MALWAREBYTES says we’re still not doing April Fools’ Day because scams have grown more sophisticated while people’s ability to spot them has not kept pace. Global data show people worldwide lost an estimated $442 billion to scams last year, while our own research found that 44% of people encounter mobile scams every day and two in three find it hard to tell a scam from the real thing, with only 15% strongly agreeing they could detect one.
A year ago, the company stepped away from April Fools’ Day, and now it argues the move is justified by the way scams have evolved, including AI-driven and deepfake tactics that mimic real organisations and people. It notes that examples such as fake order confirmations by Deliveroo and Gourmet Burger Kitchen led to genuine customer panic and calls to banks, illustrating the real harm pranks can cause.
Scam Guard has been launched to help people check messages, with data showing that in about 15% of interactions where users paused to verify, they avoided losses of over £1,000 or prevented high-risk outcomes; the article stresses that a pause to check can make the difference.