It’s a tech-abulous Thursday, friends! For today’s trivia, what does “SPAM” stand for? Not the email kind! Is it … A) Specially Processed American Meat, B) Spiced Pork And More or C) Spiced Ham? You’ll find the tasteful answer at the end.

😎 We have a lot to cover today. Let’s get going with making you tech-smarter! Oh, and please do your part to support this free newsletter. Just give some love to IDrive for safe, secure cloud storage for all your devices. Get a killer deal if you use my link! Now, on with expanding your tech savvy. — Kim

Getting your credit cards stolen is aggravating. Having your entire identity stolen is next-level awful. But what if a thief pretended they were you at the hospital and racked up a huge bill — using your health care plan?

It sounds stranger than fiction, but medical identity theft is no joke. A recent data breach at HCA Healthcare exposed the personal identification data of around 11 million patients — a hacker's dream.

That wasn't you in the ER?

Just how bad can things get? One woman realized something was up after receiving a text from a hospital. It said her ER wait time was extended, except … she wasn't at this hospital or anywhere near it. She ignored it.

The next day, she got a call from hospital staff to discuss her test results. Even though she reported the incident as fraudulent, she still got slapped with a bill for over $3,600. The victim had to escalate things to the hospital's privacy officer to get things corrected.

Signs and symptoms

How do you know you're a victim of medical identity theft? One glaring red flag is receiving a bill from your doctor or an Explanation of Benefits statement for health care services you didn't get.

Another sign: Calls from debt collectors about medical bills you don't owe. Your credit report might also have medical debt collection notices listed. That's a good reason to snag that free annual report.

There's more bad news. Your health insurance company may claim you've hit your benefit limits when you know that's not true. You could also be denied insurance coverage over a bogus preexisting condition.

Build up your immunity

Medical identity theft is scary, and victims often don't realize something is wrong until it’s too late.

• Store hard copies of medical records and documents with personal identification information in a safe or lockbox.
• Consider using a wallet tracker. If you carry health insurance cards in your wallet, a tracker could help pinpoint your wallet’s location if it's lost or stolen.
• Call your health insurance company right away if you lose your ID cards.
• Use a strong, unique password if you log into an online portal to view medical records from your doctor or hospital.
• Remove prescription labels from empty bottles before you toss them. These labels have information thieves could use.
• Monitor your credit report for medical debt that’s not yours.

Babies, kids and older folks are prime targets for this stuff. Criminals are banking on no one realizing there's a problem with their credit until they're long gone. Pass this on to the people you care about. Use the share buttons below.

🛰️ On the front lines: Israel wants to use Elon Musk's Starlink as the backup internet service to front-line areas that could lose service. It'd be the second time it’s been used in a major war; Ukraine got access last year. Barry and I were talking about this at dinner last night. Elon Musk holds very powerful keys in two wars right now.

Sleep tight: Ukraine is reportedly using AI-guided drones to attack Russian targets — no human needed. A Ukrainian company developed the drones after last year's Russian invasion. They may be useful in war, but autonomous weapons that can fly anywhere sound terrifying to me.

TikTok detox: Moms on TikTok are promoting bogus treatments to deal with unruly kids. One is a "detox" spray that clears out heavy metals sold by a multilevel marketing company. The mom says it helped her toddler's mood issues. Don’t buy it. One time, I told toddler Ian, “You’d better stop that or you’ll have to stand in the corner.” He said, “No, thank you, Mommy.” Aww.

🔌 Tesla takes charge: Most EVs can use the Tesla Superchargers nationwide starting next year. Brands include *deep breath* Ford, GM, Rivian, Volvo, Polestar, Mercedes, Nissan, Honda, Jaguar, Kia, Hyundai, Genesis, BMW and Rolls-Royce. You’ll need to get an adapter to charge using a Supercharger, of course. If you thought the Tesla charging lines were long now, just wait.

Just take my money: Rumor has it Apple’s developing a foldable iPad. Don’t hold your breath — it’s slated for late 2024. It’s only cool if it’s small enough to fit in your pocket. Otherwise, what’s the point? I’m really curious if they’ll call it the “iFold.”

👨‍⚕️ Turn your lemons into melons: I bet that one got the attention of all my plastic surgeon readers. The reason? Hackers are now targeting digital medical records to steal before-and-after photos from plastic surgery offices. They then threaten to post the images online unless they’re paid off. Secure your digital fortress.

Minding my drone business: Amazon is testing free medication deliveries via drone. Order with Amazon Pharmacy and get the goods in under an hour. Right now, it’s only available in College Station, Texas, but I’ll bet it will expand soon. Sure beats standing in line at the pharmacy.

Hasta la vista, ChatGPT: Arnold Schwarzenegger is back — and promoting his new self-help book. His publisher set up a booth at the iconic Gold's Gym in Venice Beach where people could chat with AI Arnold. The twist: It was the real Arnold inside, not a machine. Check out the video.

I make the complex world of tech simple and approachable. From explaining the latest gadgets in plain English to offering easy-to-follow cybersecurity advice, I’ve got you covered.

Choose your platform below to listen:

Get that old smartphone out of the drawer. Did you know you can give it a second life as a video-conferencing tool? A device dedicated to video calls can free up your main phone or computer and optimize an at-home work setup.

• A dedicated device minimizes disruptions from texts, calls or other notifications during important meetings or virtual gatherings.
• Consistent video conferencing can suck the life out of your primary phone's battery. Give it a break and let the old device handle the load.

Want to try it? Take a few minutes to set your old phone up the right way.

• Factory reset: Clear all the old data. Here’s how.
• Update: Make sure it's running the latest software it can handle.
• Download: Install only the video-conferencing apps you need — Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, etc.
• Optimize settings: Go into the app settings to optimize video and audio quality.
• Power source: Keep the device plugged into a charger during calls since the battery probably isn’t great anymore.
• Connect: Finally, connect the device to a good Wi‑Fi network. For better stability, keep it close to your router.

Bonus tip: If you have a mini tripod or a stand, use it to set up your phone at eye level. It gives a much more flattering angle than placing your device on a table and looking down at it. I like this one (super affordable) and this one (includes a ring light!) on Amazon.

Reminds me of an old joke … Wife: “Why are you watching our wedding video backward?” Husband: “I like the part when I take the ring off your finger, leave church and go to the bar with my friends.”

Don’t lose all your photos, videos, documents and memories if yours bites the dust. You need to back things up the right way. My pick is IDrive.

It’s safe, fast and easy. You can back up all your devices — iPhone, Android, Mac, PC — to one account and access your stuff from anywhere.

It’s just over a foot.

The answer: The commonly accepted explanation is “SPAM” stands for SPiced hAM. But Hormel Foods has never spilled the beans — er, ham.

Using the term "spam" for junk email came from a Monty Python sketch in which a group of Vikings drowned out a conversation by loudly singing, "SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM!" And that's why it's used to describe unwanted, overwhelming emails.

Glad to know you want this email. Heck, you definitely do if you got this far. Do me a solid and support this free newsletter by checking out IDrive. Make sure you have a backup. You need it. Thanks for reading, friend. I love being your tech go-to person. — Kim