🇺🇸 It’s Flag Day on a Friday, friend! First, a little history for you. Flag Day marks the anniversary of the Stars and Stripes being named the official flag of the United States in 1777. Which musical artist used an American flag as the backdrop for their 1984 album, "Born in the U.S.A."? You’ll find the answer at the end!

Help me help you. To make sure you never miss an issue, drag my emails to the “Primary” tab in Gmail, or click the little flag or star to mark them as important in just about any email provider. Help here if you need it! Let’s get down to business. — Kim

Aloha! I’m so excited. I just booked a trip to Hawaii. I scored a great hotel, a fabulous room and a knockout price (hello, extra night free!), so I figured there’s no better time to share my tricks.

And, because cyber creeps are everywhere, I have travel scams to warn you about, too. Let’s book your summer vacay or upgrade the one you have the right way.

Ask and you shall receive

Booking a hotel online is easy, but don’t do that. The best way to find a deal and score the perfect room is to drop by the hotel’s website, look for specials, then pick up the phone. Call the hotel — not the main reservations number, but the specific property.

I saw a “get the fourth night free” promotion on the website. I always ask for the room number that gets the most requested. I want no elevator sounds, no pool noise, no ballroom music and no long hike to get to my room.

Now, this is interesting. I first called Amex to book the room. They couldn’t get the free night from the hotel, so I booked directly. Then, I called Amex to take over the reservation. That means I got the credit card amenities — free breakfast, free room upgrade, late checkout and $100 credit during my stay. Mahalo!

🌴 Pro tip: When you book on the phone instead of through a website, you’ll probably get a better deal than online (and better customer service).

Keep tabs on your stuff

Lost luggage will ruin your trip. Lots of major airlines, including United, American, Delta and Air New Zealand, let you track your luggage in real time through their official app, so download that before you hit the road.

🌴 Pro tip: Searching the app stores can lead you to copycat apps. Go to your airline's official website and look for a link to their app in the header or footer.

I throw an Apple AirTag in checked bags for extra peace of mind.

• AirTags are ideal if you have an iPhone, Mac or iPad.
• The Tile Essentials four-pack comes with enough tags for your keys, wallet, luggage or whatever else you want to track. Nice option for Android.

You’re the target

It’s hard to think of a worse start to your trip than realizing the flight, car or rental you thought you booked doesn’t exist. Scammers are pulling those tricks right and left. Here are a few booking rules of thumb:

• Book your flight directly through the airline or on a site you’ve heard of before. If you use a new-to-you site with a smokin’ deal, call the airline after your purchase to confirm your tickets are, in fact, real seats on the plane. Better safe than sorry.
• Pay with a credit card. You have a much better chance of getting your money back than if you use a debit card. If a site asks you to pay in cryptocurrency, via wire transfer or with a gift card, it’s a no‑go.
• Get the terms in writing. Any legitimate travel site will have a full terms and conditions section, including details on cancellations and refunds, but slapdash scam sites might not.

Pro tip: You’ll generally find the best flight prices if you shop on a Sunday and travel on a Wednesday.

✈️ Worried about taking a Boeing plane? Plug in your flight details at AmIFlyingOnABoeing to find out. Not sure that there’s anything you can do about it, but at least you know.

🐿️ One for the road: A hungry traveler stopped at a monastery and was taken to the kitchen, where a brother was frying chips. "Are you the friar?" he asked. The brother replied, "No, I'm the chip monk."

Pam in Fort Lauderdale wrote to me to ask if there’s a cheap, easy way for her to play music from her phone on her home stereo.

📻 Heck yes, there are, Pam. Each one works a little differently. Follow the included instructions and you’ll be rockin’ in no time.

Super affordable: Connect this receiver ($23.99) to your stereo’s audio port, give it some juice via a USB cable, and then push one button to pair it with your phone. Easy‑peasy.

Pricer but better sound: Audiophiles, this one is for you. A Wi‑Fi connection will give you better sound than a Bluetooth option. The WiiM Mini audio player ($89) is worth the money.

Get smart: Some Echo models, like this refurbished 4th-gen Echo Dot (34% off, $58.99), can connect to your stereo with a 3.5mm aux cable. That’s pretty sweet.

🚨 Don’t fall for it: Federal cybersecurity agency CISA says scammers are posing as CISA employees over the phone. Remember, a government agency will never hit you up asking for cash, crypto or gift cards.

Pixel zero-day: Google rolled out a big security update for Pixel users … and hackers have already exploited one of the patched vulnerabilities. This is a “high-severity” bug, so don’t sleep on it. Go to Settings > Security & privacy > System & updates > Security update, tap Install and Restart your device.

🚀 This is only a test: NASA says the audio clip of astronauts in distress streamed on its YouTube channel was just a simulation. The clip, which said an astronaut on the ISS had a "tenuous" shot at survival, was only intended for team training. Glad all is OK.

🛰️ Get cheaper Starlink internet: Folks in one of the 28 U.S. states with “extra capacity” can get SpaceX's Starlink dish for $200 off ($299, plus shipping and tax) and $90 a month for internet. That’s a huge discount — the dish is regularly $499 and the service is normally around $120 a month. If you’re considering Starlink, jump on it now.

Roku strikes again: If you've got a TCL HDTV, you might’ve noticed something off after updating to Roku OS 13. Roku automatically turned on motion smoothing, and there’s no way to turn it off. It's great for fast-moving sports games, but it makes movies look a little … too real. People are pissed. I'll let you know when they have a fix.

🤖 AI in office: A ChatGPT-powered bot named “VIC” is running for mayor in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Legally speaking, an AI can't run for office, but its human creator, Victor Miller, can. If elected, VIC will make the decisions, and Miller will just be the meatpuppet executing its orders. I wish I was joking.

Pass to the future: You might not need to schlep to the post office to renew your passport. The U.S. Department of State is beta-testing an online renewal system. For now, the beta is only open during unspecified “midday hours” (Eastern time) and closes when it reaches capacity each day. You can try your luck here on their site.

🛸 The truth is out there: A Pentagon official says in 2013, a U.S. Department of Defense contractor and two others saw a giant, glowing, blue UFO for seven minutes. They stated the barbell-shaped craft was half the length of a football field and 20 feet tall. When they tried to record it, the UFO disrupted their phones and cameras. If their reports are true, the craft’s energy field would’ve been big enough to power a small city! Do you buy it or not? Let me know.

🫡 Come say hello during the Kim Komando Today video livestream today at 11:30 a.m. Pacific (2:30 p.m. Eastern) on YouTube. If you can’t watch it live, put the show on your playlist to watch later.

Don’t look for a job on Facebook: An ad campaign is pushing “digital advertising” jobs. Click it, and you’ll end up with password-stealing malware on your machine. Stick with finding a real, good job on LinkedIn,* folks.

Browse on the sly: You looked up a tutorial to fix the dishwasher … and YouTube won’t stop recommending more fix-it vids. Next time, open the YouTube app > tap your profile picture > select Turn on Incognito.

Website detective: You can use this IP address tool to look up any URL. Click the IP address when it's brought up to see where it's located. Look for suspicious signs, like an American business with an IP address from somewhere overseas that just doesn’t make sense.

Share Prime with anyone in your home: Sign into Amazon, hover over Account & Lists, and select Account. Tap the Prime button and then Update, cancel and more. Under Membership Sharing, select Manage your household and follow the onscreen instructions. Free 30-day here, if ya need one.

Protect yourself: Medical identity theft victims often don't realize something is wrong until it’s too late. I recommend you store hard copies of medical records and documents with personal identification information in a safe or lockbox.

The days of easy virus detection are long gone. It’s not about sticking to “safe” sites anymore — malware can even pop up at the top of your Google search results. That’s why you need a trusted antivirus solution on your side.

I’m not talking about free options you can find in the app store, by the way. At best, they aren’t good enough to keep up with today’s threats. At worst, they’re stealing your info or even planting malicious software.

I use and trust TotalAV. You get total protection on five devices — and it’s only $1.59 a month for the first year. Amazing deal that I negotiated just for you!

No printer, no cry.

The answer: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, aka “The Boss.” That nickname came about during their early days, when Bruce collected the band's nightly pay and handed it out to each member.

😂 Long joke warning: Bruce Springsteen dies and St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates. "We're so glad you're here! God's a fan, you know. In fact, he's arranged to have the whole E Street Band reunited here for you." Bruce says, "The old band? I've missed those guys so much."

"Not only that," St. Peter goes on, "there's a bunch of other guys who can't wait to jam with you. Lennon and McCartney have written songs, Les Paul built a new guitar, and Beethoven can hear now and thinks you could use another keyboard player." Bruce can't believe his good luck. "This really is Heaven! Is there some sort of catch?" "Well," says St. Peter, "God has a girlfriend, and she thinks she can sing."

OK, that was good! If you smiled reading this newsletter, be a pal and share it with someone you love. Tomorrow I’ll be back in your inbox with a warning about online ads you can’t miss. See you then! — Kim