Plus: Jury duty scam call, dating app nightmare, bring buttons back In partnership with Oracle NetSuite | Happy Election Day, friend! 🗳️ Need a ride to vote today? Uber rides to polling stations are 50% off (up to $10). Tap the Get a ride to vote overlay in the Uber app. It’ll find your nearest polling station and apply the discount. Lyft’s in on it, too; just use code VOTE24. Be a hero. Know someone who should get this newsletter? Tell them to go to WinFromKim.com to sign up and enter to win an iPhone 16 Pro, no purchase necessary. Score! On to the tech smarts. — Kim 🆕 Today's podcast: Teens flip junk into $1M on FB Marketplace ⏱️ Daily Tech Update: 6G is coming 💡 Digital Life Hack: Weeding out AI job applications 📬 Was this email forwarded? Sign up here for free | TODAY'S TOP STORY Don’t be that person Too many people share just about everything online. That’s a one-way ticket to Scamtown. Some info makes you an especially prime target. Keep these close to the vest. 1. Your relationship status Widows and widowers are big targets. Crooks want to get their grimy hands on inheritance money. Take Rosalie Douglass, who tried her hand at online dating and listed "widow" as her relationship status. Two different scammers connected with Rosalie and swindled her out of a staggering $430,000. Pro tip: If you're a widow or widower, keep it off your dating and social media apps. You never know who's watching. 2. Your vacation plans Tiffany posted about her family’s upcoming Carnival cruise on Facebook by sharing shots of her tickets. She didn’t think about the fact her booking reference number was included. The same day, a scammer created a new Carnival account using Tiffany's confirmation number. They canceled her booking and ruined her $15,000 trip. Pro tip: Announcing your vacation plans before or during your trip screams "Rob me!" Take tons of pics on your vacation, but don't share them until you're home. 3. Videos of you talking AI tools make it cheap and easy for anyone to create a deepfake video. Recently, on TikTok, a woman named Sam said a shady brand stole her face and used it to promote their product. They did it all with a video from her social media account and some deepfake software. Pro tip: Limit the personal information you share online, especially high-quality photos and videos of you talking. For most folks, setting your social media accounts to "private" is the way to go. 4. Expensive electronics you’re selling A South Carolina man listed a limited-edition PlayStation on a Facebook buy-sell-trade group. The “buyer” he met up with pulled out a gun and made off with the PlayStation, plus the man’s phone, wallet and watch. Scary. Pro tip: If you’re selling anything pricey, meet at a public space during the day and bring a friend. Your local police department’s parking lot should scare off anyone who intends to rob you. 5. Your walking, hiking and biking routes Fitness apps with GPS track way more than workouts. I told you about the Secret Service agents who spilled the locations of President Biden and his wife, former President Trump and his wife, and Vice President Harris. In case you missed it, the agents used Strava to track their runs and apparently didn’t realize anyone could see those routes. Pro tip: If you use a fitness app, change your settings to private. You can disable GPS altogether, but that shuts off the functionality you use the app for in the first place. 💬 Know someone who posts way too much to the internet? Be a pal and use the links below to share this story. |
DEALS OF THE DAY I see your frayed cords … ♠️♦️ … And I raise you a nice charging station for all your tech. - Charge seven devices at a time. This dock has three USB‑A‑to-Lightning ports (for older iPhones), two USB‑A‑to-USB‑C cables (most modern tech) and two USB‑A‑to-micro‑USB cables (Kindle) so you can charge anything. Click the coupon for $10 off!
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WEB WATERCOOLER 🚨 Scammers’ newest trick: This time, it’s fake arrest warrants claiming you’re facing felony charges for missing jury duty. They’re using texts and calls — a huge red flag, since the police don’t text about arrests. These warrants can look legit, with a judge’s signature and all. Pro tip: Any time you get a call from the police, call your local non-emergency line to see if the police call is real. Dating app nightmare: A Utah woman matched with a “serial killer in the making” on Tinder. They chatted for months, and she met his parents. For their second date, he brought her to a secluded park for a picnic and stabbed her multiple times. Miraculously, she escaped. When detectives asked him if he would do anything differently, he said, “I’d get a sharper knife.” 🐿️ RIP(eanut): Peanut the Squirrel, a rescue with over half a million Instagram fans, was euthanized. New York authorities raided his owner's home last week after anonymous complaints. It’s illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet in NY. An online petition got over 50,000 signatures, but that didn’t make a difference. Farewell, little guy. Young girls are obsessed with antiaging products: Scarlett, who’s only 11, says, “I didn’t want to get wrinkles and look old.” These products aren’t made for kids’ sensitive skin and can cause rashes, chemical burns and, ironically, premature aging. Talk to the kiddos. 🧽 Clear view of where this is going: Cleaning high-rise windows is risky. Enter a spider-like AI robot named Ibex that can climb buildings and use cameras and sensors to scan surfaces, dodge window frames and leave no spot untouched. The robots are already in Texas, so don’t be surprised if you see one crawling around near you. Touch and go: The iPhone 16 has two new buttons, home appliances are returning to knobs instead of touchscreens, and carmakers are bringing back dials. Why? Well, we like the tactical feedback of a real button, and you don’t have to give them your full attention. Prime example: Car infotainment systems. Look away for too long and hello, fender bender. Remember your childhood Schwinn? The Hurricane is back as a chopper-style e‑bike. It hits speeds up to 17.5 mph, and one charge gets 30 miles. It has chunky 3-inch tires, too, made for pavement or dirt. It ain't cheap at $600. Gone with the Schwinn, all right. |
TECH LIFE UPGRADES 📲 Jobhunting mistake: Your voicemail box isn’t set up or it’s full. If you’re not 100% sure yours is working, call yourself from a different phone or ask a friend to do it. Sometimes, simple is the best way. Setup instructions for iPhone and Samsung smartphones here. Is it spam? Google analyzes billions of URLs every day and adds spammy ones to a list. Paste a link in here to see if it’s been flagged. Netflix and bookmark: Now you can send a scene that made you LOL to someone right from your phone. On the Netflix app, tap the new Moments button at the bottom, and the scene will be saved in your My Netflix tab. Share them with your friends through text, email or social media. 🧹 Refresh your iPad without losing your stuff: Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad > Reset, then pick Reset All Settings. This will return your network, keyboard dictionary, location and privacy settings to their factory defaults. Choose one or go for a full reset. DO NOT tap Erase All Content and Settings unless you’re ready to lose everything. I buy supplements online: It’s just easier, and you can find higher-quality options. One I’ve been taking for years is collagen, which is scientifically proven to help increase bone density, support cartilage regrowth, smooth wrinkles, strengthen nails and make your hair thicker. OK, love that. Want to try? Get up to 45% off and free shipping at NativePath with my link. |
BY THE NUMBERS For only $11 You can get a can of air from beautiful Lake Como in Italy. Sellers think it’ll appeal to American tourists because, ya know, George Clooney bought a villa there years ago. Anyone want to buy a can of air off Camelback Mountain for $5? $1,000,000 prize Through the Microsoft Rewards sweepstakes program. Use their products, like Bing, Edge (a sacrifice, I know) and Xbox Game Pass for points. You can earn up to 200 entries. Sign up here for five. Bing is like store-brand cereal; it barely does the job, and you never want it again. 11 minutes, 21 seconds How long an F‑35 jet flew on its own after the pilot ejected too early. An electrical malfunction made the pilot think the $135 million jet was out of control. As it turns out, the F‑35 was still flyable. Everyone is OK, but how’d you like to explain this to your superior? |
WHAT THE TECH? NASA’s old tech versus new. Anyone else see a T‑Rex with a really long neck? |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ... I got this note from listener Rich S.: “You recommended to not update Windows 11 because it was causing all kinds of problems.” You’re in the clear, Rich. In general, it’s smart to give two weeks or so for Microsoft to work out the bugs after a major update. The exception is a major security patch, like the monthly Patch Tuesday. Those are important enough for your security that you should update right away. 🤣 Why didn't the Terminator upgrade to Windows 11? I asked him and he said, "I still love Vista, baby!" (I know, oof … to both Vista and that joke.) See you back here tomorrow. In case you missed my national radio show this weekend, try the free version of the podcast or go ad-free for a couple bucks a month on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Appreciate you! I’ll be back tomorrow with the best tech newsletter in the USA. — Kim |
Komando Referral Program Refer one person That's all you need to get my latest eBook, "50 Smart Ways to Use AI," a $9.95 value — yours for FREE! 1️⃣ Copy your link: https://referrer.komando.com/8818309c/3 2️⃣ Share your link on social media, through email, in a text — your call! 3️⃣ Kick back and relax! When someone uses your link to sign up for my newsletter, I'll send my new eBook to your email address. CLICK TO SHARE → Or copy and paste this link to others: https://referrer.komando.com/8818309c/3 In "50 Smart Ways to Use AI," Kim shares helpful prompts for today's most common AI chatbots. Whether you're tackling spreadsheets, planning rainy-day activities or developing a wellness plan, let AI handle the heavy lifting for you! | |
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