The Current Plus: Toyota airbag recall, check your small-biz listing, identity theft tips | In partnership with Trust & Will | | Welcome to your tech-wondrous Wednesday, friend! I read that lots of stores are doing away with self-checkout. Let’s jump on that train for trivia. Which of these products was the first scanned via a barcode: A.) A pack of gum, B.) A computer server, C.) A hammer or D.) Lunch meat? Answer at the end! You need a will. If you’ve been avoiding it, check out today’s partner, Trust & Will. You see all the pricing upfront, and there’s unlimited support along the way. And hey, no visiting a lawyer’s office. Your support of our sponsors keeps this free newsletter in your inbox! Score. — Kim 📫 First-time reader? Sign up here. (It’s free!) IN THIS ISSUE ⚠️ Talk to your kids 🤖 New job: Robot babysitter 🗺️ Apple Maps mess |
TODAY'S TOP STORY Scammers are targeting kids and teenagers What comes to mind when you think of someone getting scammed? A grandma on the phone with some jerk? If so, this will probably surprise you. The total money lost by teens in online scams grew by nearly 2,500% between 2017 and 2022. Victims under the age of 20 lost a staggering $210 million in 2022 alone. Educating our kiddos on red flags is the first step in keeping them from becoming victims. That’s why I’m telling you about the scams and hacks targeting kids and teens right now. ‘Send me a pic’ Sextortion scams increased an alarming 20% between October 2022 and March 2023. Scammers used to target adults, but teen boys have become their latest focus. Common tactics: Scammers create fake social media and gaming accounts, posing as an attractive young girl. They start talking to a teen boy, send over some pics, and then they ask for nude photos or videos in return. If the victim sends one, the scammers demand a payout and threaten to post the incriminating photo or video for all their friends and family to see if they don't pay. The threat of exposure causes major panic, and many kids try to make the payments. I interviewed a lawmaker who lost his son to a scam like this. The teen was so overwhelmed he took his own life. Awful. Game over Roblox and Fortnite are household names among both kids and cybercriminals. Both platforms have their own in-game currency, which requires a credit card and personal information tied to the account. Common tactics: Apps and sites may promise to pay out in-game currency in exchange for clicking on bogus ads. Spoiler: The ads contain malware that helps crooks hack into the account. Fake websites often claim to sell in-game currency. Many look real enough to fool kids and adults. Brand bandits Today's teens look at social media influencing as a potential career path. Who wouldn't want to make money just for posting online? Common tactics: In an influencer scam, crooks pose as real brands and reach out to teens with promises of cash or gifts. They'll send a message claiming they love the victim's account and they're an excellent match for their brand — as long as they buy a few things upfront to get started. Yeah, it’s all a con. Safety first It’s a scary digital world out there, and I want your whole family to navigate it safely. These tips will help keep your kids safe from scammers: Have regular conversations about online dangers. Let your kids know they can always come to you with a shady situation. Use a password manager on family smartphones and computers, and enable two-factor authentication on the apps your kids use regularly. Make sure your kids’ social media profiles are private. The more info scammers have, the better for them. Have your teen's phone set up to block unknown callers and/or send them straight to voicemail. For games with in-game currency, use a reloadable gift card instead of your credit card. Bonus: They can’t spend endlessly. 🤝 Know someone who needs this info? Use the icons below to share it. Let’s make this world and our families safer together! |
WEB WATERCOOLER 🚨 Urgent Toyota recall: Toyota issued a "Do Not Drive" warning for 50,000 vehicles, including model year 2003-2004 Corollas, 2003-2004 Corolla Matrixes and 2004-2005 RAV4s. The vehicles’ Takata airbag inflators could explode, sending potentially lethal metal shrapnel flying. Yikes. 🤖 Robots gone rogue: "Robot wrangler" is the new job title for humans helping warehouse robots that stray from their tasks or bungle item transfers. Proof AI isn't stealing all our jobs just yet. … Can(cer) be beaten: A research team from Taiwan says their new wearable “sticker” tracks tumor sizes and wirelessly sends updates. No more MRIs (or worse). This game-changer gives a real-time window into treatment effectiveness. 🗺️ I’d be lost without you: Small businesses are losing big bucks to Apple Maps inaccuracies. It’s randomly marking them “permanently closed.” If you own a biz, you need to babysit your listing on Apple Maps. — sorry. Check your business details now while you’re thinking about. it. 🧠 Franken-Musk: Neuralink's "Telepathy" brain implant turns a person’s thoughts into remote controls for phones and computers. The first human is officially plugged in and dreaming of bra‑a‑a‑ins. Er, I mean, the next update. Seriously, amazing tech for anyone with. paralysis. Minor change: Meta is blocking teens from getting DMs from strangers by default on Instagram and Facebook Messenger. Parents will now be prompted to approve or deny requests when their kid wants to change their safety and privacy settings. Don’t trust it. You still need to watch. them. Cavity search: TSA is bringing more advanced facial recognition to hundreds of U.S. airports. Sure, they say having your pic snapped in the airport is optional and secure, but some fear we're heading into a high-tech surveillance state. Ahem, we’re already. there. 🚂 Need a job? A German railway is on the hunt for a Windows. 3.11 Administrator with MS‑DOS experience to keep the trains rolling. Talk about ‘90s nostalgia. The posting got taken down, but I’ll drop the link here if I see it. again. |
DEVICE ADVICE Offline ways to protect your identity Thieves still love to use old-school tactics they think we all forgot about. We’re too smart for that! Out in public, keep your purse and wallet close. Only bring the cards you'll be using. Leave your Social Security card, birth certificate and passport at home unless you truly need them. Don't put outgoing checks, bill payments or financial information in your home mailbox. Use a postal mailbox or take them to the post office instead. Shred old bills and financial records before tossing them. I use this shredder. Review your credit report and bank statements regularly. Here’s how to get a free report. 📜 If this happens to you, resist the urge to stay quiet. Report fraud, scams and bad business practices to the FTC. If you gave out your Social Security number, contact the SSA immediately. |
LISTEN UP | | Here's what your digital life is worth What could your credentials fetch on the dark web? Here's why they're worth a lot. Play Now • 3:17 ▶ |
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TECH LIFE UPGRADES 📧 Send emails on your schedule: In Outlook for the web and Gmail, hit the arrow next to Send to choose a delivery time. Use the Outlook app? Go to Options > Delay Delivery > Do not deliver before, and set the preferred time and date. I mentioned Amazon Mechanical Turk on the show and keep getting questions. Get paid to complete tasks that are easier for people than bots, like analyzing images and transcribing audio. Sign up here for a Worker account. Clean up your act: Microfiber cloths have two distinct sides. The fluffy side is for picking up dust, while the scrubby side is for removing stubborn dirt. Get 12 for $7.99 now. 💕 Hide-and-seek: You’re shopping for your honey’s Valentine’s Day present and they stroll into the room. Quick, hide your open windows. On a PC: Windows key + M. (Use Windows key + Shift + M to reopen.) On a Mac: Cmd + Option + H + M. On the tip of your tongue: Searching for an elusive song or movie title? Use an asterisk in your Google search as a placeholder. For instance, if you type "* me down to the * city," Google fills in the blanks and gives results for Guns N' Roses’ "Paradise City." |
BY THE NUMBERS 200,000 Vision Pro headsets Apple has sold so far (and counting!). They started taking orders for the $3,500 headsets on Jan. 19, and they’ve been on sale for just 11 days. $2,000,000,000 Revenue illegal streaming subscription services bring in. Think sites that pirate content from everywhere and let you watch for a small monthly fee. Just say no! 28 Years WordPad was auto-installed in Windows. The simple text editor debuted with Windows 95. From now on, open .doc files in Word or Google Docs and .txt files in Notepad. WordPad is gone. |
WHAT THE TECH? That’s one way to keep the romance alive. |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ... The answer: A.) A pack of gum — specifically, a 50-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit. It was purchased at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974. Fun fact: There are 100 billion possible UPC barcodes. Why do Norwegians have barcodes on their battleships? So they can Scandinavian. ❓ Will in Ontario wrote me with a question. "When I click the 'View online' in your newsletters, I've been directed to a heretofore unknown URL, ‘ckarchive.com.’ Is this deliberate on your part, or may I have been hacked?" No hacks here! We switched our email provider to a company called ConvertKit (that's the “CK”). All is well. Before you go: It’s not fun to talk about, but get your affairs in order. Your loved ones will thank you later. Trust & Will makes it easy. Supporting our sponsors keeps this free newsletter coming, so thanks! See you back here tomorrow at the same time, same place. Until then, stay tech-smart! — Kim |
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