respond urgently or threaten to return a package.
• Never share your bank account information or send money to unknown individuals.

It is advised that you report such messages to the appropriate authorities if you come across them. iPhone users can help safeguard themselves against falling for this phishing scam by adhering to these measures.

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has urged streaming platforms, including Netflix, Prime Video and JioHotstar, to boycott Turkish shows following the country’s support to Pakistan amid heightened tensions with India.

In a statement, released on Thursday, the organisation said they stand “firmly for the interest of the nation and industry”.

“We are writing to express our serious concern and strong objection regarding the continued streaming and promotion of Turkish shows on various Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms operating in India.

“As is well known, Turkey has consistently extended diplomatic and political support to Pakistan on matters that are detrimental to India’s sovereignty and national interest, including on sensitive issues such as Kashmir,” the FWICE said.

The union body, which represents workers, technicians, and artists from 36 different crafts working in the Indian media and entertainment industry, further said it is not in India’s best interest to allow the content of a nation that does not support its territorial integrity to be consumed widely by Indian audiences.

The FWICE urged the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to consider taking necessary action to boycott or restrict the streaming of Turkish television shows and films on Indian OTT platforms.

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