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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →F‑Secure launched its Scam Encyclopedia on October 15, 2026, as a continuously updated guide to more than 50 ways individuals and households can be defrauded online. The resource, published through the company’s Illuminate Research Hub, starts with what a victim is led to believe—not with the technology a criminal uses—so readers can recognize the same deception when it moves between apps, websites and emerging tools.
What the Scam Encyclopedia covers
F‑Secure defines a scam in this project as online criminal deception carried out for financial gain. Its stated scope is individual consumers and households. In-person fraud and electronic scams that do not use the internet are outside the encyclopedia’s definition, so the catalogue is not a complete taxonomy of every kind of fraud.
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The overview describes 50-plus scam types arranged in eight categories. They include investment scams, product and service scams, social-media and shopping scams, romance scams, prize and sweepstakes scams, debt scams, charity scams and other recurring consumer-fraud patterns. The count is not fixed: F‑Secure calls the encyclopedia a living resource that will change as its Threat Intelligence team identifies new variations.
Why it is “victim-first”
Traditional security classifications often begin with the channel or technical mechanism—such as phishing, malware or a particular platform. F‑Secure’s entries instead follow the person’s experience of being deceived.
- Belief: the entry explains what the victim is misled to think is happening.
- Encounter: it describes what the person sees or is told, and where the interaction takes place.
- Request: it identifies the action the scammer asks the target to take.
- Extraction: it maps how the deception leads to money, credentials or another valuable outcome.
This approach is intended to make recurring patterns easier to spot even when the delivery method changes. As Principal Threat Intelligence Researcher Megan Squire put it, criminals generally reuse familiar tactics and apply them to whatever people are using, including dating apps, text messaging, social media and AI tools.
Indicators and reusable templates
The encyclopedia is more than a list of names. Its overview says it contains more than 50 scam indicators and scam templates alongside the main catalogue.
Indicators grouped by mechanics
The indicator catalogue organizes warning signs around scam mechanics, impersonation, psychological pressure and targeting methods. A single warning sign can occur in several categories. An advance-fee demand, for example, may appear in an employment scam, a marketplace transaction or a fake prize notification. Looking for the mechanic rather than memorizing one label helps readers identify variants that use different wording or platforms.
Templates for recognizing delivery
Templates show how a scam can be presented in messages or other contact. They are useful for comparing a suspicious approach with a known pattern, but a message does not need to match a template word for word to be dangerous. Criminals can alter names, branding, urgency and payment instructions while keeping the same underlying sequence.
How current is the information?
The scams catalogue was marked “last updated” September 30, 2026, and the indicators page September 29, 2026. Those dates describe the pages at the time of the announcement, not a permanent edition. Because F‑Secure says the encyclopedia is continuously updated, category totals, examples and indicator wording can change. Anyone using it as a reference should check the live pages rather than rely on a saved copy.
What the launch says about scam risk
F‑Secure’s launch material states that 52% of scam victims now lose money, more than twice the rate reported one year earlier. The announcement presents that figure as a 2026 F‑Secure statistic; it does not, in the supplied material, specify a country, sample design or whether “victim” means everyone reporting a scam or a defined survey group. It should therefore be read as the company’s cited measure, not a universal rate for every population.
How to use the encyclopedia before sending money
- Describe the situation in plain language. Start with what you believe is happening—an investment opportunity, a delivery problem, a romantic relationship, a debt notice or a prize.
- Identify the contact point. Note whether the approach arrived by text, social media, a dating service, an online marketplace, email or an AI-enabled service.
- Check the requested action. Look for demands to pay an advance fee, share a code, move the conversation, install software, buy gift cards or transfer cryptocurrency.
- Compare the indicators. Review pressure, impersonation, targeting and payment mechanics, not just the scam’s claimed identity.
- Pause independently. Verify the person or organization through a contact method you find yourself. Do not use a phone number, link or account supplied by the unexpected message.
- Stop if the pattern fits. Do not send money or credentials while the claim is unverified. If payment or account access has already occurred, contact the financial institution or service immediately and preserve messages and transaction records.
What this resource does—and does not—classify
| Question | Scam Encyclopedia’s stated position |
|---|---|
| Organizing principle | Victim experience and the sequence of lure, deception, request and extraction |
| Technology scope | Online consumer scams; tactics may appear on dating apps, messaging, social media and AI tools |
| Audience | Individual consumers and households |
| Categories | Eight categories, covering more than 50 scam types at launch |
| Warning signs | More than 50 indicators grouped by mechanics, impersonation, pressure and targeting |
| Templates | Included as examples of reusable scam approaches |
| Excluded | Offline, in-person fraud and electronic fraud that does not use the internet |
| Update model | Living resource; entries and counts can change |
Why the taxonomy matters
Scammers can switch platforms without changing their objective. A fake investment pitch, for instance, may begin in a social-media comment, continue in a private chat and end with a cryptocurrency transfer. A victim-first map connects those stages, making it less likely that a change of app or the use of an AI-generated message will make a familiar scheme appear new. The encyclopedia is best used as a pattern-recognition aid and a starting point for verification, not as proof that an unlisted approach is safe.
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