Welcome to your tech-wonderland Wednesday, friend! Today’s trivia is definitely geeky. If you were to weigh the internet’s data, would it weigh about the same as a … A.) Peach, B.) Bag of medium onions, C.) Watermelon or D.) Pumpkin? Answer’s at the end. And I’ll bet you never knew this fun fact before!

📥 Tired of Big Tech peeping in on all your emails? What about your ISP? Yup, they see everything, too. Take back your privacy with StartMail. Get encrypted email, unlimited email addresses and more for just $2.50 per month. That’s a 50% savings! Btw, I don’t get any kickbacks when you buy. — Kim

Booking a rental property for your next vacation? There's a scam for that!

Seriously, vacation rental scams are everywhere. Last year alone, Airbnb banned 59,000 fake listings — and stopped 157,000 listings from making it to the site in the first place.

Too bad they didn’t catch the guy who scammed people out of $7 million over two years. He listed 100 properties across the U.S. and accepted 10,000 offers. His bait-and-switch schemes worked … till he got caught.

Being familiar with the red flags can save you from being a victim. And that’s why I’m here today — to give you the know‑how.

1. Suspicious photos

Does the picture of that beachfront property look like it's straight out of a pricey photoshoot? Well, it might be. Images that are just a little too polished should raise your eyebrows. Try a reverse image search to see if it pops up elsewhere online. How? Open a pic, right-click on it, then choose Search Image or similar in your browser.

2. That doesn’t add up

Some hosts list a property at different price points on multiple platforms. The highest bidder wins, so your stay could get canceled if they find a person to pay more. This could also be what's known as a "phantom rental." In this scheme, crooks cook up a completely fake listing using a bogus address and photos and run away with your money.

3. Under pressure

This is a classic scam tactic: Pressure victims to do something right now. When you're rushed into making a decision, you're more likely to overlook serious flaws in the listing. A legitimate host won’t rush you into sealing the deal.

4. ‘Can you send me a gift card?’

You should always pay through the rental site. They’re secure and typical payment methods include debit, credit and sometimes a direct bank transfer. Never pay using a cash app, via crypto or using a certified check.

5. No one used spellcheck

Not everyone speaks perfect English or catches all their typos, but a poorly worded listing is cause for concern. Look for odd sentence structures or repeated words or phrases. They may also pepper in random links, which you absolutely should not click.

6. OK, something stinks

Positive reviews can certainly push you over the tipping point when it comes to booking a great-looking listing, but don’t trust everything you read. Be wary of a large number of reviews posted around the same date, for instance. Yeah, 12 reviews in a row using the same language over and over is a red flag.

Been duped? Your next steps

If you've fallen victim to a vacation rental scam, you're not alone. Even the savviest travelers get hoodwinked. Here's what to do:

• Contact your local police department and report the scam. You can also file a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
• If you booked through a website like Airbnb or Vrbo, contact their customer service right away.
• If you paid for a rental with a credit or debit card outside of a reputable website, freeze your account and contact your bank ASAP.

I’ll tell you one thing … When you think about it, “The Shining” is just a story about one family’s Airbnb stay gone horribly wrong.

👁️‍🗨️ Find any hidden cameras. OK, say you get to your vacation rental and it all looks great. Sorry, but it’s time to check for hidden cams. I found a dozen once! Steps here, if you need a how‑to.

When a service is free, I start thinking, “OK, then how do they make money?” With email from providers like Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook, you pay with your privacy.

If you’re sick of knowing Big Tech controls your emails, check out the secure alternative, StartMail. There’s no invasive tracking, profiling or unwanted ads. You get security features like unlimited disposable email addresses to protect you from phishing and hacking, as well as the ability to send encrypted emails to anyone.

Switching is easy, too. All it takes is a few clicks to move all your emails and contacts to a new inbox. Love that.

💔 $4M romance scam: In Minneapolis, Sharon Schmalzriedt, 61, was duped by “Erik Lockwood.” He claimed he needed $7 million for a deal in Dubai, and then they’d get married. Sharon gave him her money, combined with $4 million of her employer’s money and $17,150 from a friend. She’s facing theft and financial exploitation charges. PSA: Business owners, make sure only you can transfer money.

Epic class-action settlement: Fortnite players have until Feb. 29, 2024, to claim their share of $245 million. If your kiddo was charged for stuff they didn't want or if you found unauthorized charges or account locks between January 2017 and September 2022, you might be eligible. Use your Epic ID to apply at the FTC versus Epic Games refund site.

The iPhone case that survived a 16,000-foot drop: We now know it was a Spigen Cryo Armor case that survived a staggering 16,000-foot drop after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight. It landed on a road, still half-charged and in Airplane mode … without a single crack. The case is $24 on Amazon. That’s so fly!

📦 Sell on Amazon? This is huge. FedEx is going right after Amazon’s third-party seller program with its own platform, called “fdx.” With fdx, businesses can manage their sales and shipping, and they can even craft “custom post-purchase experiences” using FedEx. Def worth checking out if you sell online.

👁️ Oh, snap: Fusus is the new AI-powered camera system already in use by over 100 U.S. law enforcement agencies. It turns ordinary cameras around town into high-tech spies, recognizing items, people and even vehicles. Check the map to see if the cameras are in your hometown. Talk about a loose Canon.

Beware on Facebook Marketplace: One young woman’s simple jacket purchase turned into the stuff of nightmares. The seller — in a dark, eerie house — pretended not to know about the jacket, then said it was in his basement. The quick-thinking woman texted her mom as the seller handed over the jacket from just inside the door. Phew. Remember, folks: Always meet in public, never meet alone and trust your gut.

Diet week runs till Friday: Ozempic's shortage has TikTok buzzing about a cheap alternative — laxatives. Under #guttok, influencers promote them as an affordable weight-loss solution. You’ll just lose water weight, not fat. Dangers include potential organ failure and dehydration. Talk to your real doctor first.

Jodie in Indiana wrote to me because she needs to learn to use Quicken and other Microsoft Office programs. Good news, Jodie — you can do it online, no problem! These steps work for lots of programs, FYI.

• Microsoft offers free online training for Office programs that includes video tutorials, interactive guides and practice exercises.
• Quicken also offers online training resources for its personal finance software. Find video tutorials, articles and user guides on its site.
• Online learning sites like Coursera, Udemy and LinkedIn Learning can help you get up to speed quickly.
• An easy, free option is searching YouTube. There are a ton of helpful tutorials out there. You’ll have to watch an ad or two, but no big deal.

💿 To whoever stole my copy of Microsoft Office, I will find you. You have my Word.

⚡ Faster Google searches: Let’s say you read a word or phrase online and want to know more about it. Just highlight it, right-click on it and select Search Google.

I just saved you money: If you can, wait until the day you need the hotel room to book it. After 4 p.m., hotels know the odds of selling a room are slim. On average, the same-day rate is at least 10% cheaper. And ask for a free upgrade. I did that once and got the Presidential Sweet!

Finders keepers: Looking for a file? Hit the Windows key and start typing its name. That’s it. On a Mac, hit Cmd + spacebar and start typin’. So simple and saves so much time.

That was easy: Next time you need to adjust a PDF or add your John Hancock, use these sites from Adobe: edit.ing or sign.ing. Free and safe!

👍 Two thumbs up: Typing with your thumbs at the bottom of a screen is so much easier. Open Chrome on your iPhone. Hold down a URL, and you’ll see Move Address Bar to Bottom/Top. Cool, right? Sorry, Android, but this feature’s coming soon for you.

When I came back to the office full-time, I remembered just how much stuff I carry around every day. You, too?

• This nice lunch bag is under $20 and comes in lots of colors.
• This lunch bag holds enough food and snacks for a couple of days.
• This gym bag has 10 compartments for all your stuff, including stinky sneakers!
• If you prefer a logo, this Adidas gym bag comes in an array of colors — and it’s on sale.
• Love this — a duffel bag you can fold up when it’s empty.

🤸 Speaking of the gym, I visited one near me to see if they could teach me gymnastics. They asked, “How flexible are you?” I said, “I can’t make Mondays or Fridays.”

What do you call a snail’s luggage? Its cargo!

The answer: A.) Peach. I’m not fission for jokes here. The internet’s weight can be estimated by measuring the weight of the electrons that make up the data. Physicist Russell Seitz estimated the data at 40 petabytes, equivalent to about 0.2 millionths of an ounce or approximately 50 grams. You can definitely use this to win a bet!

“Kim, is Google reading my emails?” If you use Gmail, yes. Same goes for your ISP. If you want truly private email, help support me free newsletter and check out StartMail. It’s 50% off right now, or $2.50 per month. They don’t make money selling your data, so you can rest easy.

👏 Thanks for reading, friend. I’ll be back here tomorrow with more tech smarts to share. Do me a solid and share this email if you learned something new or laughed at one of my bad jokes. Appreciate you! — Kim