Welcome to your Sunday, friend. Let’s start things off with a bit of fun. You can stay at a lot of weird Airbnbs, including one 4.9-star accommodation in Boise that’s almost always booked. Is it a … caboose, potato, jail cell or treehouse? You’ll find the answer at the end!

Traveling abroad? Don’t let sky-high roaming charges ruin your trip! Get the eSIM I use for affordable, secure mobile data in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download the Saily app, pick a plan and enjoy instant connection all without a physical SIM! Learn more and get 10% now. — Kim

Yash Shah never thought he’d end up in jail. By his own account, he was just a “normal person” trying to make ends meet. Pick up a package, drop it off. Easy money. 

But that “easy money” landed him in a detention center, facing charges for his alleged role in one of the fastest-growing criminal operations in America, which racked up $126 million in losses last year alone. I’m talking about gold bar scams.

How it works

Like most high-dollar fraud operations, the gold grifter scam preys on fear and urgency.

• The setup: It starts with a phony tech support inquiry, pop-up warning or government agent. Victims (often older adults) are told their money is at risk.
• The manipulation: The scammer insists that traditional banking systems are compromised. To keep their money “safe,” victims must convert their savings into gold bars.
• The transfer: Once the gold is purchased, victims are told to hand it off to a “government agent” or a “bank representative” for “protection.” That agent? A courier like Yash Shah.

This isn’t some back-alley con 

It’s a global crime ring with layers of players keeping the operation running. Call centers in India are the first line, with scammers posing as government agents. 

Then come the couriers, like Yash Shah, hired to pick up and transport stolen wealth for a quick payday. And the real ringleaders? Sitting overseas (again, mostly in India), untouchable and raking in millions.

Fighting back

After losing $80,000 to this playbook, Vietnam veteran Kris Owen teamed up with Indiana police for payback — staging a sting operation with fake cash, a wired-up car drop and a front-row seat for law enforcement. 

After identifying the suspect as Abdul Mohammed, the police hauled him in for questioning. Facing federal charges for wire fraud, Mohammed fled the country. The feds may be cracking down on couriers, but the overseas kingpins remain hard to pin down (pun intended).

Recognizing red flags

Scammers are predictable, and you can spot them with telltale signs.

🚩 No real government agency will ever tell you to turn your life savings into gold bars for “safekeeping.” 

🚩 Pop-ups about security breaches? Fake. A “federal agent” demanding you move your money ASAP? Also fake. 

🚩 If someone pressures you to act fast and keep it quiet, don’t walk. Run!

What to do if you’re targeted

If a sketchy pop-up or call sets off your scam radar, don’t engage. Shut it down and call a trusted friend, family member or the police. Scammers win by keeping you isolated, so loop in someone else who’s outside the situation before making big-money moves. 

Scammers are getting smarter, slicker and harder to track. The best defense? Know their tricks before they know you. Share this with someone who needs a heads-up, and if you’ve been targeted, report it. Speaking up might just save someone else from losing everything.

Whether you're soaking up the cherry blossoms in Japan or exploring Canada’s breathtaking landscapes, one thing’s for sure: mobile roaming charges can be a nightmare. Just ask Rene and Lynda, a Florida couple who returned from Switzerland to find a shocking $143,442.74 phone bill, all from using mobile data abroad! Yikes.

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⚠️  One of the biggest DDoS attacks: Yep, it’s happening right now. A massive botnet appeared overnight, with hackers hijacking thousands of video recorders. The impact? Multiple online services are getting flooded with so much traffic that they’re crashing. Folks, this is why you should keep your devices updated with the latest firmware and use strong passwords.

After 35 years, Microsoft is ditching Publisher: It’s getting the boot in Oct. 2026. Other changes: Look for Microsoft to start bugging you to back up your files to OneDrive if you use Microsoft 365 apps for Windows. And they’re also testing free Office desktop apps that have ads baked in that only let you save docs to OneDrive.

Too cool for school: A Columbia University student built an AI program to ace his Amazon technical interview. He got the offer, turned it down, then someone snitched. Now he’s facing a disciplinary hearing. Plot twist: He’s dropping out anyway, saying LLMs will replace programmer jobs in two years. He’s right. ChatGPT can now directly edit code. Nuts.

🥼  When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble:Fake AI doctors are taking over TikTok, pushing sketchy medical advice, from using lemon balm instead of Ozempic to selling health gummies through Amazon storefronts. The red flags? Decades of experience, weird mouth movements and names like the “coochie” or “booty” doctor.

Uber completes a million trips an hour: Wow, right? To keep up with demand, their next move is integrating autonomous vehicles into the app. But get this: Instead of building their own robotaxis, they’re partnering with the likes of Waymo. What does that mean for us? Most likely higher ride prices since revenue will be split, and fewer jobs for human drivers.

🚗  Fastest car under $1 million: I’m a car gal, so I love this story. The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 hit a top speed of 233 mph on a 7.6-mile test track in Germany. You may know it’s one of the heaviest sports cars, starting at $174,995. To punch above its weight, GM engineers simulated it to prep for the test. The computer was only off by 1.09 mph. How cool. I tried a computer sim once, but I was only spinning my wheels.

🖼️  Picture these in your home.

• A pretty toaster ($20) that’s skinny enough to fit on any counter. 
• Ow, my toes. Won’t be you when you attach handy little night-lights right to your outlets.
• Or go with under cabinet lights (20% off) you can stick anywhere.
• This shower filter is easy to install and a total fan favorite for softer skin and shinier, smoother hair.
• Stop making the same old pasta. I want this healthy Italian cookbook (30% off) from Giada!

🥯  Amazon Prime Perk: Free Grubhub+ deliveries! Now I’m hungry. Hmm, sushi for dinner? Yeah.

🐾  Need the perfect pet name? Let ChatGPT help! Tell it your pet’s breed, color and personality traits. If you’re a first-time owner, you can ask it for training tips, too. Just use your discretion, since, you know, AI hallucinations and all.

Kindle trick: If you ever find yourself wondering, “Who’s that character again?” use the X-Ray tool. It provides a quick overview of characters, terms and even locations mentioned in the book, so you’re never lost within a complex plot. Just hold down on the word(s) you want to know about.

📧  Sent the wrong email? Gmail lets you undo a sent email before it actually goes out. Click the Gear icon (Settings) in the top right > See all settings > under General, go to Undo Send and set the Send cancellation period to 30 seconds for extra time. Next time you slip up, just hit Undo in the bottom left corner. 

Try AI for free: AI is transforming tech and business. Get ahead by using it now. Take a free test drive of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure at Oracle.com/kim*.

🔋  More battery, less buzz: You can save iPhone battery by turning off haptic feedback, the setting that makes your keyboard vibrate slightly when typing. It’s nice, but if you’re texting all day, it drains battery faster. To turn it off, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback and disable Haptic.

🤫  Tired of someone’s posts on Instagram? You can mute them without unfollowing. Next time they post, tap the three dots on their post and select Hide. When the prompt appears, tap Mute and choose to mute either Posts or Posts & Story. Bonus: Instagram won’t tell them you did it! 

• Michael from Cypress, Texas, survived a plane crash in the Kentucky mountains. He found an old, inactive cell phone and called 911. It worked! 

• Holly from Phoenix, Arizona, needs help. Her brother lost $400K in a crypto scam and thinks he’s dating Jennifer Aniston.
• John from Cleveland, Ohio, thought he did everything right when he bought a truck on Facebook Marketplace. Two weeks later, cops showed up. The truck was stolen.

Plus, Renee suspects phone cloning, Kari lost $25K, Lymarie needs medical tech, Tom looks for bookkeeping help, Pat wants her name removed from Google, and so much more!

🤑 Shop: Check to see if what you buy a lot of on Amazon is on sale. Definitely a money-saving move.

Watch these cute chicks:A bald eagle livestream in Big Bear Valley. It’s been up and running since 2021, and two little ones just hatched.

🍅 Cook: Today, I’m going to make vegetable lasagna soup. I always make too much. That’s why I totally love these silicone trays that let you freeze soup (or other leftovers) by the serving. I just pop one out for lunch or whenever.

Explore: Just how many satellites Starlink has on a map. This shows all the live sats and those under construction. Crazy, right?

🖼️ Level out: Have crooked-looking pictures on your phone? Solution: Enable grid mode. On iPhone, open Settings > Camera, then turn on Grid and Level. After taking a photo, use the editing tools in the Photos app to align shots and adjust the horizontal and vertical perspectives. Steps are similar on your Android!

Delta Air Lines just unveiled a plane design that feels straight out of a sci-fi flick, courtesy of startup partner JetZero. This cutting-edge design is slated to take to the skies in 2027. I can’t wait!

🥔 The answer: Recycled from the Idaho Potato Commission’s Big Idaho Potato Tour, this 6-ton potato is now a one-bedroom, one-bath Airbnb. It rents for $341 a night, and it’s usually fully loaded.

Heading overseas and worried about outrageous roaming fees? Saily eSIM offers you a simple, affordable way to stay connected in more than 200 countries with plans starting as low as $1.89. Download the Saily app, set up your eSIM in minutes and activate your data plan automatically upon landing. Get 10% off with my exclusive deal!

🫶 Follow me on social: I’m on Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook and everywhere else! Thank you for allowing me in your inbox. I’ll see you tomorrow with another edition of the best tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim