When your phone buzzes with a message saying your flight is canceled, your first instinct is to panic. Scammers are counting on that. 

A new travel scam is spreading through fake airline texts that look convincing but connect you to fraudsters instead of customer service.

These cybercriminals claim to help rebook your trip. In reality, they’re after your credit card or personal details.

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How the flight cancellation text scam works

The scam starts with a text that looks like it’s from your airline. It may include your name, flight number and a link or phone number. The message includes urgent language that says your flight is canceled or delayed and tells you to “call this number” or “click to rebook.”

PILOT WARNS ‘SHORT-HANDED, STRESSED’ AIR TRAFFIC DELAYS WILL LINGER AFTER SHUTDOWN

Scammers send fake flight cancellation texts that look official, using real airline names, flight numbers and logos to trick travelers into calling them. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Once you do, you’re talking to a scammer pretending to be an airline agent. They’ll offer to “help” rebook your flight for a fee. They might ask for payment details or personal information like your birth date or passport number.

In some cases, they’ll send confirmation emails that look official to make the lie more believable.

AI-generated messages make these scams harder to spot, mimicking airline alerts so well that even frequent flyers can be fooled during busy travel seasons. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Why the scam feels real

Scammers use real airline names, logos and flight numbers to make their messages look official. Many now use AI tools to generate convincing language and fake confirmations that mimic real airline alerts. These messages often arrive during busy travel seasons or storm delays, which makes them feel even more believable.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that criminals impersonate airline customer service through fake texts and calls that say your flight is canceled. They use that panic to push you into rebooking or sharing personal details.

Meanwhile, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports a surge in fake cancellation notices that include phony phone numbers leading straight to scammers.

Because these alerts look real and use urgent language, even experienced travelers can mistake them for genuine updates. Staying calm and verifying directly with the airline is the best defense.

Staying calm and verifying through official airline apps or websites is the safest way to protect your money and personal information before you take action. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Steps to stay safe from fake flight cancellation texts

Scammers use fear and urgency to trick travelers into clicking bad links or calling fake numbers. Follow these steps to keep your trip and information safe.

1) Verify flight changes only through official airline sources

Always confirm flight updates using the airline’s official website or mobile app. Log in directly instead of clicking on links from unexpected texts or emails. Scammers design fake links that look real, but one tap can expose your personal information.

PILOT GOES VIRAL FOR REVEALING REAL REASON YOU NEED TO SET YOUR PHONE TO AIRPLANE MODE BEFORE FLYING

2) Call only verified airline phone numbers

If you need to call customer service, use the number listed in your booking confirmation, the airline’s app or on its verified website. Never trust a phone number sent by text or social media message. Real airlines will never change their contact information mid-trip.

3) Stay calm and spot urgency traps

Scammers count on panic. Messages that say “call now,” “act fast” or “your seat will be canceled” are meant to rush you. Slow down and verify before responding. Taking a minute to check the official flight status can prevent you from losing money or data.

4) Protect your personal and financial information

Legitimate airline staff will not ask for gift card numbers, wire transfers or your bank login. Use a strong antivirus program to block phishing sites and malware designed to steal personal data if you accidentally click a bad link.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

5) Remove exposed data before scammers find it

Use a data-removal service to help scrub your personal details from people-search websites. These sites make it easier for scammers to target travelers by name, location and phone number. Keeping your information private reduces your risk.

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

6) Report suspicious messages immediately

Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) and report fake airline messages to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Sharing reports helps agencies shut down active scams and protect other travelers.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Fake flight cancellation scams are spreading fast, especially during busy travel seasons. Stay calm, verify changes through official airline sources, and never click random links or call unknown numbers. Technology makes travel easier, but awareness and caution are still your best defense.

Have you ever received a fake flight alert that almost fooled you? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved. 

Battery life matters more than ever as your iPhone takes on heavier workloads from streaming and gaming to AI-driven tasks. Every extra minute of charge now makes a difference in how smoothly your day runs.

With iOS 26, Apple introduced Adaptive Power, an intelligent feature that quietly learns how you use your phone and adjusts performance to stretch battery life when you need it most. It is designed to keep your iPhone running stronger for longer without you having to lift a finger.

What Adaptive Power does

Adaptive Power helps your iPhone battery last longer when your daily use increases. It works automatically in the background and learns your recent activity to predict when extra power will be needed. When active, it can make small adjustments such as lowering screen brightness, limiting background activity, or turning on Low Power Mode when your battery reaches 20 percent.

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APPLE, MICROSOFT HIT $4T MILESTONE

It uses on-device intelligence to understand your habits, then fine-tunes performance without requiring any input from you. Apple notes that Adaptive Power pauses its adjustments during tasks that demand maximum performance, like using the camera or gaming with Game Mode turned on.

Adaptive Power in iOS 26 learns your daily habits to extend your iPhone’s battery life automatically. (Apple)

How Adaptive Power affects real-world use

Think of Adaptive Power as a smart battery assistant that adjusts only when needed. It balances performance and power consumption throughout the day, helping your phone last longer without noticeable slowdowns. It trims energy use in high-demand moments, like recording videos, editing photos, or multitasking, without disrupting what you’re doing. When it activates, you might see a small notification letting you know it’s working, but otherwise, it operates quietly in the background.

The Adaptive Power feature uses on-device intelligence to adjust brightness, limit background tasks, and keep performance balanced throughout the day. (Apple)

Make sure you have iOS 26 installed

To use Adaptive Power, your iPhone must be running iOS 26. If you’re unsure, here’s how to check and update:

• Open Settings on your iPhone.
• Tap General.
• Tap Software Update.
• If you see iOS 26 available, tap Download and Install.
• Keep your phone plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi during the update.

Once the update finishes, restart your phone. The feature activates automatically on supported models.

Which iPhones support Adaptive Power

Only iPhones that can run Apple Intelligence will see this feature. Here’s the list:

• iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max
• iPhone Air
• iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max
• iPhone 16e
• iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max

Adaptive Power is on by default for iPhone 17 models and iPhone Air. It’s off by default for iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16e, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

While some iPad and Mac models also run Apple Intelligence, Adaptive Power is currently exclusive to iPhones.

APPLE RELEASES IOS 26.1 WITH MAJOR SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS AND NEW FEATURES FOR IPHONE USERS

How to turn Adaptive Power on

If you’ve got a newer model like the iPhone 17 or Air, Adaptive Power is already on. For others, it’s just a few taps away:

• Open Settings on your iPhone
• Tap Battery
• Select Power Mode
• Toggle Adaptive Power to turn it on
• To be notified when it activates during the day, turn on Adaptive Power Notifications. Even if you turn off alerts, the feature will continue to extend battery life automatically.

Steps to enable Adaptive Power in iOS 26 on iPhone. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

What this means for your charging habits

You may not see dramatic gains every day, but the effect adds up. Adaptive Power could extend the lifespan of your iPhone just by updating to iOS 26. Even though you might still need to charge overnight, the feature can buy you extra hours when you’re away from an outlet. Just remember: battery life often dips briefly after major updates while your system re-indexes data, but it levels out in a few days.

Pro tip: Use strong antivirus software

Use trusted antivirus software as an extra layer of protection for your iPhone. While Apple’s built-in defenses are strong, security threats evolve fast. Installing strong antivirus software adds real-time protection against phishing, unsafe links, and rogue apps. Keep it updated and run regular scans to catch potential risks early. This extra step helps your device stay clean, fast, and fully protected between iOS updates.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?

Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Adaptive Power represents Apple’s move toward smarter, self-managing devices that adapt to you. By learning your habits and adjusting power use dynamically, it helps your battery last longer without sacrificing performance. It’s one of those invisible upgrades that can quietly make your phone feel newer for longer.

Would you trust your iPhone to manage power automatically, or do you still prefer to control it yourself? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Cybercriminals are again turning TikTok into a trap for unsuspecting users. This time, they’re disguising malicious downloads as free activation guides for popular software like Windows, Microsoft 365, Photoshop and even fake versions of Netflix and Spotify Premium.

Security expert Xavier Mertens first spotted the campaign, confirming that the same kind of scheme was seen earlier this year. According to BleepingComputer, these fake TikTok videos show short PowerShell commands and instruct viewers to run them as administrators to “activate” or “fix” their programs.

In reality, those commands connect to a malicious website and pull in malware known as Aura Stealer, which quietly siphons saved passwords, cookies, cryptocurrency wallets and authentication tokens from the victim’s computer.

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3,000+ YOUTUBE VIDEOS DELIVER MALWARE DISGUISED AS FREE SOFTWARE

Cybercriminals are using fake TikTok videos to trick users into downloading malware disguised as free activation guides. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How the TikTok scam works

This campaign uses what experts call a ClickFix attack. It’s a social engineering trick that makes victims feel they’re following legitimate tech instructions. The instructions seem quick and simple: run one short command and get instant access to premium software.

But instead of activating anything, the PowerShell command connects to a remote domain named slmgr[.]win, which downloads harmful executables from Cloudflare-hosted pages. The main file, updater.exe, is a variant of the Aura Stealer malware. Once inside the system, it hunts for your credentials and sends them back to the attacker.

Another file, source.exe, uses Microsoft’s C# compiler to launch code directly in memory, making it even harder to detect. The purpose of this extra payload isn’t fully known yet, but the pattern follows previous malware used for crypto theft and ransomware delivery.

META ACCOUNT SUSPENSION SCAM HIDES FILEFIX MALWARE

Those short “activation” commands secretly connect to malicious servers that install info-stealing malware like Aura Stealer. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to stay safe from TikTok malware scams

Even though these scams look convincing, you can avoid becoming a victim with the right precautions.

1) Avoid shortcuts

Never copy or run PowerShell commands from TikTok videos or random websites. If something promises free access to premium software, it’s likely a trap.

2) Use trusted sources

Always download or activate software directly from the official website or through legitimate app stores.

3) Keep security tools updated

Outdated antivirus or browsers can’t detect the latest threats. Update your software regularly to stay protected.

4) Use strong antivirus software

Install strong antivirus software that offers real-time scanning and protection against trojans, info-stealers and phishing attempts.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com

5) Sign up for a data removal service

If your personal data ends up on the dark web, a data removal or monitoring service can alert you and help remove sensitive information.

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com

6) Reset credentials

If you’ve ever followed suspicious instructions or entered credentials after watching a “free activation” video, reset all your passwords immediately. 

7) Reset passwords

If you’ve ever followed suspicious instructions or entered credentials after watching a “free activation” video, reset all your passwords immediately. Start with your email, financial and social media accounts. Use unique passwords for each site. Consider using a password manager, which securely stores and generates complex passwords, reducing the risk of password reuse.

Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our #1 password manager (see Cyberguy.com) pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.

Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 at Cyberguy.com

8) Enable multi-factor authentication

Add an extra layer of security by turning on multi-factor authentication wherever possible. Even if your passwords are stolen, attackers won’t be able to log in without your verification. 

If you’ve followed suspicious steps, change your passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and stay alert for future scams. (Getty Images)

Kurt’s key takeaways

TikTok’s global reach makes it a prime target for scams like this. What looks like a helpful hack could end up costing your security, your money, and your peace of mind. Stay alert, trust only verified sources and remember that there’s no such thing as a free activation shortcut.

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Is TikTok doing enough to protect its users from scams like this? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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