Technology

New Evite phishing scam uses emotional event invitations to target victims

Published

2 months ago

September 16, 2025

New Evite phishing scam uses emotional event invitations to target victims

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I recently got an email from a friend with the subject “Special Celebration of Life.” It looked like a genuine Evite invitation. But when I clicked the “View Invitation” button, my antivirus software blocked the site, flagging it as a phishing attempt.

It was one of the most convincing scam emails I’ve seen lately, complete with Evite branding, realistic design, and a personal touch. If I didn’t have strong antivirus protection, I might have walked right into it.

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DON’T FALL FOR THIS BANK PHISHING SCAM TRICK

Phishing email appears to be a legitimate Evite invitation titled “Special Celebration Of Life.” (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How this Evite phishing scam works

Scammers send fake Evite messages with emotionally charged subjects, such as a “Special Celebration of Life,” to lure you into clicking. These emails mimic Evite’s design so they appear to come from someone you know, lowering your guard.

Scammers are sending fake Evite invitations that look personal and trustworthy. One click can expose a user’s personal data or install malware. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Clicking the malicious link can:

Steal your personal information
Capture your login credentials
Install malware on your device

Because these invitations feel personal and urgent, they can bypass skepticism. Always verify sender details before opening event links, especially for sensitive occasions.

Always hover over links and check sender details before clicking, especially on invitations or urgent messages from unfamiliar sources. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Steps to protect yourself from fake Evite phishing scams

Even the most convincing invitation can be a trap, as the fake Evite email I received proved. By following these steps, you can lower your chances of falling for similar scams and keep your personal information safe.

HOW FAKE MICROSOFT ALERTS TRICK YOU INTO PHISHING SCAMS

1) Use strong antivirus software for real-time protection

Strong antivirus software can stop you from landing on dangerous sites. In my case, the antivirus software blocked the fake Evite link and flagged it as phishing before any damage was done. Choose strong antivirus software with phishing detection and automatic blocking to protect against threats you might not spot yourself.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at CyberGuy.com/LockUpYourTech

2) Check the sender’s email address carefully

Scammers often use email addresses that look almost identical to legitimate ones, but with tiny changes, like an extra letter, a missing character, or a different domain extension. In my fake Evite example, the branding looked perfect, but the sender’s address didn’t match Evite’s official domain. Always double-check before trusting an email.

HOW I ALMOST FELL FOR A MICROSOFT 365 CALENDAR INVITE SCAM

3) Hover over links before clicking

Before you click “You’re Invited!”, “View Invitation” or “RSVP Now,” hover your mouse over the link. Your email client will usually display the destination URL. In the phishing email I received, the link pointed to a suspicious domain, not Evite.com. In the phishing email I received, the link pointed to a suspicious domain, not Evite.com. If you look closely, you’ll see it was misspelled as “envtte.” If the address looks odd or unfamiliar, don’t click.

A closer look reveals the fake link in this email that leads to a suspicious domain, not Evite.com. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

4) Use a personal data removal service to limit your exposure

The less personal information scammers can find about you online, the harder it is for them to target you. A personal data removal service can scrub your personal details, such as your phone number, home address, and email, from public databases. This reduces the risk of scammers crafting convincing, personalized phishing attempts like the fake Evite email I received.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com/Delete

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com/FreeScan

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION PHISHING SCAM TARGETS RETIREES

5) Verify with the sender directly before clicking

If an invitation appears to come from a friend, don’t assume it’s real. Scammers often spoof the names of people you know. Send a quick text or make a phone call to confirm they actually sent the invite. In many cases, they’ll be just as surprised as you are to hear about it.

What this means for you

Phishing scams are evolving to look more authentic than ever. Even if the message seems to come from someone you trust, one careless click can put your personal data at risk. Having strong cybersecurity tools in place and knowing how to spot a scam is your best defense.

Kurt’s key takeaways

I was lucky my antivirus software blocked this attack before any damage was done. But not everyone has that safety net. The next time an unexpected invitation or urgent message lands in your inbox, take a few extra seconds to verify before you click.

Have you ever almost fallen for a fake event invite? What happened? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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Technology

Apple helped kill netbooks. Will it bring them back?

Published

11 hours ago

November 8, 2025

Press Room

Apple helped kill netbooks. Will it bring them back?

Rumor has it, Apple is working on a low-cost MacBook. And not “low-cost for a Mac,” but a proper cheap laptop, possibly as low as $599. For a company that traditionally targets the more premium end of the market, this would be something of an about-face.

Of course, Apple takes great pride in its design and aesthetics. So the company isn’t going to simply take the innards of a MacBook Air, slap them in a cheap plastic case, and call it a day. Instead, Apple is supposedly building a smaller laptop, with a lower-resolution screen and an “entirely new design” around an iPhone processor.

That chip could be some version of the A19 found in the current iPhone lineup, but analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed earlier this year that the company was working on a laptop powered by last year’s A18.

If the idea of a small, low-cost laptop running on an ultralow-power chip feels familiar, well, it should — we used to call them netbooks. Netbooks erupted on the scene at a weird time in the late aughts, when we were transitioning to a web-first computing world.

What set netbooks apart from other laptops was their pursuit of portability, battery life, and rock-bottom prices at almost any cost. The original netbook, the ASUS Eee PC, came in two sizes (7-inch or 10-inch) and ran on Intel’s budget Celeron M processor. But even that slow, low-powered CPU was too demanding for the tiny Eee PC, and so ASUS underclocked it to just 630 MHz. (Yes, back in the halcyon days of 2007, we measured CPU speed in MHz, not GHz.)

Intel saw this emerging trend and built CPUs just for the netbooks called Atom. In many ways, Atom chips were Intel’s answer to the growing might of ARM, and even formed the basis for its tablet and smartphone efforts. It’s essentially the reverse of what Apple did, which took its mobile A-series processor and turned it into a powerful laptop chip. (And, now back again, it seems.)

As we all know now, netbooks were not long for this world. A number of things helped spell their demise. For one, most of them were just never particularly good. And the ones that weren’t awful tended to be a bit pricer. Sure, you could get a 7-inch Eee PC for around $200. But something more capable, like an HP Mini 210 HD, could set you back about $385 in 2010, depending on the configuration. When adjusted for inflation, that’s a hair over $577. As the prices of regular laptops came down, this didn’t seem like a particularly good deal anymore.

But two of the biggest culprits are undoubtedly the emergence of the Chromebook and the iPad. (We’ll save the discussion of the Chromebook for another day.) The iPad was introduced in 2010, and it immediately started eating into the netbook’s market share. By 2012, tablets had overtaken netbooks, and by 2013, netbooks were effectively dead. Sure, some still lingered around, and you had a spiritual successor in the Chromebook, but the iPad helped kill off the netbook in swift and spectacular fashion.

Many of the things that one might have used a netbook for — browsing the web, checking email, shouting into the void of what was then called Twitter — were now being handled better by the iPad. And, when paired with a Bluetooth keyboard, the iPad was actually a decent productivity machine, so long as your expectations were low.

And so, the netbook vanished.

But this new, cheaper MacBook, at least on paper, sounds like it might be borrowing a bit from the netbook blueprint. Some people will just never be able to adjust to the workflow of a tablet and keyboard combo. So Apple might be giving them a proper laptop form factor.

While we don’t know what the screen size will be, we do know it will be smaller than the current 13.6-inch MacBook Air. That could mean 13.3 inches, but perhaps Apple will bring back the 12-inch format or even revisit the 11-inch realm of its smallest Air model. That’s inching into netbook territory.

Pair all that with a mobile-first SoC that will handle everyday tasks and browsing with aplomb, but certainly won’t cut it for heavier tasks like video editing or gaming, and you have something that sounds like the original pitch for a netbook if you ask me. Apple will obviously never call its new affordable MacBook a netbook, but maybe by avoiding the name, it can make them cool again.

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Terrence O’Brien

Technology

Connecticut man loses life savings in crypto scam

Published

12 hours ago

November 8, 2025

Press Room

Connecticut man loses life savings in crypto scam

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When Joe A. from Shelton, Conn., received a text about a crypto investment opportunity, he thought it was his chance to rebuild after a divorce. Instead, he lost every dollar he had. Joe’s story is a heartbreaking reminder of how easy it is to fall for an online investment scam that promises quick success and easy money.

Joe has allowed Cyberguy to tell his powerful story so that others can learn from his experience and protect themselves from similar scams. Here is how it all went down and how you can protect yourself from falling into the same trap.

HOW TO STOP IMPOSTOR BANK SCAMS BEFORE THEY DRAIN YOUR WALLET

After his account access vanished, scammers allegedly demanded more cash to “reactivate” it. By then, Joe’s retirement savings were wiped out. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

How the online investment scam began

In August, Joe got a message from a company calling itself “ZAP Solutions.” They promised that if he invested $30,000, he’d soon have $368,000 in returns. It sounded like a smart move. Like many victims, Joe believed the pitch because it seemed professional and legitimate.

But soon, he was led deeper into a trap. Each “short-term investment” required another wire transfer. Before he knew it, Joe had sent every penny, his 401K, IRA, and other investments.

When the investment scam fell apart

The moment Joe was locked out of his account, panic set in. The scammers demanded more money to “reactivate” it. By the end, Joe had lost $228,000.

His mother, Carol, was devastated when she found out.

“I was shocked,” she said. “He showed us the screenshots, the messages, he emptied everything.”

Joe and his family filed a police report with local authorities and contacted the FBI. But according to officers, recovery is unlikely.

“They told us there’s no way to get it back,” Carol said. “These cyber stalkers move the money too fast.”

The bigger picture: Online investment scams are rising

Joe’s story isn’t unique. The FBI reports that cyber criminals have stolen more than $50 billion from Americans in just five years. Scammers prey on emotion, targeting people who are hopeful, lonely, or in transition.

“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Joe said, stating a phrase we all should remember.

How to protect yourself from online investment scams

Staying safe starts with awareness and consistent action. Cybercriminals are getting more creative, so protecting your finances means staying alert every step of the way. Follow these proven steps to safeguard your accounts and identity.

1) Research before you invest

Always verify any investment opportunity before sending money. Look up the company through official government or financial websites, such as the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database or FINRA’s BrokerCheck. Read reviews, confirm licenses and search for scam alerts online.

2) Be suspicious of unsolicited messages and use strong antivirus software

If a text, email or social media message promises high returns, stop and think. Legitimate firms never cold-contact people about investment offers. Delete suspicious messages immediately and never click on links from unknown sources. Install and regularly update strong antivirus software on all your devices. This can block phishing attempts, malicious downloads, and fake investment platforms designed to steal your data.

SCAMMERS NOW IMPERSONATE COWORKERS, STEAL EMAIL THREADS IN CONVINCING PHISHING ATTACKS

Joe’s mother says the family filed police and FBI reports, but recovery is unlikely as criminals move money fast across borders and accounts. (Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

3) Check email addresses and website domains

Scammers often use domains that look almost identical to real ones. Double-check for misspellings, extra letters or unusual web extensions like “.co” or “.biz.” If you’re unsure, search for the official company site separately in your browser.

4) Never wire money to strangers

Once you wire money to a scammer, recovery is nearly impossible. Never send money to someone you’ve only met online, even if they claim to represent a reputable company. Always confirm payment details through verified sources.

5) Talk to a trusted financial advisor

Before you invest large sums, get a second opinion from a licensed financial advisor. A professional can spot red flags and unrealistic promises that you might overlook.

6) Use a data removal service

Protect your personal information by using a data removal or privacy service that scrubs your phone number, address and other details from people-search sites. This reduces the chance of scammers finding and targeting you.

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the Internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

7) Enroll in an identity theft protection service

If scammers have your personal details, they could try to open credit cards or loans in your name. Enrolling in a reputable identity theft protection service adds another layer of security by monitoring your credit and alerting you to suspicious activity.

Identity theft companies can monitor personal information like your Social Security Number (SSN), phone number and email address, and alert you if it is being sold on the dark web or being used to open an account. They can also assist you in freezing your bank and credit card accounts to prevent further unauthorized use by criminals.

FBI WARNS SENIORS ABOUT BILLION-DOLLAR SCAM DRAINING RETIREMENT FUNDS, EXPERT SAYS AI DRIVING IT

From antivirus and data-removal services to identity-theft monitoring, CyberGuy shares concrete steps to block phishing, verify firms and protect your money. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft at Cyberguy.com.

8) Report suspicious activity immediately

If you believe you’ve been targeted or scammed, act fast. Contact your local police department, your bank and file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Quick action can sometimes limit further loss or help investigators trace the fraud.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Joe’s story is painful, but it’s also powerful. His honesty may stop someone else from losing everything. Online scams thrive when people stay silent, but sharing stories like Joe’s helps others stay alert. So before you trust anyone promising quick profits online, take a pause, verify everything and remember Joe’s story because one moment of caution could save you from a lifetime of regret.

Have you ever received an investment offer that seemed too good to be true? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

Technology

Halo Infinite is about to get its last major update

Published

1 day ago

November 8, 2025

Press Room

Halo Infinite is about to get its last major update

On November 18th, Operation: Infinite will be released for Halo Infinite players with a battle pass and lots of new customizations, but according to the team, that’s it for this game’s content updates:

With multiple Halo titles in development, we’ll need our whole team’s combined focus to deliver new experiences with the same passion and care that our community has given us. While we remain committed to supporting Halo Infinite on the road ahead, Operation: Infinite is the last major content update currently planned.

Now, the team writes, “we’ve been floored by the response” to Campaign Evolved, which will be released on both PS5 and Xbox next year.