Smart home hijacking just hit the top 4 consumer fraud trends for 2026

Fraud analysts named smart-home device takeover one of the top four consumer scam trends for 2026. Documented incidents include a Mississippi family whose stranger hijacked their Ring doorbell to harass an 8-year-old. Consumer Reports found cheap doorbells sold on Amazon and Walmart could be hacked in minutes. 60 percent of IoT breaches trace to firmware that was never patched.