From Ponzi schemes to AI deepfakes, this encyclopedia covers every major scam type active in 2026 with detection methods, real examples, and protection strategies.
Scam Categories
- Crypto & DeFi — rug pulls, exchange fraud, fake tokens, honeypots
- Investment — Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, pump-and-dump
- Romance — pig butchering, catfishing, military impersonation
- Phishing — email, SMS, social media, fake login pages
- Identity — deepfakes, SIM swapping, synthetic identity fraud
- Commerce — counterfeit products, dropshipping fraud, fake stores
- Employment — fake job offers, money mule recruitment
- Recovery — scams targeting existing scam victims
Essential Protection
- Use a hardware wallet for crypto
- Enable 2FA on all accounts
- Use a VPN router for network protection
- Read cybersecurity books to stay informed
- Never share seed phrases, passwords, or 2FA codes
Tools
The scam.* Network
- scam.wiki — Scam encyclopedia
- scam.stream — Real-time exposure
- scam.video — Video investigations
- scam.courses — Free education
- scam.beauty — Beauty scams
- scam.hair — Hair scams
- scam.makeup — Cosmetics fraud
- scam.horse — Betting scams
- scam.ink — Tattoo scams
- scam.surf — Browsing safety
- scam.singles — Dating scams