New research from cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes suggests scammers have become highly strategic about timing and choice of channel when targeting victims, rather than sending fraudulent messages at random. The findings matter because understanding these patterns could help people recognise and resist scams during the moments they are most vulnerable, such as busy periods when attention is divided and messages are more likely to be acted on without scrutiny.

Malwarebytes analysed global threat data from 15 April to 14 July 2026 across more than 20 scam categories, finding that scam text volume aimed at Americans peaked around midday (12pm ET), roughly 874% higher than at 1am ET, and rose through the week to a Friday high roughly 50% above Monday levels. Scammers also tailor the platform to the scam type: job scams typically arrive by email, romance scams via social media, and tech support scams often begin with a phone call, while the web remains the most common overall route, followed by email and SMS, with Malwarebytes blocking roughly 500,000 phishing websites daily. The company advises against clicking links in suspicious messages and instead recommends accessing accounts directly via official apps or manually typed website addresses.