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Fake Google Security Team ad says 'no script reading' in voice phishing - then prints the script

1 min read Rewritten in plain language

Security

Show what we removed Rules applied: A7 D4 E3 all 30 rules
  • A Telegram user recruiting callers to work in an apparent Google Security Team voice-phishing scam told applicants that they weren’t allowed to read from scripts – in the same ad that also included the exact script they had to read during these scam calls.
  • The Register before spoke with Trellix VP of threat intelligence strategy John Fokker about the Dark Web Roast, and he said the idea came from a desire to take an "almost psyops" approach to covering the criminal underground.
  • Plus, according to Google, voice phishing surged last year to become the second most common method used by cybercriminals to gain initial access to their victims' IT estate – and the No. 1 tactic used when breaking into cloud environments.

3 sentences from our version of the report, chosen to cover it. Nothing here is written; every line is in the article below. How

One of these incidents from August involves a Telegram user identified by Trellix as Derian ….

Headline check

All two things this headline claims are in the report.

Figures, names and quoted words in the headline, looked for in the report itself — not in the summary above. How this is checked

More mockery and memes from the Dark Web Roast.

Yes, criminals have job listings too. A Telegram user recruiting callers to work in an apparent Google Security Team voice-phishing scam told applicants that they weren’t allowed to read from scripts – in the same ad that also included the exact script they had to read during these scam calls.

One of these incidents from August involves a Telegram user identified by Trellix as Derian who posted an ad in the UK Fraudsters Telegram channel.

The Register before spoke with Trellix VP of threat intelligence strategy John Fokker about the Dark Web Roast, and he said the idea came from a desire to take an "almost psyops" approach to covering the criminal underground.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recently reported its most damaging year for internet scams, with 2025’s data pegging reported losses at $20.87 billion, and English-language social engineering is among the most in-demand skill sets on underground forums.

Plus, according to Google, voice phishing surged last year to become the second most common method used by cybercriminals to gain initial access to their victims' IT estate – and the No. 1 tactic used when breaking into cloud environments.

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 5.4 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is The Register's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

How this outlet filed it, and how we rewrote it

No other newsroom we read has filed on this event, so there is nothing to compare it with yet.

Outlet Niral ScoreAdjectivesSourcingSentimentHappiness
The Registeras they published this story 5.4 6 81 -0.5 43.5
Mundane Readneutralized from The Register 5.4 6 81 -0.5 43.5

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