Welcome to a wonderful Wednesday! We begin with our daily tech trivia and a tech term you’ll start seeing more of. What does “haptic” mean? Is it being able to … smell, touch, see or hear? Answer’s at the end, along with how you can buy it.

🤿 Let’s dive into another packed issue of all things digital you need to know. Want me to cover something specific here? Just reply to this email. I am always here for you! — Kim

Imagine if one of these online games was your entire business. In a single day, you had all these customers showing up at your site or store: 

• Roblox: 66,100,000 daily active users
• Fortnite: 237,000,000 daily active users

That’s a ton of people sitting in front of screens, right? Cue the hackers and scammers. They’ve noticed these counts, too.

If you have kids in the family, chances are they're playing Roblox or Fortnite. What you (and they) don't know is there's a dark, scammy side that's getting more extensive and sinister. This is important information for all parents and grandparents to know.

One family was hoodwinked after their 11-year-old daughter was tricked on Roblox. Her parents bought her two custom avatars for her birthday, valued at a whopping $280. A day later, another player tricked her and stole them. Poor kid.

Earlier this year, over 300 Roblox users were caught laundering money through the game. They used fake in-game purchases (for items that didn't exist) to transfer real money. A class-action lawsuit is currently underway for the victims. And you know how that goes … lawyers make the most bank.

Bad news: There's a bigger, badder scam in town. Thousands of reputable websites — universities, professional organizations and even U.S. government agencies — have been hacked to push Fortnite and Roblox scams to kids.

The plot thickens

The premise is simple: Hackers scan a website for a vulnerability or weakness in the backend, then upload what are known as "poison PDFs." These malicious documents appear in search results, promoting everything from free Roblox in-game currency (Robux) to free Fortnite skins.

You think you're getting free Robux, but wait! There's just one "last step." A pop-up asks you to sign up for another service to unlock your free gift. Fill it out, and the only gift you’ll get is a computer virus — or identity theft.

These scams aren't limited to websites. They can be found in YouTube videos and surveys, too. Roblox and Fortnite are just the latest victims. Similar scams have been reported offering free Amazon gift cards or cash prizes.

Guard the fort

Talk to your kids about this with any game they play. Tell them to watch out for: 

• Anyone offering free Robux, memberships or valuable items. The same goes for any in-game currency. This stuff has real value!
• Fake messages. Official messages from Roblox come from the site's "Roblox" user or @roblox.com email domains.
• People who ask too many questions. Never share your full name, address, phone number or other details with strangers online.

Parents, instead of linking a credit card to your kids' Roblox or Fortnite accounts, use a reloadable gift card. You should also help your kids set up two-factor authentication (2FA), use a secure password on their Roblox or Fortnite accounts, and keep their games updated to the latest versions.

🍄 Here’s a gaming joke you can tell the kids. Why is French Mario so good at predicting the future? He uses his L’ouija board. (Good one, right?)

⚠️ Important FBI warning: Scammers have figured out that beta versions of apps don’t get fully reviewed before becoming available in the Apple and Google app stores. The FBI found beta apps are just a front for stealing your money. Never, ever download a beta crypto, banking, payment or budgeting app. I know it’s hard, but you must always be at least one step ahead of these thieves.

Ransomware ran to small biz: NordLocker says companies with 51 to 200 employees are the biggest ransomware targets, followed by those with 11 to 50 employees. Why? It’s simple: They probably don’t have dedicated IT teams. I’ve got your back with this free guide to protect your biz.

🕵 A 1997 mystery, solved: William Moldt disappeared from a nightclub in 1997 and wasn’t heard from again. More than 20 years later, someone stumbled upon a clue in Google Maps: A dark shape in a pond. Police found it was a car, and Moldt’s body was inside. Back in ’97, the area was a building site.

Xbox help for Maui: Donate your Microsoft Rewards points. It’s free to make an account, and you can earn points by buying games, playing and completing quests. Here are more safe ways to help. I donated, and I’m sure the folks there would appreciate you doing the same.

IDK BC LMAO: Gen Z has a new term for laughing out loud: IJBOL. Can you guess what that means? “I just burst out laughing.” It’s pronounced, “eej-bowl.” In my day, we just laughed, often to ourselves. Times were hard.

Best day to apply for a job: We know Sunday is the best day to buy airline tickets online. Now, new data from ZipRecruiter now says Tuesday is the day for job seekers. Why? Most jobs are uploaded that day, and it’s your best bet to apply within the first 24 to 48 hours.

🔥 Don’t come knockin’ if the EV is rockin’: Cruise is a robotaxi startup in San Francisco, and its cars are popular for something I bet the founders and venture capitalists didn’t anticipate: Hookups. Robotaxis are private and don’t have a driver, so there’s no one to tell you to knock it off. Next time I see a driverless car, I’m looking the other way.

Every morning, brush your teeth to my Daily Tech Update. You get fresh breath and fresh tech know-how in a minute.

Listen to my podcast, Daily Tech Update, here.

Quick, take your best guess: Which state has the most chargers per registered electric vehicle (EV)?

Nope, it's not California, though it is the state with the most EVs and EV chargers. California has about 43,000 chargers in total, or 47 for every 1,000 EVs. That's below the national average.

It's easiest to find an open charger (theoretically, at least) in North Dakota. That's according to Barron’s (paywall link).

You'll find the highest ratio of registered EVs to chargers there — 269 per 1,000. It's not the EV capital. There are only 640 registered battery-electric vehicles and 172 Level 2 and Level 3 chargers.

What’s that about levels?

Ah, yes, there are different levels of chargers — something you know all too well if you drive an EV.

• Level 1 is 120 volts and takes 11 to 20 hours to charge an EV from empty. (They’re usually not part of total charger counts since they're slow and more suited to hybrid models.)
• Level 2 chargers, 240V, take 3 to 8 hours.
• Level 3 chargers, 480V, take just 30 to 60 minutes.

Overall, the U.S. has about 11,300 Level 2 chargers and 28,000 Level 3 chargers. About half the Level 3 chargers are operated by Tesla.

🥴 I’m going to apologize in advance for this joke. What do a man with diarrhea and an electric car owner have in common? They both hope to make it home. (Ah, it wouldn’t be funny if it wasn’t true!)

Selling your home? You might need a nice, big virtual tour of it for major real estate websites — but watch what you share.

A recent study from the University of Washington looked at popular real estate sites to assess the privacy risks. 

• Of the 44 virtual tours reviewed, every single home had at least one piece of private information — a diploma, a photo, a letter — on display. That’s a big win for scammers looking to steal your identity.
• Many listings included entire floor plans. Without scoping your house, thieves know which window or door to use to quickly grab your computer, big-screen TV or jewelry box.

🤔 You need to think like a potential thief. Look deep into what you're sharing online. You might be giving more away about your house than you’d like.

Are pics of your home all over real estate sites, even though it’s not listed for sale, rent or lease? Here’s how to wipe them from Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.

Every week on my national radio show, I talk to interesting folks doing amazing things in tech, everyday people who could use a hand, and I share some of my best tips and tricks.

Missed it? All is not lost! Just tune in to my podcast, Kim Komando Today.

This week on the podcast, think your Mac is impenetrable? Bad news: It's become a big target for hackers. OpenAI is scouring the web for your data, and I’ll tell you how to opt out. A travel tip you'll use a ton, a woman who travels the world on the cheap, and so much more.

YOU: KOMANDO FANDO

The answer: Touch. You know how when you play video games, your controller might shake or vibrate? That's haptic technology. But there are also haptic suits. If your character gets hit in a game, you feel it — as in real pain.

The Teslasuit below (no relation to Musk’s Tesla) costs $12,999. I wouldn’t buy one, either.

🧨 I hope you’re enjoying and learning from these free newsletters. I’m having a complete blast putting them together. Win-win! Now, do me a favor and follow me on social. I’m on Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook and everywhere else, too! — Kim