{"id":1318,"date":"2026-08-17T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yourtechupdates.com\/?p=4651"},"modified":"2026-08-17T00:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T05:05:00","slug":"warning-dont-fall-for-fake-captcha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/warning-dont-fall-for-fake-captcha\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning: Don\u2019t fall for fake CAPTCHAs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;\"><iframe class=\"fitvidsignore\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1202054504?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" title=\"USAug26 - Tech update video 3 ready to use\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ve seen them hundreds of times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cClick here to prove you\u2019re not a robot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s one of those things you don\u2019t really think about.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You tick a box, maybe select a few images, and move on with your day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s why this new scam works.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s a growing number of fake CAPTCHA pages designed to trick people into doing something slightly unusual\u2026 but not unusual enough to raise alarm bells in the moment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of clicking a box or selecting images, the page asks you to confirm you\u2019re human by sending a text message.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That might already feel a bit odd, but the way it\u2019s presented makes it seem like part of a normal verification process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You tap the button, your phone opens a message that\u2019s already written, and all you need to do is press send.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Simple.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Except behind the scenes, that single action can trigger multiple texts to international numbers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In some cases, dozens of them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each one adds a small charge to your bill, and because those charges don\u2019t show up immediately, the connection isn\u2019t obvious.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few weeks later, the bill arrives\u2026 and by then, you\u2019ve probably forgotten all about the \u201cverification\u201d you completed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That delay is what makes this scam particularly effective.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s another layer to it as well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of these fake CAPTCHA pages don\u2019t appear out of nowhere. You can be redirected to them through compromised websites or advertising networks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You click something that looks legitimate, land on a page that feels familiar, and follow the instructions without thinking too deeply about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In some cases, even the browser behaves in a way that nudges you forward, making it harder to simply go back or exit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This one doesn\u2019t rely on technical knowledge; it relies on habit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your team is used to seeing CAPTCHAs. They expect and trust them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And when something looks routine, people move quickly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But remember this: CAPTCHAs should never ask you to send a text message.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you ever see that, stop. Close the page and don\u2019t interact with it further.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And remind your team of this, especially as more of these scams start to appear.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lesson in awareness can save a lot of confusion (and unexpected charges) later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019d like help making sure your team knows what to look out for (and what to avoid), let\u2019s talk. Get in touch.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most people don\u2019t think twice about CAPTCHAs.<br \/>\nAnd that\u2019s being exploited.<br \/>\nThere\u2019s a new twist on something you see every day. It\u2019s catching people out in a way that only shows up later\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1320,"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions\/1320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xceedit.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}