Happy Wednesday! Since summer travel is on all our minds (well, at least mine!), what is the most visited site to find accommodations worldwide? Is the website … Airbnb, Booking, Expedia or Hotels? The surprising answer is at the end.

An important administrative note: Each newsletter has only one sponsor. To keep these newsletters free to you, please be sure to click our sponsor’s link. Today, our sponsor is Masterworks. Thank you! — Kim

Most of us think we’re too smart to get scammed, but new data shows otherwise: U.S. consumers lost $330 million to scammy texts last year — twice as much as in 2021. 

A phisher's favorite way to get you on the hook? Sketchy links. Here are three shiny new lures to steer clear of as you scroll, plus the No. 1 scam costing Americans millions.

1. IP address links

The latest email scam relies on IP address links that hide the real identity of a website and can even download malware onto your device when clicked. The good news: They’re easy to spot — as long as you think before you click. 

Hover your cursor over the link — if the link preview is an IP address (a series of numbers separated by periods), steer clear.

2. Sponsored app lookalikes

I’ve said it before, and I'll say it again: App scammers’ favorite ploy? Stealing those sponsored spots at the top of your app search results. 

Just the other day, our content queen Allie was looking for the Google Translate app. She accidentally downloaded the first search result, a copycat app called "Translate Language," with a nearly identical image, 4.4 stars and 10 million downloads. 

3. Fake phone providers

Listen, we all love free stuff. And scammers know this all too well. In the latest and greatest “bogus gift scam,” you’ll get a text from a cell phone company or another major retailer that invites you to click on a link and pay a small shipping fee to get a “free gift.” Unfortunately, if you click the link, the only gift you’ll receive is credit card fraud.

Say it with me, folks: There are no free gifts on the internet. 

Bonus: The No. 1 scam doesn’t require a single click

Instead, scammers will send you a fake text from your bank notifying you of a “fraudulent purchase” and ask you to text “yes” or “no” to approve or reject a transaction. Oh, the irony … 

The kicker? It doesn’t matter whether you reply yes or no — if you respond, they’ll call you posing as a representative from your bank’s fraud department and shake you down for personal info like your Social Security number. When in doubt? Don’t respond, and log into your actual banking portal to check your transactions.

✅ Wanna dig deeper? Here are nine of the most creative email and text scams I’ve found to date.

Mmhmm, sure. So, what’s the catch?

We know it may sound too good to be true. But thousands of investors are already smiling all the way to the bank, thanks to the fine-art investing platform Masterworks.

These results aren’t cherry-picking. This is the whole bushel. Masterworks has built a track record of 13 exits, including net returns of +10.4%, +27.3% and +35.0%, even while financial markets plummeted.

But art? Really? OK, skeptics, here are the numbers. Contemporary art prices:

• Outpaced the S&P 500 by 131% over the last 26 years
• Have the lowest correlation to equities of any asset class
• Remained stable through the dot-com bubble and '08 crisis

All you need is AI: Paul McCartney says he's tapped into AI to isolate John Lennon's voice from a demo to create the final Beatles song. It’ll be released later this year. Do you know where all the Beatles LPs are stored? In the Lennon closet. Oh, that was bad.

Twitter’s latest cash grab: Charging to DM people who don’t follow you back … unless you pay $8/month for Twitter Blue. My advice? Reach out to your new best friend strangers on LinkedIn, IG and FB for free. 

Make money: Budding YouTubers will only need 500 subscribers (half of what you needed before), 3,000 watch hours or 3 million Shorts views to start monetizing their videos. Hey, subscribe to my YouTube Channel here.

💅 Robo eyelash extensions: Human lash artists do the prep, then two robots put on the glue and lashes. I’m not putting any bot near my eyes. My trick for thick lashes … Put on one coat of mascara. Take a little foundation powder on your fingers and put on your lashes. Do one final coat of mascara. Gorg!

Take flight: Microsoft’s back at it with Flight Simulator 2024. In the 40th anniversary edition of the game (yes, it’s that old), you'll get new missions like firefighting, hot air ballooning and skydiving. Get a sneak peek here.

🥷 VIN-spired: Los Angeles police are curbing auto theft by etching VINs onto catalytic converters — making them easier to track. Give your local police a ring to see if they offer something like this. If not, ask them, "Why not?" I had the converter stolen out of my truck. What a pain.

Rev your battery: Electric vehicles (EVs) are quiet. But Toyota's whipping up an EV with a dummy stick shift complete with fake engine roars, pretend gear shifts and all. Great for gearheads with a big imagination. I’ll take my real V12, thank you.

📺 Watch in light speed: The speed of light is 671 million miles an hour. How long would it take for it to travel around Earth? See it in action in this awesome video.

Every morning, brush your teeth to my Daily Tech Update. You get fresh breath and fresh tech know-how in a minute.

Listen to my podcast, Daily Tech Update, here.

When you're not unwinding with me and my shows, turn to music to chill. Spotify just released its list of most relaxing songs based on 76,000 tracks. Find out if your favorites made the list and learn how to use music to re-tune your mood.

Ed Sheeran has the chillest fans …

… when it comes to relaxing tunes, the redheaded crooner snagged two of the top five spots:

1. "Perfect" – Ed Sheeran
2. "Thinking Out Loud" – Ed Sheeran
3. "All of Me" – John Legend
4. "Say You Won't Let Go" — James Arthur
5. "Tum Se Hi" – Pritam

Let's get nerdy

So what's the science behind relaxing music? Research shows that music with a low pitch and a slow tempo (around 50 to 60 beats per minute) takes us right to the zen zone. Why? Because our brainwaves actually sync to the slowed-down rhythm of the tunes. Wild, right?

Music keeps depression, anxiety and even physical pain at bay. It also takes the edge off in high-stress situations like surgery. One study revealed patients who listened to relaxing tunes during their procedure had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Groove to your advantage

In addition to using music to chill out and unwind, you can hack your mood, productivity and sleep.

• Trigger feel-good hormones: We get a rush of dopamine from our favorite jams. To get the most significant mood boost, switch up your playlist. Adding new tunes gives your brain a buzz.
• Listen before you snooze: Research shows 45 minutes of music before bed gets you a better night's sleep. 
• Boost productivity: Studies revealed that music with 50 to 80 bpm can enhance creativity and learning. Check out this playlist!
  

✅ Want to add more tunes to your library? Head to one of these free media sites.

Printing is an expensive habit, especially when buying ink or toner cartridges. Here’s a secret: Did you know the font you choose directly impacts how much ink or toner you’re using? 

Those big, bold fonts with thick strokes look great, but they’ll leave your wallet slightly empty. 

3 fonts to avoid

Arial, Verdana and Georgia. Yup, they are not your printing buddies. The worst font, Arial, sucks up 20% more ink than other fonts. 

Here’s a little fun fact: What’s the most popular font on websites? Arial. If you’re the frugal type with time on your hands, save the text from the website and paste it into your word processor. Change the font and print it using one of the fonts listed below.

Use these fonts instead

There are ink or toner-efficient fonts that won’t break the bank. Century Gothic, Times New Roman and Calibri are your best bet. Times New Roman tops the list. You’ll get almost 30% more pages printed with it over Arial. 

These fonts use thinner strokes or have less boldness, which means they use less ink and toner when printing. Looking to really save on printing? Use smaller-sized fonts, too. So here you’ll pick Times New Roman at 10 or lower points.

😂 Which reminds me … What font does alphabet soup use? Times New Ramen.

He’s definitely not on a “planet-based” diet.

🏨 The answer: The website Booking by a landslide. I wouldn’t have guessed that myself. Check out this chart showing visits in millions as of March 2023:

Tell you what I do. I get the best price online and then call the hotel directly. I ask them a few questions. Which room gets requested the most from return visitors? What kind of deal and freebies can you throw in if I book directly with you rather than online? You see, these hotels have to pay a commission to the online sites. I get a lower price about 90% of the time. Score!

💗 Just a reminder to show our sponsor some love today. Be sure to check out Masterworks. Thanks for reading and sharing the tech know-how. Forward this newsletter to a few friends and family members and ask them to sign up, too. — Kim