🕹️ All right, let’s kick off today’s tech know-how with trivia. Which tech entrepreneur sold a game to Atari at the age of 12 and later became a co-founder of one of the most successful tech companies ever? Was it … Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Elon Musk? Make your best guess, and you’ll find the answer at the end.

👊 Keep this newsletter free to you by supporting today’s sponsor. I’ve negotiated the best deal available anywhere: One year of award-winning TotalAV’s security suite for just $19. Btw, if you buy, I get no residuals or kickbacks. Appreciate you! — Kim

OK, I need to talk to my Gen Z son, Ian, about this. And you should speak to anyone in your circle born between 1996 and 2010.

The fine folks at the FBI’s crime division say teens have lost 2,500% more money to scams in the past five years. Compare that to an 805% increase for seniors. Still not great, but at least it’s not 2,500%.

In 2022, teens lost $210 million to scammers. Why? Because thieves have more ways than ever to target them.

Under the influence

Say your kid idolizes an influencer. That person is, sadly, all too easy to impersonate. Set up a phony account that looks real, run a contest, and trick the “winners” into handing over banking details (or more) to claim their (nonexistent) prize. Done and done.

Pro tip: Stick to “official” influencer accounts with substantial follower counts. A smaller account is almost always a scammer, not some secret one. And never give financial info or money to someone via DM.

Hey there, handsome

This one is a classic for a reason. Scammers grab pictures of an attractive teen or 20-something and play digital Casanovas. All too soon, they profess their love — then comes the request for money, gifts or info.

Pro tip: Try a reverse image search to see if those pics pop up elsewhere online. If the person refuses to video call or meet you in person, it’s a bad sign.

Send me a photo

This is the dangerous intersection of smartphones, sexting and scammers. Someone shares sexy pictures and asks for some in return. As soon as the victim sends a pic or video, everything changes.

The person on the other end is now blackmailing them — or they’ll share the content with everyone they know. Think about how horrifying that would be at any age, but especially as a teenager. I spoke to a family that lost their son to suicide after this happened to him. Such a heartbreaking story.

Pro tip: Talk to your kids about sending pictures. Urge them to never share anything explicit, even with someone they know in person and trust. It’s just not worth it.

You won! (Not)

This one more frequently targets younger teens. A clever thief tricks them into revealing credit card details or downloading malware under the guise of unreal rewards while making in-app purchases.

Pro tip: This one’s easy. Only ever buy apps or in-app purchases through an official app store. No trades and nothing “private.”

💸 When I was in college, we didn’t have to worry about this stuff. But my allowance was also only $40 a week, so I guess I wasn’t a big target … Do those you care about a favor and share this one using the icons below.

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Don’t trust social for news: Fake news about the manhunt for the Maine mass shooter has been all over social media since the incident. One video posted on X falsely claiming the killer was caught had nearly 2 million views at the time of my writing this. Skip social and go straight to trusted news sources.

🤖 “Clickworkers”: That’s a person who does the digital grunt work needed to teach AI models how to think like humans. A Finnish startup is paying prisoners less than $2 an hour to train the large language model for their AI tool. Let’s hope the convicts assigned to the music models don’t steal the lute.

What in the (virtual) world? Gamers held a huge pro-Palestine protest in the world of Roblox — picture block-shaped characters waving Palestinian flags. Most Roblox players are under the age of 16. And it’s not just a few kids here and there — one in-game protest has been visited over 275,000 times. Just passing this along in case you have kids on Roblox.

This phone is a wrist taker: Motorola’s new concept smartphone folds around your wrist like a slap bracelet! No joke, the 6.9-inch HD+ phone bracelet uses AI to choose patterns and colors that match your outfit. If you’re not the bracelet type, fold the bottom into a built-in stand. The real question: What happens if you accidentally smack your arm into something?

✍🏼 BYOB(udget): Forget the apps — maybe you need to use good ol' pen and paper (or Excel, for those of us with bad handwriting) to manage your money. Studies and finance pros say doing it the old-fashioned way helps people stick to their targets better. Here’s a free spreadsheet template if you want to DIY.

(Please don’t) call me: X now has audio and video calling — only for subscribers who pay $8 a month. This is the next step in Elon’s plan to make X the “everything app” like China’s WeChat. Hopefully, this doesn't mean the crypto spammer in your DMs can FaceTime you during dinner.

Update your iPhone: iOS 17.1 fixes bugs and adds a few minor upgrades, like the option to customize how long your phone stays in StandBy (the new alarm clock mode when you’re charging). AirDrop transfers now work even if you’re not in earshot of your recipient, and you can shuffle your lock screen photos. Try it! Press and hold on your lock screen, click the + (plus sign) and tap Photo Shuffle.

No ifs, ands or putts: You have to see this! Golfers were not pleased when a herd of hungry javelinas hit their course (video). The internet is on #TeamJavelina. If the golf course destroyed their natural habitat, X folks say, they should be allowed to munch between tee times. Let me tell you, it takes a lot of balls to golf the way I do. (Oh, I heard you laugh!)

Whether you have a few minutes to spare during your drive or you're just chilling at home, it's the perfect time to tune in to The Kim Komando Show podcast! I keep it real, breaking down the latest tech trends, cybersecurity tips and gadget reviews into snack-sized, easy-to-understand episodes.

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Let AI do it for you: Mock-up branded T-shirts, hats, tote bags, phone cases, whatever you want with Mockey. Useful for everything from your small-biz swag to your family reunion matching sweaters — and no Photoshop skills required. Love that. I could never master that program.

Dot dot dot: Gmail ignores periods in an email address. Say yours is greatname[@]gmail[.]com. You’ll still get your messages if you type it as great[.]name or grea[.]t[.]name. That’s an easy way to create a quick alias for forms that don’t let you add a plus sign when making an account.

🍸 Here, I did it for you: Skip the long out-of-office message about how you’re sipping mai tais on the beach. Here’s a template: “I’m on vacation. I will reply to your message when I return on (date). If this is an urgent matter, contact (person) at (email and phone).” Easy. If you want to be a pal, add, “I can take a vacation because I get my tech smarts from Kim Komando.”

Witches gotta stick together.

The answer: Steve Jobs. Get this — when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak designed the arcade game Breakout, Jobs sold it to Atari for $5,000. But he lied and told Wozniak they were paid $700 and gave him half, or $350. Years later, Wozniak found out and said he would’ve been happy to give Jobs the larger share if he’d known. Yeah, right.

✅ Hey, I hope you take my advice and get TotalAV for the incredible price of only $19. It covers up to five of your (or your loved ones’) devices.

Thanks for being here. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow. That’s right! A brand-new Saturday edition. I’ve got a smart tech tip you should make some time to do if your Wi‑Fi is crappy. Until then, stay your tech-tastic self! — Kim