New scam alert

June 19, 2024

New scam alert: A Boston woman lost $40,000 buying an SUV on Facebook Marketplace. The Carfax report looked legit, and she received a clean title from the licensing agency — smooth sailing for almost three years before the vehicle was seized by police. It was a VIN cloning scam; the SUV was stolen when she bought it. I’ll be writing more about this soon, with ways to stay safe!

Tags: alert, buying, Facebook, Police, report, scam

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Pig-butchering scams cost Americans $4B a year – Don’t be a victim

Looking for love online? Keep your head on a swivel for pig-butchering scams.

Cybercrooks play the long game in this one. They “fatten you up” with lovey-dovey texts over months, and then, once they have your trust, they send you to slaughter with a crypto scam.

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Ask Kim: ‘Is it cheating if he’s talking to a sexy AI girl?’

Mary in Los Angeles recently wrote to me with a question I’m getting more and more:

“Is my husband cheating on me with an AI bot? … I went through his phone and saw some shady texts on an app called Replika. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I wouldn’t put it past him.”

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🚨 Don't download these apps 🚨

Don’t download these apps — or any that look or sound like one of these examples.

On this day in 1903, Henry Ford started his company with 10 investors and how much in startup cash? Was it … A.) $1,800, B.) $13,500, C.) $28,000 or D.) $54,000?

Click here for the answer! →

183% increase

In phony Ozempic scams over the past four months. Look out for social media posts offering weight loss drugs at a steep discount or without a prescription. These aren’t real doctors (paywall link); they’re a phishing scam.

60-minute TikToks?

Do you think hour-long videos will do well on short-form platforms? I mean, come on! Who has the time?

1 trillion people

How many Jeff Bezos wants to send to colonize space. It’s still more of a pipe dream than a plan. From building 20-mile-long space habitats to growing food and, ahem, doing the wild thing in space, experts say saving Earth is still a way easier option.

34.6% and 34.4%

U.S. shoppers who purchase at least one thing a month on Shein and Temu, respectively. The Chinese retailers have more American repeat shoppers than eBay and Etsy. Stay away, folks. The stuff is cheap, and you never know how much data they’re collecting.

Lost TV remote? Try this

My husband Barry and I seem to lose the remote way too often. With this new feature, it won’t be a problem.

I was shocked by this selfie idea

Please don’t be as dumb as this guy just to get your five seconds of fame. Your life is worth more than a bad circuit.