Norton Reveals the Top 10 Scams Standing Between You and a Scam Free Summer

Norton's 2026 Summer Scam Forecast shares the 10 scam types projected to be most active this summer, grounded in a Norton analysis of millions of scam attacks blocked by Norton in 2024 and 2025 and cross-referenced against emerging threat patterns from spring 2026.

Why is Summer So Hot For Some Scams?

"Scammers follow the calendar," said Leyla Bilge, Global Head of Scam Research for Norton. "People are understandably distracted, spending more on travel and tickets, tapping confirmation links without a second look. Scam Free Summer gives you the playbook to enjoy the season without lining a scammer's pockets."

Gen's threat data shares the top trends:

• Imposter scams are when fraudsters pose as family members, government agencies, or known contacts. These jumped 144% last summer compared to the rest of the year.
• Financial scam attacks in the U.S. were up 55% versus the annual average.
• Package delivery scams rose 89%.
• Gambling fraud climbed 88%, driven by summer sports events.

What's new in 2026: AI is doing even more heavy lifting for scammers. Voice cloning has made phone-based imposter scams harder to detect, and deepfake technology has made romance fraud and investment schemes more convincing. Data breaches are contributing to the rise in Reservation Hijacking Scams, while lookalike sites built to mimic real booking platforms, sportsbooks, and ticket sellers are surfacing through paid search ads, often indistinguishable from the real thing.

The Scam-Free Summer Forecast

Norton's threat intelligence team is tracking the scams hitting right now. Trending scams include:

• Reservation hijack attacks that use your real hotel name, real dates, and real confirmation number to redirect your payment to a fake page.
• Fake ticket sites for sold-out concerts, festivals, or sports events like the World Cup that surface above the legitimate sellers in search results.
• AI-powered romance scams where the video chats look real (because they are, just not the person on the other end).
• Gambling sites built specifically for major sporting events, designed to disappear by September before anyone catches up.

The forecast details 10 scams in total, each with the threat data behind the seasonal spike and the specific steps to avoid it. The full 2026 Summer Scam Forecast is available now at https://us.norton.com/blog/research/summer-scams.

How to Stay Safe

For consumers who want real-time protection against these threats, Norton Genie has them covered. Built directly into Norton Cyber Safety products, Genie analyzes texts,, emails, and websites for hidden scam patterns and detects sophisticated schemes even the most careful person can miss. Key features like Safe SMS, Safe Web, and Safe Email proactively flag suspicious content before it can do damage, while Safe Call automatically blocks scam calls. For those who do fall victim, Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus also includes Scam Support and Reimbursement to help recover lost funds. You can also use Genie with the Norton App in ChatGPT.

Norton wishes everyone a Scam Free Summer and will be sharing additional threat intelligence, expert commentary, and consumer guidance throughout the season.

About Norton

Norton is a leader in Cyber Safety, and part of Gen (NASDAQ: GEN), a global company dedicated to powering Digital Freedom with a family of trusted consumer brands. Norton empowers millions of individuals and families with award-winning protection for their devices, online privacy, and identity. Norton products and services are certified by independent testing organizations including AV-TEST, AV Comparatives, and SE Labs. Norton is a founding member of the Coalition Against Stalkerware. Learn more at https://us.norton.com.

Media Contact:

Brittany Posey

Gen

Press@GenDigital.com

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SOURCE Gen Digital Inc.