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Wednesday, December 3, 2025

This Week in Scams: DoorDash Breach and Pretend Flight Cancellation Texts


Main off our information on scams this week, a heads-up for DoorDash customers, retailers, and Dashers too. A knowledge breach of an undisclosed measurement could have impacted you.

Per an electronic mail despatched by the corporate to “affected DoorDash customers the place required,” a 3rd get together gained entry to information which will have included a mixture of the next:

  • First and final title
  • Bodily deal with
  • Cellphone quantity
  • E-mail deal with

You might need received the e-mail too. And even if you happen to didn’t, anybody who’s used DoorDash ought to take notice.

As to the potential scope of the breach, DoorDash made no remark in its electronic mail or a submit on their assist web site. Of notice, although, is that one of many assist strains cited of their submit mentions a French-language quantity—implying that the breach may have an effect on Canadian customers as properly. Any attain past the U.S. and Canada stays unclear.

Per the corporate’s Q2 monetary report this 12 months, “tons of of hundreds of retailers, tens of hundreds of thousands of shoppers, and hundreds of thousands of Dashers throughout over 30 international locations each month.” Stats printed elsewhere put the person base at greater than 40 million individuals, which incorporates some 600,000 retailers.

The corporate underscored that no “delicate” data like Social Safety Numbers (and doubtlessly Canadian Social Insurance coverage Numbers) have been concerned within the breach. This marks the third notable breach by the well-known supply service, with incidents in 2019 and 2022

Image of DoorDash email about data breach.
Picture of DoorDash electronic mail about information breach.

What to do if you happen to assume you bought caught up within the DoorDash breach

Whereas the varieties of data concerned right here look like restricted, any time there’s a breach, we propose the next:

Shield your credit score and id. Checking your credit score and getting id theft safety will help hold you safer within the aftermath of a breach. Additional, a safety freeze will help stop id theft if you happen to spot any uncommon exercise. You may get all three in place with our McAfee+ Superior or Final plans.

Preserve a watch out for phishing assaults. With some private data in hand, unhealthy actors may search out extra. They may comply with up a breach with rounds of phishing assaults that direct you to bogus websites designed to steal your private data. As with all textual content or electronic mail you get from an organization, ensure it’s legit earlier than clicking or tapping on any hyperlinks. As a substitute, go straight to the suitable web site or contact them by telephone straight. Additionally, protections like our Rip-off Detector and Internet Safety can provide you with a warning to scams and sketchy hyperlinks earlier than they take you someplace you don’t wish to go.

Replace your passwords and use two-factor authentication. Altering your password is a robust safety measure. Sturdy and distinctive passwords are greatest, which suggests by no means reusing your passwords throughout completely different websites and platforms. Utilizing a password supervisor helps you keep on high of all of it whereas additionally storing your passwords securely.

Consideration vacationers: Now boarding, an increase in flight cancellation scams

Even because the FAA lifted latest flight restrictions on Monday morning, scammers are nonetheless making the most of lingering uncertainty, and upcoming vacation journey, with a spate of flight cancellation scams.

How the rip-off works

Pretend cancellation texts

The primary comes through a textual content message saying that your flight has been cancelled and you have to name or rebook shortly to keep away from shedding your seat—often in half-hour. It’s a typical scammer trick, the place they hook you with a mixture of unhealthy information and urgency. In fact, the telephone quantity and the positioning don’t join you together with your airline. They join you to a scammer, who walks away together with your cash and your card data to doubtlessly rip you off once more.

Pretend airline websites in search outcomes

The second makes use of paid search outcomes. We’ve talked about this trick in our blogs earlier than. As a result of paid search outcomes seem forward of natural outcomes, scammers spin up bogus websites that mirror legit ones and promote them in paid search. On this approach, they will appear to be a sure well-known airline and seem in search earlier than the actual airline’s itemizing. With that, individuals usually mistakenly click on the primary hyperlink they see. From there, the rip-off performs out simply as above because the scammer comes away together with your cash and card data.

Easy methods to keep away from flight cancellation scams

Q: How can I affirm whether or not my flight is admittedly canceled?
A: Examine straight in your airline’s official app or web site. By no means click on hyperlinks in texts or emails.

Q: How can I spot a faux airline search outcome?
A: Search for “Advert”/“Sponsored,” affirm the URL, and verify that the positioning makes use of HTTPS, not HTTP.

Q: Is there a software that flags faux reserving websites?
A: Rip-off-spotting instruments like Rip-off Detector and Internet Safety can determine sketchy hyperlinks earlier than you click on.

In search, first isn’t all the time greatest.

Look intently to see in case your high outcomes are tagged with “Sponsored” or “Advert” ultimately, realizing it is likely to be in nice print. Additional, have a look at the online deal with. Does it begin with “https” (the “s” means safe), as a result of many rip-off websites merely use an unsecured “http” web site. Additionally, does the hyperlink look proper? For instance, if you happen to’re trying to find “Generic Airways,” is the hyperlink the anticipated “genericairlines dot-com” or one thing else? Scammers usually attempt to spoof it ultimately by including to the title or by making a subdomain like this: “genericairlines.rebookyourflight dot-com.”

Get a rip-off detector to identify bogus hyperlinks for you.

Even with the following tips and instruments, recognizing bogus hyperlinks with the bare eye can get difficult. Some look “shut sufficient” to a legit hyperlink that you simply may overlook it. But a mixture of options in our McAfee+ plans will help do this give you the results you want.  Our Rip-off Detector helps you keep safer with superior rip-off detection know-how constructed to identify and cease scams throughout textual content messages, emails, and movies. Likewise, our Internet Safety will provide you with a warning if a hyperlink may take you to a sketchy web site. It’ll additionally block these websites if you happen to by accident faucet or click on on a nasty hyperlink.

Scammers Hijack a Trusted Mass Texting Supplier

You’ve most likely seen loads of messages despatched by brief code numbers. They’re the five- or six-digit codes used to ship texts as a substitute of by a telephone quantity. For instance, your cable firm may use one to ship a textual content for resetting a streaming password, the identical goes to your pharmacy to let you recognize a prescription is prepared or your state’s DoT to subject a winter journey alert, and so forth.

In keeping with NBC Information, scammers despatched tons of of hundreds of texts utilizing codes utilized by the state of New York, a charity, and a political organizing group. The article additionally cites an electronic mail despatched to messaging suppliers by the U.S. Brief Code Registry, an trade nonprofit that maintains these codes within the U.S. Within the electronic mail, the registry mentioned tried assaults on messaging suppliers are on the rise.

What this implies for the remainder of us is that virtually any textual content from an unknown quantity, and now brief codes, may include malicious hyperlinks and content material. It’s another reason to arm your self with the one-two punch of our Rip-off Detector and Internet Safety.

What are brief codes?
Brief codes are 5–6 digit numbers utilized by pharmacies, utilities, banks, and authorities businesses to ship official alerts.

Why this assault is uncommon
Scammers didn’t spoof brief codes—they gained entry to actual ones utilized by:

  • The State of New York
  • A charity
  • A political organizing group

Why this issues
Even texts from legit short-code numbers can not be trusted at face worth.

What to do now

  • Deal with any surprising textual content—even from a brief code—as suspicious.
  • Don’t faucet hyperlinks.
  • Confirm by going on to the official web site or app.

Fast Rip-off Roundup

Shoppers warned over AI chatbots giving inaccurate monetary recommendation 

  • Our recommendation: At all times confirm suggestions with trusted monetary sources

Why our personal clicks are sometimes cybercrime’s biggest allies

  • Our recommendation: Many assaults depend on rushed or emotional selections, decelerate earlier than clicking

TikTok malware rip-off makes use of faux software program activation guides to steal information

  • Our recommendation: Obtain software program solely from official sources

 

We’ll be again after the Thanksgiving weekend with extra updates, rip-off information, and methods to remain cyber protected.

Introducing McAfee+

Id theft safety and privateness to your digital life



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