Staying safe online is a major concern for most people. It seems like every day we see new stories about hacks, scams or sophisticated AI-powered attacks that can end up with bank accounts being emptied and identities stolen. So, what should you be on the look-out for in 2025 and how can you defend yourself from attacks that are increasingly hard to fight?
Email, text and messaging attacks are a huge threat
Phishing and smishing attacks (fake messages and emails that look as if they come from your bank or other organisation and try to fool you into giving away your account details) are increasing. The recent Gen Digital Q1 Threat Report showed that these attacks had risen by 4x over the previous quarter, as AI tools make them easier to create and difficult to discern from the real thing.
Social Media attacks are growing
Another popular route for scammers is social media platforms. The same Threat Report mentioned above revealed that malvertising (malware posing as an advert for a product or service) was the biggest threat, making up 30% of all attacks on social media. This was closely followed with phishing, as scammers targeted users with fake messages in-order to steal their data.
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Scam Yourself Attacks
One of the rising threats is Scam Yourself attacks. These are carefully crafted social engineering scams that trick users into installing malware on their own machines. These often take the form of instructional videos published on social media and online video sharing platforms, hosted by AI-created deepfake hosts, promoting browser plug-ins or apps that can help with trading in stocks or other similarly tempting ways to make money.
How can you protect yourself from these threats?
While the attacks are growing harder to identify, there are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself from many of them.
Check if a message is real
If your bank or other organisation contacts you to say your account is in trouble, don’t click on any links provided. Instead, go directly to the site or app you would normally use and check whether what’s being reported in the message is true.
Take a minute before responding
Most scams work on the idea of frightening you into an ill-thought response. This usually works with time-limited requirements to do something before disaster is about to strike – contact us now or we’ll close your account! Don’t panic, instead take a few minutes to work out whether this is likely, then contact the organisation directly to see if this is real.
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Use professional software protection
It’s pretty much impossible to keep up-to-date with all the threats constantly launched at you in 2025. The AI-tools the scammers are using try to create convincing new versions of reality, all with the aim of stealing your money and data, so what chance do you have of being able to see through them?
The good news is that you don’t have to rely solely on your wits, as professional security software can use the same technology to help keep you safe.
Avast Free Antivirus is an excellent option, as it contains the AI-powered Avast Assistant you can use to check if emails and online messages are real. Simply upload suspicious online messages into the Avast Assistant, which will then scan and flag potential threats. Avast Free Antivirus also includes Web Guard, helping to guard against malicious websites and unsafe downloads by checking for tell-tale signs of scams as you browse, bank and shop online.
Avast Free Antivirus utilizes AI-technology in its Web Guard tool to proactively seek out hidden online scams, plus it constantly evolves to match the threats that arise – all while remaining lightweight and fast.
Unlike other security software, Avast offers this scam protection even on its free tier, so you don’t have to spend money to keep yours safe. If you want premium protection, then there is Avast Premium Security, which comes with an advanced firewall to help keep out hackers from your network, web-cam protection to safeguard your webcam and privacy from prying eyes, plus you can install it on up to 10 different devices simultaneously (PC, Mac, Android and iOS) so you and your family will always have the security it offers.
You can try out the various features in Avast Free Antivirus, with Avast Premium Security available as a subscription starting at only £39.99 for the first year.
There’s no need to fight alone against the online threats that are out there, as Avast and its AI-powered tools have your back.