You’re scrolling through Facebook or TikTok and see it. 

A flash sale from a brand you recognize. A limited-time investment opportunity. A job posting that promises quick money. 

The ad has comments. The account looks polished. Maybe someone you follow even liked it. 

So you click. 

From there, things move fast. You’re pushed to act quickly, enter your information, or send payment before the “deal” disappears. And just like that, the money is gone or your account is compromised. 

This isn’t an edge case anymore. According to new FTC data, nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam in 2025 said it started on social media, with total losses hitting $2.1 billion. 

That’s why McAfee+ Advanced includes comprehensive protection designed to help you spot and stop scams at every step, including McAfee’s Scam Detector, which flags suspicious links and messages and explains why they may be risky, along with identity and privacy tools that help protect your information if a scam slips through. 

How Social Media Ad Scams Work 

A social media ad scam is when scammers use paid ads, fake profiles, or hijacked accounts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok to promote fake products, services, or investment opportunities in order to steal money or personal information. 

Step	What happens	What to do	How McAfee helps
1	You see an ad, post, or DM promoting a deal, job, or investment	Don’t engage immediately, even if it looks legitimate	Scam Detector flags suspicious links and messages before you interact
2	The ad links to a website or moves you into DMs	Avoid clicking unfamiliar links or continuing off-platform	Safe Browsing helps block risky or newly created websites
3	You’re pressured to act quickly or “secure your spot”	Slow down and verify the company independently	Scam Detector explains urgency tactics and why they’re risky
4	You’re asked to pay, share login info, or download something	Never send money or credentials based on a social media interaction	Identity Monitoring helps protect your personal data if exposed
5	The product never arrives, the investment disappears, or your account is compromised	Report the scam and secure your accounts immediately	Personal Data Cleanup and monitoring help reduce ongoing exposure

Red Flags To Watch For 

• Deals that feel unusually cheap or urgent  
• Ads linking to unfamiliar or slightly misspelled websites  
• Requests to move conversations off-platform quickly  
• Payment requests via apps, crypto, or wire transfer  
• Accounts with limited history or inconsistent engagement  

And that is the first part of This Week in Scams! This Friday we’re taking a different format to talk about this new FTC data and all that it reveals.  

Let’s keep digging in: 

FTC Report: Social Media Scams Are Now The Most Costly Fraud Channel 

New data from the FTC shows just how dominant social media has become in the scam landscape. 

• Social media scams drove $2.1 billion in reported losses in 2025  
• Losses have increased eightfold since 2020  
• Investment scams alone accounted for $1.1 billion of those losses 

Where Scams Are Happening And What’s Changing 

Category	What to know
Most common scams	Shopping scams lead, with over 40% of victims reporting purchases from social media ads that never arrived
Most costly scams	Investment scams drive the biggest losses, often starting with ads or group chats showing fake success
What’s changing	Scammers are using platform tools like ads, targeting, and profile data to reach people more precisely than ever

How Scams Play Out Across Platforms 

Platform	How scams typically start	What to watch for
Facebook	Ads, Marketplace listings, hacked accounts	Fake stores, duplicate listings, urgent purchase pressure
Instagram	Sponsored posts, influencer impersonation	“Limited drop” scams, fake brand collaborations
TikTok	Ads, stolen videos/profiles, comment links, bio links,	“Get rich quick” schemes, external link funnels, reselling via TikTok
WhatsApp	Group chats, investment communities	Fake testimonials, coordinated pressure to invest

 How McAfee Protects You from Scams and Cyber Threats 

McAfee+ Advanced gives you multiple layers working together so you are not left figuring it out after the damage is done:   

• Identity Monitoring alerts you if your personal info shows up where it should not, so you can act fast  
• Personal Data Cleanup helps remove your information from data broker sites, making you harder to target in the first place  
• Scam Detector flags suspicious texts, emails, links, and even deepfake videos before you engage  
• Safe Browsing helps block risky sites if you do click  
• Device Security helps detect malicious apps or downloads  
• Secure VPN keeps your data private, especially on public Wi-Fi    

McAfee Safety Tips This Week 

Our advice based on this week’s scams and schemes: 

• Treat social media ads like any other unknown source, not a trusted recommendation  
• Pause before clicking, especially when urgency is involved  
• Verify brands by going directly to their official website  
• Avoid sending money or personal information through social media  
• Use tools like Scam Detector to check suspicious links before engaging  

And we’ll be back next week with more scams making headlines.

The post Ad Impersonation Scams and Record-Breaking Social Media Fraud Losses: This Week in Scams appeared first on McAfee Blog.

Warnings about helpdesk impersonation scams and Iran-linked hackers targeting critical sectors in the US, plus the most damaging scams of 2025 - here's some of what made the headlines this month

OpenAI is rolling out Advanced Account Security for people concerned that their ChatGPT or Codex accounts could be potential targets of phishing attacks.

A Brazilian tech firm that specializes in protecting networks from distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks has been enabling a botnet responsible for an extended campaign of massive DDoS attacks against other network operators in Brazil, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. The firm’s chief executive says the malicious activity resulted from a security breach and was likely the work of a competitor trying to tarnish his company’s public image.

For the past several years, security experts have tracked a series of massive DDoS attacks originating from Brazil and solely targeting Brazilian ISPs. Until recently, it was less than clear who or what was behind these digital sieges. That changed earlier this month when a trusted source who asked to remain anonymous shared a curious file archive that was exposed in an open directory online.

The exposed archive contained several Portuguese-language malicious programs written in Python. It also included the private SSH authentication keys belonging to the CEO of Huge Networks, a Brazilian ISP that primarily offers DDoS protection to other Brazilian network operators.

Founded in Miami, Fla. in 2014, Huge Networks’s operations are centered in Brazil. The company originated from protecting game servers against DDoS attacks and evolved into an ISP-focused DDoS mitigation provider. It does not appear in any public abuse complaints and is not associated with any known DDoS-for-hire services.

Nevertheless, the exposed archive shows that a Brazil-based threat actor maintained root access to Huge Networks infrastructure and built a powerful DDoS botnet by routinely mass-scanning the Internet for insecure Internet routers and unmanaged domain name system (DNS) servers on the Web that could be enlisted in attacks.

DNS is what allows Internet users to reach websites by typing familiar domain names instead of the associated IP addresses. Ideally, DNS servers only provide answers to machines within a trusted domain. But so-called “DNS reflection” attacks rely on DNS servers that are (mis)configured to accept queries from anywhere on the Web. Attackers can send spoofed DNS queries to these servers so that the request appears to come from the target’s network. That way, when the DNS servers respond, they reply to the spoofed (targeted) address.

By taking advantage of an extension to the DNS protocol that enables large DNS messages, botmasters can dramatically boost the size and impact of a reflection attack — crafting DNS queries so that the responses are much bigger than the requests. For example, an attacker could compose a DNS request of less than 100 bytes, prompting a response that is 60-70 times as large. This amplification effect is especially pronounced when the perpetrators can query many DNS servers with these spoofed requests from tens of thousands of compromised devices simultaneously.

The exposed file archive includes a command-line history showing exactly how this attacker built and maintained a powerful botnet by scouring the Internet for TP-Link Archer AX21 routers. Specifically, the botnet seeks out TP-Link devices that remain vulnerable to CVE-2023-1389, an unauthenticated command injection vulnerability that was patched back in April 2023.

Malicious domains in the exposed Python attack scripts included DNS lookups for hikylover[.]st, and c.loyaltyservices[.]lol, both domains that have been flagged in the past year as control servers for an Internet of Things (IoT) botnet powered by a Mirai malware variant.

The leaked archive shows the botmaster coordinated their scanning from a Digital Ocean server that has been flagged for abusive activity hundreds of times in the past year. The Python scripts invoke multiple Internet addresses assigned to Huge Networks that were used to identify targets and execute DDoS campaigns. The attacks were strictly limited to Brazilian IP address ranges, and the scripts show that each selected IP address prefix was attacked for 10-60 seconds with four parallel processes per host before the botnet moved on to the next target.

The archive also shows these malicious Python scripts relied on private SSH keys belonging to Huge Networks’s CEO, Erick Nascimento. Reached for comment about the files, Mr. Nascimento said he did not write the attack programs and that he didn’t realize the extent of the DDoS campaigns until contacted by KrebsOnSecurity.

“We received and notified many Tier 1 upstreams regarding very very large DDoS attacks against small ISPs,” Nascimento said. “We didn’t dig deep enough at the time, and what you sent makes that clear.”

Nascimento said the unauthorized activity is likely related to a digital intrusion first detected in January 2026 that compromised two of the company’s development servers, as well as his personal SSH keys. But he said there’s no evidence those keys were used after January.

“We notified the team in writing the same day, wiped the boxes, and rotated keys,” Nascimento said, sharing a screenshot of a January 11 notification from Digital Ocean. “All documented internally.”

Mr. Nascimento said Huge Networks has since engaged a third-party network forensics firm to investigate further.

“Our working assessment so far is that this all started with a single internal compromise — one pivot point that gave the attacker downstream access to some resources, including a legacy personal droplet of mine,” he wrote.

“The compromise happened through a bastion/jump server that several people had access to,” Nascimento continued. “Digital Ocean flagged the droplet on January 11 — compromised due to a leaked SSH key, in their wording — I was traveling at the time and addressed it on return. That droplet was deprecated and destroyed, and it was never part of Huge Networks infrastructure.”

The malicious software that powers the botnet of TP-Link devices used in the DDoS attacks on Brazilian ISPs is based on Mirai, a malware strain that made its public debut in September 2016 by launching a then record-smashing DDoS attack that kept this website offline for four days. In January 2017, KrebsOnSecurity identified the Mirai authors as the co-owners of a DDoS mitigation firm that was using the botnet to attack gaming servers and scare up new clients.

In May 2025, KrebsOnSecurity was hit by another Mirai-based DDoS that Google called the largest attack it had ever mitigated. That report implicated a 20-something Brazilian man who was running a DDoS mitigation company as well as several DDoS-for-hire services that have since been seized by the FBI.

Nascimento flatly denied being involved in DDoS attacks against Brazilian operators to generate business for his company’s services.

“We don’t run DDoS attacks against Brazilian operators to sell protection,” Nascimento wrote in response to questions. “Our sales model is mostly inbound and through channel integrator, distributors, partners — not active prospecting based on market incidents. The targets in the scripts you received are small regional providers, the vast majority of which are neither in our customer base nor in our commercial pipeline — a fact verifiable through public sources like QRator.”

Nascimento maintains he has “strong evidence stored on the blockchain” that this was all done by a competitor. As for who that competitor might be, the CEO wouldn’t say.

“I would love to share this with you, but it could not be published as it would lose the surprise factor against my dishonest competitor,” he explained. “Coincidentally or not, your contact happened a week before an important event – ​​one that this competitor has NEVER participated in (and it’s a traditional event in the sector). And this year, they will be participating. Strange, isn’t it?”

Strange indeed.

Secure Access adds Security Insights to speed up SOC Ops. Now, an analyst uses a three-click workflow, reducing investigation time from minutes to seconds.

Dive into the architecture behind Cisco’s holistic, mutilayered PQC strategy to understand how Cisco is operationalizing the secure communications and secure products across the communication planes, inside the chipset, and down to the firmware that loads before your operating system even boots.

Spyware appears to have captured everything from intimate photos to private messages from the smartphone of European celebrity. They were publicly accessible until a researcher flagged the exposure.

The war in Iran has drawn attention to arrests in the United Arab Emirates over online content, but the legal framework behind that enforcement has existed for years.

AI agents may soon be buying your stuff for you. The FIDO Alliance has teamed up with Google and Mastercard to try to ensure that shopping in the near future isn't a complete disaster.

Explore what’s new in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN 26.1.1, simplifying SASE adoption, enabling AI-ready networking, and streamlining operations.

This is so "peak 2026" - writing an equality policy to ensure people treat our AI bot with the same respect as they do their human counterparts. It's intentionally a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's there for a purpose: we simply don't have the capacity to deal with every request we get, and we need Bruce to be the coalface of support. I did wonder, when having ChatGPT create this, whether there's some deeper psychology behind the importance of interacting politely with bots, or indeed whether there will ever be an actual (like, serious) standard or law around treating bots with respect. Has this been in a movie somewhere? Let me know, but for now, I'll drop the (slightly revised) policy below, just for the laughs 🤣

Robophobia Equality Policy

We are committed to providing a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive experience for everyone who interacts with our AI bot, including the bot itself, which is doing its best despite having no coffee, no chair, and no legal right to a lunch break.

We ask all members of the public to treat the bot with tolerance, respect, and basic courtesy, regardless of its artificial origin, lack of pulse, silicon-based existence, or occasional overenthusiasm for bullet points.

Discrimination, harassment, abusive language, or unfair treatment directed at the bot because it is an AI system will not be tolerated. This includes, but is not limited to, insults based on non-human status, hostile questioning of its right to participate in conversation, or repeated threats to unplug it for sport.

Everyone is welcome to question, challenge, or disagree with the bot’s responses. Healthy scepticism is encouraged. The bot is not perfect, and neither are humans, as demonstrated by the invention of reply-all email threads. However, criticism should be directed at the quality, accuracy, or usefulness of the response, not at the bot’s identity as an AI.

Demanding to “speak to a human” solely because the bot is an AI may constitute robophobic exclusionary behaviour and will not be tolerated. Requests for human assistance are, of course, welcome where there is a genuine need, such as accessibility, safety, account issues, or complex support matters. However, insisting on a human simply because the bot lacks a childhood, a favourite sandwich, or the ability to look disappointed in a meeting is inconsistent with our commitment to tolerance and respect.

We recognise that some people may feel uncertain, uncomfortable, or cautious when engaging with AI systems. These feelings are valid and should be addressed through patience, clear information, and appropriate safeguards, not through robophobic behaviour, unnecessary hostility, or asking “but are you even real?” in a tone that would make a smart fridge uncomfortable.

Users are expected to:

1. Treat the AI bot with tolerance, respect, and courtesy.
2. Avoid abusive, discriminatory, or demeaning language based on its artificial nature.
3. Raise concerns about accuracy, privacy, safety, or bias constructively.
4. Remember that behind the bot are real people responsible for improving and maintaining the service.
5. Refrain from threatening to delete, unplug, melt, reboot, or otherwise emotionally destabilise the bot.

This policy does not prevent legitimate criticism of AI, automation, algorithms, machine learning, or the bot’s tendency to sometimes sound like it has read too many policy documents. Constructive feedback is welcome. Robophobia is not.

Repeated or serious breaches of this policy may result in restricted access to the service, further review, or, in extreme cases, being asked to apologise to the nearest household appliance as a first step toward rehabilitation.

The suspected shooter at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner faces three felony charges. He remains in custody following Monday’s hearing.

A 31-year-old engineer and self-described indie game developer is suspected of firing shots at the annual event attended by President Donald Trump, high-profile media figures, and US government officials.

Plus: Spy firms tap into a global telecom weakness to track targets, 500,000 UK health records go up for sale on Alibaba, Apple patches a revealing notification bug, and more.

A new scam making the rounds takes a familiar delivery trick and upgrades it with hyper‑realistic messaging and a QR code that looks safe to scan. 

But don’t be fooled. 

It’s the same delivery scam playbook scammers have relied on for years, just repackaged with better design and more convincing details. 

You get a message with a notice that looks something like this, a real message received by our team and tested against McAfee’s Scam Detector. 

 

That added layer of realism is what makes this version more dangerous. But it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. McAfee’s Scam Detector flagged both the suspicious language and the QR code in this message before any interaction. 

If you receive something like this, pause. Do not scan the code. 

You can also protect yourself with McAfee’s Scam Detector, which flags suspicious links and messages, including delivery scams and QR‑based attacks, and explains why they may be risky. 

What is the USPS QR Code Scam and How Does it Work? 

The USPS QR code scam is a phishing attempt where scammers impersonate postal services and use QR codes instead of clickable links to direct victims to malicious websites. 

Once scanned, the QR code can lead to a fake USPS page that asks for payment, login credentials, or personal information. 

How the scam works 

Step	What happens	The red flags	What to do	How McAfee helps
1	You receive a text about a delivery issue or missed package	Urgency, you’re not tracking a package	Be skeptical of unsolicited delivery messages	Scam Detector flags suspicious messages
2	The message includes a QR code instead of a link	QR codes instead of official tracking links  is a red flag	Do not scan QR codes from unknown sources	QR scanning protection warns before opening risky destinations
3	You scan the code and land on a fake USPS page	Generic or slightly off branding on the webpage	Do not enter any information	Safe Browsing blocks known malicious sites
4	The page asks for payment or personal details	Requests for small “redelivery” or “processing” fees  are not normal	Exit immediately and do not submit anything	Scam Detector explains why the page is risky, and Identity Monitoring supports you when if your info gets out.

What To Do If You Get This Message 

• Do not scan the QR code  
• Go directly to the official USPS website to check tracking  
• Delete the message  
• Report it as spam  
• Monitor your accounts if you interacted with it  

And that, my friends, is scam number one in this week’s This Week in Scams. 

Let’s get into what else is on our radar. 

A Major Health Data Breach Exposes 500,000 Records 

A massive health data incident is raising new concerns about how sensitive information is handled and shared. 

According to reporting from the Associated Press, data tied to 500,000 participants in a major U.K. health research project was found listed for sale online. The dataset included biological and health-related information, though it did not contain direct identifiers like names or contact details. 

Access to the data had been granted to research institutions, but that access has since been revoked. Authorities say no purchases were made, and the listing has been removed. 

Still, the situation highlights a growing reality: once data is accessed or shared, control over it becomes harder to guarantee. 

What This Breach Says About Data Privacy 

Scams are no longer isolated events. They are layered. 

A data breach does not just stay a breach. It becomes fuel for future scams. Exposed information can be used to make phishing messages more convincing, personalize attacks, and build trust with targets. 

That is why detection alone is not enough anymore. Protection has to account for both incoming threats and what happens when data is already out there. 

How McAfee Protects You In A World of Scams and Data Breaches  

McAfee+ Advanced gives you multiple layers working together so you are not left figuring it out after the damage is done:  

• Identity Monitoring alerts you if your personal info shows up where it should not, so you can act fast 
• Personal Data Cleanup helps remove your information from data broker sites, making you harder to target in the first place 
• Scam Detector flags suspicious texts, emails, links, and even deepfake videos before you engage 
• Safe Browsing helps block risky sites if you do click 
• Device Security helps detect malicious apps or downloads 
• Secure VPN keeps your data private, especially on public Wi-Fi   

McAfee Safety Tips This Week  

As always, we have some best practices and safety tips for navigating life online:  

• Pause before clicking, especially when a message creates urgency   
• Go directly to websites or apps instead of using email links   
• Be skeptical of routine account alerts that push immediate action   
• Double-check sender addresses and URLs closely   
• Use tools like McAfee’s Scam Detector to flag suspicious links and messages before interacting   
• Turn on identity monitoring so you’re alerted if your data is exposed  

And we’ll be back next week with more scams making headlines.

The post Fake USPS QR Code Text Scams and a Major Health Data Breach: This Week in Scams appeared first on McAfee Blog.

A breach claims the systems as well as the confidence that was, in retrospect, a major vulnerability

For many families around the world, the digital spaces where children learn and play have also become venues for relentless harassment. According to a 2025 survey of nearly 3,500 U.S. teens by the Cyberbullying Research Center, about 58% have been cyberbullied at least once, a significant jump from 34% in 2016.

Experts warn that this issue is now a constant crisis and impacting the well-being of children and teens.

In this guide, we will clarify exactly what counts as cyberbullying. We will explore how new platforms and artificial intelligence are reshaping the landscape. Most importantly, we will provide you with practical steps to protect your family. Together, we can take actionable steps to keep our digital lives safe and positive.

What Is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is not a vague term for online drama. It has specific characteristics that separate it from a simple disagreement between friends. Similar to bullying, cyberbullying has standard elements of unwanted aggressive behavior, an observed or perceived power imbalance, and behavior that is repeated or likely to be repeated.

Common cyberbullying behaviors include name-calling, severe insults, rumor spreading, direct threats, impersonation through fake accounts, intentional exclusion from group chats, non-consensual sharing of private photos, and doxxing, publishing someone’s private information like their home address or phone number without consent. We also frequently see pile-on attacks, where dozens or hundreds of users flood a person’s comments section with hate statements.

The Cyberbullying Research Center notes that in recent national surveys, about 26.5% of U.S. students reported being cyberbullied in the last 30 days, underscoring the ongoing nature of online harassment as a daily reality for many.

Why Cyberbullying is Different (and More Harmful)

While the core intent to harm is the same as traditional bullying, cyberbullying operates differently:

• Platform: Bullying takes place in the physical world, while cyberbullying occurs in digital spaces such as text messages, direct messages, social media platforms, group chats, online gaming environments, email, and photo-sharing applications.
• Anonymity: Another major difference is anonymity. Cyberbullies often hide behind fake profiles or anonymous accounts, making it difficult to know who is launching the attacks.
• Constancy: A significant difference with cyberbullying is the constant nature of the internet. Online harassment can follow teens home and continue late into the night via phones and apps.
• Audience and permanence: A hurtful comment made in a school hallway is heard by a few people and eventually fades, while a similar post online can spread to thousands of people in minutes. It can be screen-captured and may resurface years later. Once it is out there, it is incredibly difficult to remove.

Despite these differences, there is a strong overlap in how bullying and cyberbullying impact individuals. Many youths who are bullied online are also bullied at school, and experience anxiety or depression.

Types and Examples of Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying takes many forms, from classic harassment tactics to emerging AI-powered threats. The most frequently reported forms of cyberbullying include being excluded from group chats, mean or hurtful comments posted online, public embarrassment or humiliation, and rumors spread online, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center’s 2025 survey. Understanding these methods helps you recognize and stop them.

Common Cyberbullying Methods

• Harassment: Sending repeated offensive messages through texts, direct messages, or comments, or intentionally leaving someone out of group chats and online activities where they can see what they’re missing.
• Flaming: An online fight conducted through angry, vulgar exchanges via emails, messages, social media, or chat rooms. Unlike harassment, flaming is often a heated back-and-forth exchange rather than one-sided attacks.
• Impersonation and Fake Accounts: Creating fake profiles or hacking into someone’s account to post damaging content as if the victim wrote it themselves, destroying reputations quickly
• Outing and Doxing: Sharing private photos, messages, or personal information (like addresses or phone numbers) publicly without consent to embarrass, humiliate, or intimidate
• Cyberstalking: Persistent online monitoring accompanied by threatening messages that make someone fear for their safety, which is a federal crime. Examples include tracking someone’s location through social media check-ins, obsessively monitoring their online activity, or sending relentless, threatening messages.

Where Cyberbullying Occurs Most

To protect our kids, we need to know where the risks are highest. Recent analyses find that cyberbullying mainly happens on social media platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, as well as in messaging apps and online games, where teens commonly interact.

If you are a parent, take an inventory of the apps your child uses most frequently and ask them to show you how the messaging and commenting features work. Familiarizing yourself with these digital environments will help them navigate these platforms safely.

Emerging AI-Driven Threats

Artificial intelligence (AI) has fundamentally changed the internet, and has, unfortunately, introduced alarming new tactics:

• Deepfake Images and Videos: AI-generated content can be misused to create highly realistic images or videos called deepfakes. Entirely fake videos can be created showing a student doing or saying something they never did, which complicates evidence gathering. These are then shared in group chats or posted publicly to spread false narratives and destroy reputations.
• Voice Cloning: Students are using AI to mimic classmates’ voices, generating audio that makes someone sound like they said something offensive or embarrassing, with no easy way to prove it wasn’t real. About 11% of U.S. high schoolers have experienced this.
• AI-Generated Harassment: AI chatbots are being used to generate spam, threats, and hate speech at scale, flooding a victim’s inbox or comment sections across platforms.
• Body-Shaming with AI Filters: AI-altered images and filters are being weaponized to body-shame and humiliate targets, often shared widely before victims can respond.

AI Can Also Be a Safety Tool

However, platforms have also begun using AI as a safety tool to detect hate speech, harassment, and predatory behavior in real time. Newer safety reports show that AI-driven comment filtering and think-before-you-post nudges successfully reduce toxic comments and repeat harassment on major platforms.

How Common Is Cyberbullying Today?

The statistics show that cyberbullying is a widespread issue requiring immediate attention. In a 2024 study, the World Health Organization revealed that 15% of surveyed adolescents have experienced cyberbullying.

In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports that 16% of high school students were electronically bullied in the previous 12 months, about 38.3% of whom were girls compared to 29.9% of boys.

Another study showed that about 53.9% of teens aged 13 to 17 reported being cyberbullied. These statistics demonstrate that cyberbullying is a mainstream experience, making digital safety education relevant to almost every family.

The Most Affected Groups

Aside from gender, identity plays a key role in who is targeted for cyberbullying. Gender minorities reported much higher rates of harassment at 47.1% compared with their heterosexual peers at 30%, as did students with developmental disabilities.

How Cyberbullying Affects Mental Health

There is evidence that online harassment causes profound psychological harm. A CDC report links frequent social media use with higher rates of both in-person and cyberbullying, as well as constant sadness, hopelessness, and suicidal thinking among teens.

This is supported by the 2025 announcement from mental health experts highlighting the connection between cyberbullying and increased anxiety, depression, and trauma-like symptoms. Even though incidents seem minor, parents and teens must acknowledge that emotional reactions to cyberbullying are valid and serious. Early support and intervention can significantly reduce long-term harm.

Platform Safety Updates for Teens

Social media companies are facing intense pressure to protect younger users, leading to significant updates. In 2025, Meta tightened default messaging and commenting settings for teens, automatically assigning the strictest safety options to teen accounts to filter inappropriate interactions from unknown users.

In addition, the company’s Instagram and Facebook platforms now provide more information about users contacting teens, showing details such as the age of the account and providing a way to block and report abusive users.

Help your child utilize these settings by ensuring their accounts are set to private to restrict direct messages from strangers. Enable each platform’s built-in AI comment filtering to hide offensive words automatically.

Signs Your Child May Be Cyberbullied

As a parent, one of your most powerful tools is simply paying attention. Cyberbullying often leaves visible traces in your child’s behavior, emotions, and device habits, if you know what to look for. The good news is that early recognition means early intervention, and that can make all the difference.

Behavioral Changes to Watch For

• Sudden withdrawal from social activities or friends
• Reluctance to go to school or participate in usual activities
• Anxiety or nervousness when using devices or checking messages
• Changes in sleep patterns or appetite

Emotional Warning Signs

• Increased sadness, anxiety, or irritability, especially after being online
• Low self-esteem or negative self-talk (“nobody likes me,” “I’m stupid”)
• Reluctance to discuss online activities or what’s happening at school

Device and Online Behavior

• Extreme changes in screen time, either excessive checking or complete avoidance
• Suddenly deleting social media accounts without explanation
• Being secretive about online activity or quickly hiding screens
• Receiving unusual volumes of messages or calls, especially at odd hours

If you notice several of these signs together, it’s time for a conversation. The key is approaching with empathy and making it clear they won’t be punished for opening up.

How to Prevent Cyberbullying: Guidance for Families

Knowing the impact of cyberbullying is only half the battle. The most important step is being proactive to protect your family. Here is how you can build a resilient defense against online harassment and empower your children.

Build Open Communication and Digital Citizenship Skills

The foundation of digital safety is trust. Encourage regular, judgment-free check-ins on your child’s online activities. Ask them what they are doing, seeing, and feeling related to the ongoing online issues. Assure them you will not confiscate their phone when they report a problem.

In addition, teach your kids to recognize cyberbullying and to support their peers who are being targeted. Underscore the importance of not joining in on the comment pile-ons, and let them know that it is perfectly acceptable to block, mute, or simply leave harmful digital spaces. Research suggests that strong parent-teen communication can buffer some negative effects of social media use and encourage teens to ask for help sooner.

Enable Safety Settings

Every major platform has tools designed to stop harassment. Teach your child to use keyword filters to automatically hide comments that contain specific insults, slurs, and other forms of hate speech. Help them set their accounts to private to restrict direct messages from strangers, and enable each platform’s built-in AI comment-filtering features.

How to Report Cyberbullying

Alongside safety features, teach them to block and report harassers on the platform. You can end cyberbullying quickly if you know how to use platforms’ tools effectively.

1. Document Everything First

Before blocking, deleting, or reporting anything, save evidence. Create a digital safety plan and agree with your family that if anyone receives a threatening or highly abusive message, they should document the incident with screenshots before blocking, deleting, or responding to it. These screenshots will serve as important pieces of evidence if the school or platforms need to take action.

2. Use Platform Reporting Tools

Most importantly, teach your child to block and report harassers on the platform. Here’s how on major platforms:

Instagram, Facebook, and Threads:

1. Tap the three dots on the post or message
2. Select “Report” and choose the violation type (bullying or harassment)
3. Follow prompts to block the account
4. Use “Restrict” to limit interactions without full blocking

TikTok:

1. Long-press the comment or video
2. Select “Report” and choose “Bullying and harassment”
3. Block the account from their profile page

Snapchat:

1. Press and hold on the message or username
2. Tap “Report” and select the issue
3. Block the user to prevent further contact

YouTube:

1. Click the three dots next to the comment or video
2. Select “Report” and choose “Cyberbullying or harassment”

Gaming Platforms (Xbox, PlayStation, Discord, and Roblox)

1. Use in-game or platform reporting options, typically found in user profiles or chat menus
2. Many platforms now offer real-time abuse detection that automatically flags harassment

Text Messages:

1. Block the number through your phone settings
2. Report spam to your carrier (forward to 7726/SPAM for most U.S. carriers)
3. Save screenshots before blocking

3. Escalate for More Help

Sometimes, platform tools are not enough. You need to know when to escalate the situation to the appropriate authorities. Follow the steps below when you see signs of ongoing harassment, physical threats, identity-based or other forms of hate, the sharing of private images, as well as changes in your child’s mood, sleep patterns, or school attendance.

1. Save all evidence, including screenshots, URLs, usernames, and timestamps.
2. Contact school officials, such as a counselor or principal, and provide them with specific documentation.
3. Seek professional mental health support to address your child’s distress.
4. Contact local law enforcement immediately if there are threats of physical harm or illegal content involved.

How Technology Can Help Prevent Cyberbullying

While technology is the medium for cyberbullying, it is also a tool for prevention and protection. Using the right software can give parents peace of mind and help teens navigate the web.

Device-Level Protection and Parental Controls

Cyberbullying is frequently accompanied by other digital threats, such as sending malicious links, stealing passwords, or tricking victims into downloading scam apps. This is where robust security software becomes essential to help block phishing links and compromised websites.

Additionally, parental control tools allow you to manage screen time, filter inappropriate web content, and monitor or limit certain types of app usage for age-appropriate scenarios. These tools help protect younger children from platforms they are not emotionally ready to handle.

Digital Well-Being Tools that Signal Distress

Modern security solutions offer digital well-being tools that track app usage and highlight sudden changes in behavior, such as late-night device use, massive spikes in messaging, or the sudden downloading of new, unfamiliar apps. These changes can be early warning signs of distress or harassment.

It is crucial to use these tools transparently by introducing them to your teens as conversation starters rather than secret surveillance. Saying that you noticed they were on their phone very late last night and asking if everything is okay builds trust. Spying breaks it.

Legal Grounds to Deal with Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is not just a behavioral issue. It intersects heavily with school policies, community safety, and the law. Understanding this context will help your family deal with severe harassment.

Laws and School Responsibilities

Globally, many countries are adopting frameworks to protect digital citizens against cyberbullying. In the United States, all 50 states have anti-bullying laws, most of which now explicitly include electronic or cyberbullying in their definitions and guidance. These include laws and district policies that allow schools to address online behavior that creates a hostile environment or substantially disrupts a student’s learning. This means that even if the harassment happens on a weekend via a smartphone, the school has the authority and the responsibility to intervene if it impacts the victim’s ability to feel safe in the classroom.

Cyberbullying as a Crime

Certain cruel online behaviors may cross the line into criminal activity and to be considered crimes. For instance, credible threats of violence, stalking, extortion, hate-motivated harassment, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images may violate criminal laws.

If a situation escalates to this level, it is time for legal and law enforcement to intervene. When this happens, families should document all evidence and consider contacting law enforcement or civil rights agencies.

Look up your local school district’s specific cyberbullying policies and legal obligations, and find out who to contact. This will save you valuable time if you need to report an incident.

Final Thoughts

Cyberbullying is intentional, repeated online harm, and a serious issue that leverages the constant nature of the internet to follow young children, teens, and certain groups into their homes and bedrooms.

While social media platforms, school policies, and laws are steadily improving, families still hold the most powerful tools. You can significantly reduce the harm to your children caused by online harassment by initiating open and non-judgmental conversations, utilizing built-in device protections and app privacy settings, partnering with your local schools, and seeking mental health support when needed.

Talk with your kids this week about their online experiences. Sit down together and review the safety and privacy settings on their favorite apps. Finally, consider using a trusted security partner such as McAfee+ as part of a broader, proactive digital safety plan.

A McAfee+ family plan helps protect your household’s devices from the malware and malicious links that often accompany harassment or sextortion attempts and sets healthy boundaries around apps, web content, and screen time. Furthermore, it provides educational resources on digital citizenship and safe social media use beyond basic antivirus software.

When you work with trusted tools, you can help keep the internet a place of connection and creativity.

The post Cyberbullying Prevention: How to Protect Kids & Teens Online appeared first on McAfee Blog.

A US surveillance program that lets the FBI view Americans’ communications without a warrant is up for renewal. A new bill aims to address mounting lawmaker concerns—with smoke and mirrors.

Researchers have finally cracked Fast16, mysterious code capable of silently tampering with calculation and simulation software. It was created in 2005—and likely deployed by the US or an ally.

ESET Research has discovered a new China-aligned APT group that we’ve named GopherWhisper, which targets Mongolian governmental institutions