Online scams double, overtake phishing in Q1 2026, Akamai report finds
AKAM•Akamai's cybersecurity report found online scam detections doubled to 6.4 million in Q1 2026, surpassing traditional phishing for the first time. The average phishing attack lifespan fell to 22 days in Q2 2026, from 48 days in Q4 2025.
1. Scam activity rises
Akamai's Oct. 29 cybersecurity report found online scams surpassed traditional phishing for the first time in Q1 2026, with scam detections approximately doubling from 3.2 million to 6.4 million. The report said attackers used AI and automated infrastructure to bypass security defenses. Nearly 70% of phishing threats impersonated brands in high technology, financial services or commerce; high- and critical-risk activity accounted for 26.6% of login attempts, and account verification requests made up 40% of that traffic.
2. Phishing lifespan shortens
The average phishing attack lifespan declined from 48 days in Q4 2025 to 22 days in Q2 2026, complicating enterprise defenses, the report said.
