🙋‍♀️ Hello on this magnificent Monday, friend. This morning, Jensen Huang, cofounder of Nvidia, a $3 trillion company, will walk on stage at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to deliver the keynote in his signature black leather jacket, looking all confident and smug.

But this is what he told “60 Minutes” about delivering his keynote at an AI conference last year: “I'm an engineer, not a performer. When I walked out there, and all of the people going crazy, it took the breath out of me.” After giving his keynote, he said, “I'm still scared.” While Huang is building an AI empire, it’s reassuring he’s still human. Psst, I still get scared sometimes! — Kim

Imagine getting a call from what looks like your bank’s number, warning you about suspicious activity on your account. The caller knows just enough to make you trust them. It’s all a lie, and you’re screwed if you don’t realize that soon enough.

Kay in Virginia didn’t, and the 80-year-old lost her life savings — tens of thousands of dollars drained from her Wells Fargo account from one phone call. Another woman just lost $56,000 to the same kind of scheme.

Cybercriminals are pros at making their tricks feel real, and their methods are constantly evolving. It’s not just calls. Here’s a breakdown of common scams they’re using right now and how to stay protected.

Fake banking apps

Scammers create counterfeit versions of popular banking apps, complete with realistic logos and interfaces. They send you the link, and you download it, thinking it’s the official version. Once you log in, they steal your credentials.

✅ Stay safe: Always download apps directly from your bank’s official website or the app store. If there’s a suspiciously low number of downloads or reviews, move on.

Phony bank emails with verified logos

AI tools make it a breeze to create convincing emails with verified sender logos and signatures. These emails may even mimic your bank’s official communications. One such email fooled a woman in Cleveland out of $23,000 in just a few hours.

✅ Stay safe: If you’re ever unsure about an email, don’t click anything in it. Log in directly through your bank’s website, or call the number on the back of your card.

One-time passcode theft

This scam is especially sneaky. You receive a legitimate one-time passcode sent to your phone and are tricked into sharing it. Once you do, scammers can drain your account.

✅ Stay safe: Your bank will never ask for these codes. If you receive one you didn’t request, it could mean someone is trying to hack your account. Contact your bank immediately.

Social media ‘banking representatives’

Fraudsters posing as bank reps on social media platforms lure victims with fake customer service help. This often comes after posting a public complaint.

✅ Stay safe: Never share account details over social media or direct messages. Banks handle issues through official channels only.

QR code scams

Just because a QR code is in your bank’s parking lot or near their signage doesn’t mean it’s legitimate. Scanning random codes is just as dangerous as clicking an unverified link. A woman went viral on TikTok after she scanned a QR code from a phony brand manager’s badge at Walmart.

✅ Stay safe: Avoid scanning codes unless you’re absolutely sure they’re legitimate. When in doubt, access the bank’s website or app directly.

Scammers thrive on fear and urgency

They count on you to react quickly, especially when they create a sense of urgency. The best way to protect yourself? Slow down, think things through and take proactive steps like these to secure your finances:

✅ You’re here reading this warning. Go, you! Now, share these tips using the icons below with family and friends. Awareness is the best defense. Remember, a bank is a place that’ll lend you money only if you can prove you don’t need it.

🥱 These will help you sleep better. Dreamland misses you!

🤧 If sickness is messing with your shut-eye, Amazon’s Same-day Store has a health and wellness section. This white noise machine (42% off) arrives in a couple of hours and is under $20! Neat.

📜 No data for you: The U.S. Department of Justice has issued an executive order banning companies from selling our personal data to hostile nations. The goal? To block countries like China, North Korea and Russia from using our info for cyberespionage and social media disinformation campaigns. I always assumed China has extremely sophisticated spying tech they use on us. Well, that balloon burst.

Erase the past: Newspapers across the U.S. are removing old crime stories or names from their online archives. Why? To help folks move on without fear of being googled. Good news: This only applies to minor crimes. Articles about violence and sex offenses are staying put.

🙏 Give me an AI-men: The New York Times did an excellent piece about how religious leaders are using AI to help them deliver their sermons. Take Rabbi Fixler: A chatbot trained on his data can write the sermon, deliver it in his voice and even answer questions aloud during the service. Other leaders are using bots to translate their livestreams into other languages in real time.

Are you cirrus? Turns out the government’s technology for controlling the weather doesn’t work. “Cloud seeding,” where silver iodide crystals are added to clouds to increase rain, only boosts precipitation by a measly 0% to 20%. Oh, and it’s not cheap, either; we're spending tens of millions on this every year.

Intel slipping away: The once-mighty innovator is steadily losing market share in critical areas that keep its profits afloat. One prime example (paywall link): AMD surpassed Intel’s revenue for data center chips — a crazy shift, considering Intel’s revenue was three times AMD’s in 2022. And let’s not forget the booming GPU demand for AI, where Intel is trailing Nvidia by thousands of miles.

👂 Taking a page from Apple: You’ll soon be able to connect hearing aids to your Android phone. Code strings found in a Google Play Services beta show hearing aids listed as Fast Pair-supported devices. Translation? Pairing them could become as simple as connecting earbuds.

AirTags in a house with kiddos? Apple skipped an important safety warning for its AirTags related to the small batteries inside. The AirTags are easy to open to get the batteries out. New models follow Reese’s Law, named after an 18-month-old who died after ingesting a button cell battery.

💔 Me love you long time: Nearly a decade ago, a handsome U.S. Marine discovered his photos were being used in a multibillion-dollar romance scam. Hundreds of women have been conned out of their money, and it’s still happening today. The worst part? Victims contact his wife to warn her he’s up to no good. Here’s the full story I wrote for The Daily Mail, with all the juicy details.

Finding the perfect candidate for an open job can feel like hunting for a needle in a haystack. Enter LinkedIn.

With millions of job seekers at your fingertips, LinkedIn is a treasure trove of skilled folks ready to make a difference. I’ve used LinkedIn to assemble my standout team who help put together this newsletter, my national radio show, our podcast and everything else we do.

LinkedIn’s advanced tools make the hiring process smoother than ever. They even help you put together the ideal job description so you can focus on what matters — growing your business.

🎵 Work hack? Studies show surgeons work faster and more accurately when listening to classical music. For those of us not in the operating room, the best tunes are any that put you in a better mood. The most popular songs on work-related Spotify lists are Train’s “Drops of Jupiter,” “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. I hear you humming!

🚨 60% off alert: My home security pick, SimpliSafe, is having a massive sale.* Get all the gear to lock down your home. You’ll sleep better at night.

Do it in style: Easily change your text formatting by holding down Ctrl + B for bold, Ctrl + I for italics and Ctrl + U for underlining. Pro tip: Hit Shift + X for strikethrough text, Shift + . (period) to superscript something and Shift + , (comma) for subscripting.

MacBook battery widget: It'll regularly remind you how much juice is left in your laptop. On your Mac, click the date and time in the top right corner. In the notification center pop-up, click Edit Widgets. Search for “batteries” and pick your favorite options.

Windows upgrade: Setting up multiple desktop profiles means you can keep life, work, vacation and your hobbies separate. To make them easy to navigate, customize each. Now you know blue is for work, yellow is for home stuff and orange is for DIY projects.

Check your 401(k): A whopping one in five Americans has an inactive 401(k) account. The average value? $55,400! If you left a job and never dealt with your account, call your former human resources department and ask if you have an inactive account. You can also try this site.

Stop hackers in their tracks: EndpointLock encrypts your keystrokes when you enter usernames, account numbers and passwords so no one can copy and steal them. It’s genius, really. Hit this link for 10% off.*

Baby and toddler food labels will now have a QR code to scan that shows levels of lead and other heavy metals for the first time, per a new California law. It’ll spread to other states for sure.

You have to know many products showcased at CES are concepts. It is truly cutting-edge tech that's still in development and might never hit the shelves. But don’t worry, there will also be plenty of gadgets you can get your hands on right now or in the near future. At the end of CES, I’ll share my picks and the losers.

😂 One for the road: A macaroni, a penne and a spaghetti were drinking wine in a bar one evening. They saw a noodle sitting by himself and invited him to join them. They all agreed he looked cannelloni. (If you laughed, I pasta test!)

That’s a wrap! Hit this link to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you’re the first to see all the fun we get up to in 2025. I’ll see you right back here tomorrow with the best tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim