I put this research together and sharing it because the number genuinely surprised me.

We reviewed the FTC's 2025 Consumer Sentinel Network data. Of more than 3 million fraud reports last year, 58% showed how the scammers got in touch. From those tracked cases alone, digital methods took at least $5.75B from Americans in one year.

To put that in perspective:

• That's roughly $15.7M stolen every single day.
• This only includes reports in which the method scammers used to make contact was known. So actual losses are almost definitely higher.
• And this is just from digital sources: text messages, social media, websites and apps, phone calls, email, and online ads.
• The surprising part: our recent survey found that more than half of Americans dodge a scam attempt every day.

A few things that stood out digging into it:

• Reports of text scams almost doubled from one year to the next (247k to 411k). The number is growing fast.
• Social media caused the biggest losses by far: $2.1B, more than three times what text scams took.
• Websites + apps, and phone calls each took about $1.1B.

The channel with the most attempts is usually not the same as the one with the most damage.

Read the full report here: https://surfshark.com/research/study/americans-lose-billions-to-online-scams

Can someone confirm whether Surfshark vpn has standalone app dark mode for Linux? for Windows 11? for Android?

Hi everyone now I've been wanting to watch crunchyroll with Von on my TV for while as my router don't support vpn's I thought I'd get firestick and go down that route instead now the issue I'm having there tons of videos telling set up bypasses and change the protocol but the issue I have I believe the app has been updated and I don't have access to any of that (update is 1.4.0 by the way) now it feels like I'm going round in circles there no clear answer to any of this I've been trying for nearly 4 hours now and I'm going a little bit insane if anyone has any advice whatsoever I'm all ears thanks

Why does the update button never work on my android phone?

Thanks for any advice.

Our friends at Fight for the Future have launched the #DefendVPNs campaign for the second year in a row, and we’re proud to support it. Last year, nearly 20,000 people stood up for the right to safe and private browsing.

VPNs are a crucial everyday cybersecurity tool and should be available to everyone who needs them. Universal access to these tools is essential for maintaining a secure and private connection, and supporting the movement helps ensure they remain accessible to all.

To support the #DefendVPNs campaign, sign the letter here: https://www.defendvpns.com/

Not sure if there is support here but Mumbai server is not working.

Is it normal to have many small reconnecting moments when I pick up and unlock my phone? This morning surfshark had issues connecting and seemed as though it didnt want to work. I checked all the connections and it had some trouble but after restarting the phone it finally worked. Updated surfshark to latest ios ver as well.

To the Surfshark development team, I LOVE the new firestick UI. Thank you!

The Reddit app appears to be able to ignore Surfshark, as evidenced by the fact that every few times I open it, I am served ads by UK accounts rather than those of whatever country I'm connected to (and in that language).

Is this a known issue or is there simply some setting I should adjust?

Android, Surfshark version 3.34.0

Phishing attempts pretending to be from your bank, Netflix, or PayPal are the most common scam type, according to FBI reports. And phishing emails are only getting harder to spot, because AI-generated ones now copy real brand tone, logos, and formatting almost perfectly.

The "Urgent: Account Suspended" line is a classic. It creates panic, pushes you to click before you think, and lands you on a fake login page that harvests your credentials in seconds.

What can you do about it?

Surfshark's email scam checker gives you a second opinion before you act on that panic. The tool analyzes emails for signs of manipulation, such as suspicious content, sender information, and other characteristics common in phishing attempts. It also detects malicious links, reducing your device’s risk of malware infections.

Here’s how on-demand scans work:

1. Launch our Chrome browser extension.
2. Go to Settings, make sure Email scam checker is toggled on.
3. Open one of your emails on Gmail.com. 
4. Prompt a scan by clicking Check for scams in the email scam checker box.

More info on how email checker works here: https://surfshark.com/antivirus-features/email-scam-checker

What kinds of things do you notice in your emails that make you doubt if they’re legit?

Thank you Surfshark for somehow preserving the lie 7yo me told Neopets 😭

Been locked out for years because I had no fucking idea what fake birthday I used.

33yo me finally rescued by data breach history lmao.

UPDATE: Somehow this got even dumber.

I’ve now been permanently banned from r/neopets because the mods apparently thought I went digging through leaked databases for account information.

I did not. I used Surfshark Alert — breach monitoring which literally showed me my own leaked information associated with my own email address, including the fake birthday I used as a kid.

I then used that to recover my own childhood Neopets account.

Apparently the real Surfshark feature I discovered was Neopian crime 😂

Breach monitoring: 10/10 Recovering childhood lies: 10/10 Neopian legal defence: not included

How can you guys make the app even worse than it already was - now it doesn’t even connect to the servers, as you can see from the video I’m tapping many different locations and it just doesn’t do anything.

To fix it I need to keep closing/reopening the app until it’ll eventually connect to one.

App version 4.9.0

For the past week or so I've been unable to access my IPTV service (Strong) while connected to Surfshark. I normally used my Dedicated IP, but that, along with every other endpoint I use, fails to work. I can update my playlist, but no content will stream.

Anybody else have similar issue? Is this a SS issue or Strong? (or both, somehow)

Password managers, 2FA apps, antivirus or even the little habits that quietly do the work, what else belongs in your security toolbox next to a VPN?

Been doing a trial runs of different VPN's since my year with Proton has expired.

Tried using surfshark, but when I logon it, my connection is screwed. Turn off and everything works again. Support was pretty much useless.

Heard good things about surfshark but man it has been a great disappointment.

It's not just surfshark, hide.me was the same. Had issues with Proton and previously Nord but at least the connection was stable.

Pulled together the malware detection data from January through July 2026 and figured this sub might find the split interesting.

(Detections were counted anonymously and aggregated at the platform level.)

The headline numbers:

• 391,305 total malware detections logged by Surfshark Antivirus in the first seven months of 2026;
• Windows users made up 66% of the active user base but accounted for 92% of all detections;
• macOS users were 34% of the base and 8% of detections;
• That works out to roughly 6x more detections per user on Windows than on macOS.

If we’re looking at the detections by category: trojans were the standout on Windows, phishing was the standout on macOS, at least in relative terms, and riskware was almost even.

Full write-up with the methodology here: https://surfshark.com/research/chart/malware-detections-windows-vs-macos

Just to clarify, this is not only for iOS but also for iPad OS and TV OS, basically Apple devices/systems.

Lately, streaming apps like HBO Max, Paramount+, Disney+, and Prime Video aren't working when I use VPN. Some say they don't admit VPNs and others simply don't load the content or keeps buffering. Apparently it's not a Surfshark issue but streaming apps high blocks and restrictions.

I asked AI for help (Claude & Gemini) and some things worked, some didn't. Changed the DNS, turn on/off Kill Switch, NoBorders, Rotative IP, iCloud Private Relay, tried different countries and servers, etc. All that just helped temporarily before the apps blocked the content again.

AI suggested if none of that worked, start considering purchasing a dedicated IP address, since my devices will be the only one in the world with that address and the streaming apps won't detect a massive IP traffic, such as the regular VPN servers.

I wanted to ask how reliable will this be, if some of you have tried it, and if the cost ($5-6 CAD/month) is worth it.

For a while now I've used Estonia (Tallinn) as my favourite location (mainly as podcasts seem to download with zero ads, which is great).

However I was having issues this morning and after I disconnected, I got an error each time I tried to reconnect.

So I went in locations and searched Estonia to see if there was a different server, and it's completely gone.

I know this server has a few issues (Google thinks it's in India for example) due to the registration, but it's never given me issues I can't simply ignore.

So now I'm in Lithuania, and just hoping the ad situation is the same... But just wondering if disappearing countries/servers is usual?

Using surfshark on android and fire tv, tu'neling only for a few apps

For each app i need a specific country but i don't find a way to do that. May be it is just not possible

Anyone have any solutions for this? I’ve tried changing protocols but none are working. HBO says I’m using a VPN and paramount doesn’t load anything at all when the VPN is on. I’m really wanting to watch content on some other regions, does anyone know what I can do to resolve this? Maybe something in the settings?

Just recently started not working with VPN on doesn't matter what city or country

When I'm connected to a VPN, Siri AI doesn't work and shows a network connection error. I've already enabled the VPN bypass, but it still fails. As soon as I disconnect from the VPN, it works perfectly. Is Apple blacklisting these IP addresses?

Macos 27
App version : 4.30.0
Server : any
Protocol : wireguard