It’s a tech-licious Tuesday, friend! Let’s start with your daily brain expander. Microsoft Bing is no longer a search laughingstock, with 100 million daily users. But that’s not enough to take down Google. Currently, Google searches outpace those done on Bing by what percentage? Is it … A.) 10%, B.) 44%, C.) 62% or D.) 89%? Make your best guess, and you’ll find the answer at the end.

Word of the day: Privacy! How can you get yours back? Do like I did and use Incogni. Promo code KIM60 gives you a 60% discount. This slick service removes you from 180+ data-broker and people-search sites. Sign up, fill out your profile and they handle the rest. I bet you’ll love it as much as I do. Now, on to the news! — Kim

Picture this: Your phone rings and it's a familiar number. You answer and an unsettling voice tells you they have your kid. The only way to get your son or daughter back alive is to send money.

It gets worse. Your child gets on the phone and directly pleads with you for help. You see a picture of them in chains. You watch a video of them crying. Now you're panicking.

So you wire a large sum of money to the kidnappers, pray and wait. Hours go by and nothing. At some point, you discover your child was never in danger. That voice was AI-generated, or if you saw a video, it was deepfaked.

That’s what happens to the victim of a cyber kidnapping scheme. And these awful scams are becoming all too common.

Virtual insanity

Cyber kidnappings have been around since the '90s. Just like an old-school extortion scheme, crooks convince people their family members are in danger and will let them go in exchange for cold, hard cash.

But today, we have AI, smartphones and advanced video technology that turn these scams into something even crazier — and a lot more lucrative. Criminals have made billions off of unsuspecting victims.

Just a little over a week ago on New Year's Eve, a 17-year-old Chinese exchange student was rescued by police in Utah. Somehow, cyber kidnappers convinced him to flee his American host family and isolate himself in a tent outside of town.

He was instructed to snap pictures of himself and make it look like he was being held in captivity, which the criminals then sent to his family in China. After getting bombarded with threats, his poor parents sent the crooks a whopping $80,000 to set him free.

It's not clear what exactly convinced the young man to go along with the scheme, but thankfully, he made it out safely — well, except for the extreme brainwashing and an experience he’ll never forget.

How do you spot a cyber kidnapping attempt?

The National Institute of Health offered some key warning signs:

One way to safeguard yourself is to lock down your social media account privacy settings and stop posting revealing things about yourself and your family.

The more information you make public, the more ammo you give thieves. Yup, another reason to get your personal details off of people-search sites using Incogni — you can then help keep cybercriminals at bay.

To catch a cyber kidnapper

I hope you never, ever find yourself in this situation. Real or not, it’s terrifying. Here’s what to do if you do encounter something like this:

No joke, this is a real problem. Keep your family and friends safe and use the icons below to share this safety alert with them now.

Sorry to break it to you, but your info can trade hands for just a few bucks. Scammers are all over that — but they’re not the only ones. Data brokers sell your address, phone number, Social Security number, family contacts — you name it — to anyone willing to pay.

You can go through their sites one by one to remove your data, or do what I did and try Incogni. You put in just a couple minutes of work, then they scrub your personal info from the web. No joke, my spam callers are down to zero.

Get your data off 180+ data brokers' and people-search sites automatically with Incogni. They offer a full 30-day money-back guarantee, too, so nothing to lose.

🏥 Ransomware turns into swatting: In Seattle, both Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and INTEGRIS Health got hit by hackers. The thieves didn't just steal data including patients’ Social Security numbers; they demanded payment while threatening cancer patients directly with swatting. That’s where someone makes a fake complaint that sends a ton of armed police to people's homes. I hope we catch these lowlife scumbags.

If it isn’t one thing … Apple’s gearing up for one of its biggest releases in a long time: The Vision Pro headset on Feb. 2. I wonder if it’s hard for them to focus, though, given a looming antitrust lawsuit around Apple's tight grip on the smartphone world — including how the Apple Watch works better with iPhones and its control over iMessage and payments, among other things. This is a lawsuit to watch.

I'm warning you again because this is no joke: Hackers are breaking into Google accounts using a flaw in third-party cookies. Google is scrambling, fixing accounts and recommending Enhanced Safe Browsing for extra defense. Turn it on if you haven’t already.

I pill good: Elon Musk’s drug use (ketamine and marijuana) and rumored party indulgences (LSD, ecstasy, cocaine and mushrooms) have Tesla and SpaceX execs worried. What he does on time off is threatening his billion-dollar biz and hefty government contracts. His lawyer says he's clean, but boardroom whispers and a director's exit suggest a rocky orbit.

📝 Farewell, WordPad: After 30 years, Microsoft's WordPad is taking its final bow in the latest Windows 11 update. This middle child between Notepad and Word will no longer be up for reinstalls. The signs were there, like the missing Dark Mode updates.

Newer, better, faster: The Wi‑Fi Alliance has officially certified Wi‑Fi 7. Expect double the bandwidth for super-fast downloads and much more stable connections. Devices that support the upgrade, like phones and laptops, are coming this year. But remember, you’ll need a new router that supports it. Yup, you knew that was coming.

And the award goes to … The 81st Golden Globes were a win for Netflix, Max and Hulu, which took home a combined 12 awards from 71 nominations. HBO's "Succession" grabbed four, including Best TV Drama. Netflix's "Beef" clinched three. Hulu's "The Bear" scored in comedy, and even Princess Diana (well, Elizabeth Debicki in "The Crown") got some love. Put these on your watchlist.

🤖 AI's Achilles' heel: No shocker here. It turns out AI systems, like the ones running ChatGPT, can be tricked by evasion attacks (small changes that deceive them), suffer from poisoning (where bad data skews their learning) and become ripe for privacy breaches. If a company says its AI is entirely safe, don't buy into it; they're blowing smoke up your butt.

Medical identity theft is scary, and victims often don't realize something is wrong until it's too late — like when you need a procedure and the doctor's office says your insurance won't approve the costs.

Babies, kids and older folks are prime targets for this stuff. Criminals are banking on no one realizing there's a problem until they're long gone. Pass on these tips to those you care about.

Yes, this is a pain, but it’s a fact of life right now.

Text overload: You can pin your favorite convos to the top of your text message inbox. On iPhone, tap and hold a group or person, and you’ll get a few options, including Pin. On Android, go to your message inbox, hold a contact and click the pin icon. Fun times!

Quick security check: Browser extensions can add useful features, but ditch any you’re not using. On Chrome, click the three-dot menu in the top right corner, then go to Extensions > Manage Extensions. Remove or disable anything outdated.

📃 Size matters: Use Excel often? Save big files in an XLSB format instead of XLS. The file size will shrink up to 75%. For Word, DOCX files are smaller than DOC.

Customize Google Docs: There’s a hidden way to automatically switch out what you type for a special character (think "1/2" to "½" or (r) to ®). In a document, go to Tools > Preferences > Substitutions. Lawyers, you’re welcome.

👁️‍🗨️ Easier than explaining: Recording your screen on a Mac is so easy. Hit Shift + Cmd + 5 to record the entire screen. You can also select a portion to record if you want to leave out everything else. It’s a bit more of a process on Windows.

I don’t want to alarm you, but look down at your keyboard or take off your phone case. Oh, the filth! Let’s fix it.

🐑 What do you call a sheep that likes to clean? A Room-ba‑a‑aa‑aa. (You have to make a sheep sound when saying it!)

My friend, Joe, recently started the Dolly Parton diet. It’s really made Joe lean, Joe lean, Joe lean, Joe le‑e‑e‑a‑a‑a‑an.

The answer: D.) 89%. Google is still the search winner, with 92% of all searches done on its site. Bing comes in at 3%, even with AI baked in. It reminds me of that old joke: What does “Bing” stand for? Bing Is Not Google!

✅ Before you go: Don’t forget to check out Incogni and get 60% off. I used it and was blown away by how much less spam I’m getting on my phone. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow with some of my favorite finds so far from CES, the conference where all the tech companies show off their hot, new products. Gotta keep you up to date! — Kim