Hello, friends, and welcome to a tech-tastic Tuesday! Let’s start with our trivia. Which quirky fact about the Ford F‑150 is true? Is it … the official state truck of Texas, the first pickup to offer a hybrid engine option or that one F‑150 is sold every minute in the U.S.? You’ll find the answer at the end.

❤️ While reading today, keep your loved ones in mind. If there's a story you know would help someone out, use the share buttons or forward the entire email. The more, the merrier! — Kim

One of the most important parts of my job is making sure you know what criminals and cyber creeps are up to. Enough people fall for this junk, and I don't want you to be a victim, too.

The FBI is warning about a tech support scam that robbed folks of a whopping $542 million in just the first half of 2023. It all starts with a notification that looks like it's from your bank — or even the government warning of a computer hack. You guessed it. They're fake.

‘Trust me, I’m here to help’

The bad guys are running what's known as "phantom hacker" scams. Their prime target? Older adults. Their aim? To get them to empty their bank accounts. It's a wicked twist on a tech support scam that's been around for a while, where you get a pop-up warning your machine’s been hacked.

Scammers are no longer just pretending to be tech support agents. They're impersonating bank officials and government agents to gain your trust.

It goes like this

You get a call from someone who supposedly works for your bank. They claim a hacker from a foreign country is all over your account. Yikes! Then they say, "Hey, move your money to this 'safe' government account." But — spoiler alert — it's the scammer's account.

Just how successful is this scam? The FBI has reported 19,000 complaints related to tech support scams in just the first half of the year — amounting to that $542 million I mentioned before. Almost half of those victims were over 60.

So, what can you do? Here's your action plan:

• Stay skeptical: If you get an unexpected email, text or pop-up warning about a computer breach, take a deep breath. It's probably a scam.
• Check the source: Verify the message with the bank or agency directly before acting. Use a known phone number or website, not what's given in the suspicious message.
• Never wire money: The U.S. government won't ask you to wire money to foreign accounts or buy gift cards. That's a scammer move every time.

👉 One final step: Let the FBI know if you've been duped. File a report here. If it happened to you, it happened to someone else. The more info the good guys have to go on, the more likely they are to catch the bad guys. I once spoke with the head of the FBI, and he assured me they read every complaint.

💳 Amazon screw-up: If you got a strange email from store-news[@]amazon[.]com about gift card purchases you didn’t make, it’s not a scam; it’s just a mistake. Trash the messages. A major mess-up like this doesn't speak much for Amazon’s operations and security, does it?

Too hot to handle: Apple says, yep, those really hot iPhone 15s are its fault. It’s a mix of some iOS 17 bugs, certain apps and a high-processing setup process. A fix is coming. I bet they’ll lower the phone’s processor speed to reduce the heat.

Crime is not syncing: A thief in Detroit hacked a gas pump using Bluetooth and a phone. He walked away with 800 gallons of gas worth around $3,000. The owner tried to stop it, saying, "Every time we push Pump 3 stop, it wasn’t doing anything." The system was totally overridden, forcing them to shut the gas station.

Join me and Jean Chatzky: This Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m. EDT, I’ll be on with Jean ("Today" show expert and bestselling author), talking about financial scams and how to protect yourself. You can watch the livestream and ask questions here.

Rolling and recording: Those autonomous delivery robots that look like rolling coolers do more than bring you late-night snacks. Serve Robotics, a delivery robot company, recently lent a hand to the LAPD by sharing footage. Just a heads-up — these bots are always recording, not just when delivering your munchies.

👑 Royally hacked: The British royal family's website, Royal[.]uk, got taken offline for 90 minutes after King Charles spoke up for the war in Ukraine. The group behind it? Pro-Putin KillNet. They performed an old-school DDoS attack, flooding the site with so much traffic, it crashed.

“Beef stew” as a password is not stroganoff: If your password is "password," "research" or "Cleopatra," you're in risky territory. Specops Software says these are some of the most compromised passwords out there. Oh, and 85% of new passwords have fewer than 12 characters. Aim for at least 14 because you're smart.

✈️ I told you about this a month ago: Traveling in November or December? Book your flight as soon as possible. Prices go up and down three to five months before the holidays, and you’re more likely to find a cheap ticket now. The longer you wait, the harder it is to find bargains.

“Minority Report”: Geolitica sold predictive policing software to law enforcement in Plainfield, New Jersey. Does it work? Not really. The Markup found that out of more than 23,000 predictions the software made in 2018, fewer than 100 matched with real crimes. The cost: $20,500 for the first year and $15,500 for a yearlong extension. Ouch.

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.

👉 Tech understanding is just a click away!

It's a strange time in real estate. Interest rates are high, borrowing costs are too expensive for a lot of folks, and, depending on where you look, the market is doing very different things.

Zillow's latest research on home values from July to August found five cities where home values are up — and five where they're down.

On to the numbers

There are fewer homes for sale now compared to at this point last year, and the typical home value is $351,423 — a record high and 1.3% more than last year. Since June, prices have fallen for 23% of listings, but home values have climbed in 32 metro areas.

Compared to this time in 2022, the most significant increases are in:

• Hartford, Connecticut: Up 9.9% to $343,034
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Up 8.1% to $334,446
• Virginia Beach, Virginia: Up 5.7% to $337,884
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Up 5.5% to $349,292
• Providence, Rhode Island: Up 5.3% to $457,388

The picture isn't so pretty in these five major areas compared to last summer:

• Austin, Texas: Down 11.4% to $474,853
• New Orleans, Louisiana: Down 8.7% to $243,473
• Phoenix, Arizona: Down 6.4% to $451,461
• Las Vegas, Nevada: Down 6.4% to $407,693
• San Francisco, California: Down 4.2% to $1,137,604

😂 How many real estate agents does it take to change a lightbulb?

None! The lightbulb is in excellent working order and comprised of a beautiful retro teardrop illuminator, offering original glass and metal features and centrally located in the room. The property is serviced by a newly refurbished power cord connecting it to the ceiling. Nearby is a tasteful power switch to enable the purchaser to switch it on and off.

Ever want to share incredible photos, funny videos or anything else from your phone’s tiny screen on a television so everyone in the room can see them? It’s easier than you think.

• Let’s start with your iPhone. The Apple way to do it is called AirPlay. If your TV is newer, it might have AirPlay built in. Otherwise, you’ll need a pricey Apple TV box on the same Wi‑Fi network as your phone. Grab your phone, find what you want to show on the TV and select AirPlay from the share menu.
• On Android, get a $30 Chromecast device and plug it into your TV. As long as your Android phone is on the same Wi‑Fi network as your Chromecast, tap the cast button, and what’s on your phone will show on your TV. Snazzy.

🍊 I wish orange were a common color option for Android phones. Sure would make it easier to compare them to Apples. (Ba‑dum‑tss!)

Think "hiring" and what site comes to mind? Yup, LinkedIn. Every week, nearly 52 million job seekers visit LinkedIn — and with good reason.

With LinkedIn, you can find the right person for any job, fast and free. Pro tip: Add your posted job and the purple "hiring" frame to your LinkedIn profile photo to spread the word.

Love this: LinkedIn screens questions and has other great tools that automatically weed out resumes that don't fit. Such a timesaver.

And I have no Monet for Degas.

The answer: More than one F‑150 is sold every minute in the U.S. The first Ford F‑150 was introduced in 1975.

😂 My friend left his Adderall in his Ford Fiesta. Now, he has a Ford Focus.

🌟 Before you go … Your referral link is at the bottom of this newsletter. Share it for a chance to win a $1,200 iPad or laptop. Each signup equals one entry. Post your referral link on social media, text it to friends and get it up on Nextdoor. I want YOU to win! — Kim