ATLANTA — Crooks are becoming even better at tricking people out of their money. Many times they are taking advantage of websites you use every day.
Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray dug into some of the most concerning new schemes.
So many stories Gray covers involve people losing money to these growing sophisticated scams, many of them using artificial intelligence. And there was one that got him.
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The Federal Trade Commission says CAPTCHA scams are on the rise this summer. CAPTCHAs are the annoying prompts you get to verify you are human on many websites.
Gray got one that looked a little odd. But it was from a trusted legitimate local news website.
What he didn’t know: the website had been hacked. What he thought was a captcha verifying his identity was the malware trying to take control of his device. He stopped before it got too far, but to be safe, corporate security wiped his entire laptop memory.
The FTC says these messages will ask you to type a series of commands. You’re actually following the steps to paste and run hidden malware on your device.
Once it’s there, scammers can quickly steal your email account login data, mobile banking credentials or any other information they can get access to.
Real CAPTCHAs though won’t ask you to run commands on your device.
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And then there’s one you’ve heard of and know how to avoid. But with AI, it’s getting so much tougher to detect imposter scams.
FTC data shows people lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025.
Gray has covered a lot of these cases, involving what the FTC says are the top two categories: People pretending to be your bank and people pretending to be the government. They reach out warning your accounts have been hacked, you missed jury duty or that you have unpaid tolls.
Just remember to:
- Slow down
- Reach out directly to the bank or government agency
- Never respond to one of these messages or click on the link.
That leads us to QR codes. There’s even a weird name for this one: quishing. It may look like a parking ticket, even an IRS notice. And they want you to scan that QR notice to pay.
But don’t do it. It’s pushing you to a phishing website collecting your credit card or banking information.
And what about all those text messages, people want to cut trees, check your roof or wash your windows? The Better Business Bureau warns you should really be careful about anyone reaching out to work on your home this way.
Instead, look up the business online. Make sure they’re local and legit. Read customer reviews. Talk to neighbors about who they’ve used.
Gray attended a conference this summer where some of the top researchers emphasized that these scams aren’t just targeting grandmas or grandpas anymore.
It’s a big business, run by professionals. That’s why you have to be so careful and aware.
Here is what else you can do to protect yourself when it comes to fraudulent texts.
- Block the text or mark it as spam. It will help your cell company sharpen their defenses.
- Forward junk messages to 7726 or spam. That sends it to your carrier and they can investigate more.
- One thing to avoid is opting out or typing “STOP.” That let’s them know your number is active and you’ll get even more.
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