Tech to-do: Get your free credit report and look for these mistakes

The other night, I was out to dinner with a friend who works in medical billing. She shared a story that really stuck with me.

One of her coworkers forgot to include a patient’s disability status on a billing report. That disability status covered her medical treatments. When the bills came due, the patient didn’t pay — why would she? The medical office sent thousands of dollars to collections, and it tanked her credit.

Mistakes like these are a lot more common than we think, and they can do some serious damage. I’ll let you in on some of the most common credit report mistakes and what you can do to fix them.

Step 1: Get your free credit report

The three credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) are required by law to provide you with one free credit report a year. Sweet. There are a few ways you can request a copy from each agency.

Online is the fastest route. If you submit a request via phone or mail, expect to wait two weeks after the paperwork is received.

  • Online: www.AnnualCreditReport.com
  • Phone: 877-FACTACT (877-322-8228)
  • Mail: Download and complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form. Send it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Pro tip: Grab your report from the fourth credit bureau, Innovis, too.

Step 2: Look for the most common mistakes

Typos or wrong info: Anything from your name spelled incorrectly to your address or your birth date off by one number. Tiny mistakes can mix up your credit with someone else’s.

Accounts you don’t recognize: If you see something you don’t recognize, don’t ignore it! This includes credit cards you never applied for, loans in your name or purchases you didn’t make.

Duplicates: It’s not normal to see a debt twice on a credit report. This includes things like the same collection account, transferred debts showing as separate accounts or paid-off debts still sitting there.

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Life after death: AI chatbots bringing lost loved ones back

For me, the holidays are when I miss my parents, grandparents and loved ones who’ve passed away the most. But maybe we can still keep our lost family and friends with us in a different way.

You see, there’s been an upsurge in people tapping into AI to create virtual versions of their loved ones. I wanted to get a deeper look, and now you can, too.

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Teach Alexa your voice: I had Barry do this because she only understood me. In the Alexa app, go to More > Settings > Your Profile & Family > Your Profile > Add Your Voice. Even still, Alexa likes me better.

TikToker mom faces backlash

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A Utah mom known for her family videos is under scrutiny after viewers spotted a disturbing moment in the background. Now, police and CPS are involved.

This is so very sad: Open AI CEO Sam Altman’s sister, Ann, filed a lawsuit saying he sexually abused her during their childhood. This allegedly started when she was just three years old, lasting from 1997 to 2006. Sam and his family say Ann suffers from mental health issues and she’s made untrue claims before. Here’s Sam’s full statement on X.

9 days after going missing

A four-year-old German shepherd mix named Athena rang her owner’s doorbell. It was Christmas Eve at 2:30 a.m. — a holiday miracle! The Green Cove Springs, Florida, family searched as far as Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Check out the doorbell cam video that melted my heart.

How to take the perfect profile pic for social media sites

Your profile picture is more important than you might think. It’s your chance to make a good first impression on the world. That’s why you must know how to take the perfect profile picture for all your accounts.

Say you’re applying for a new job. Potential employers will run background checks on your social media presence. You need to have good pictures that show you at your best.

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Tips to take the best holiday photos

Forget getting everyone together at Christmas for a photo opp and having them all say, “Cheese!” Instead, use words that end in ‑ah. These sounds put the muscles around the mouth to work, creating a genuine smile. Try “yoga,” “mocha” or “banana.”

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⚱️ Missing an urn? A family in Kansas City found one sitting in the back of an Uber, and the driver sent them off with it. Now, they’re looking for its rightful owner. There’s no label, serial number, and writing on the bottom or inside of the lid. See it here on their Facebook page.

💸 $50K Facebook payout: A Georgia lawyer’s Facebook account got hacked and used to share child porn. Meta deleted the account, along with all his family photos, so he sued. When they missed the deadline to respond, the guy hired a private investigator to track down a Meta bank account. Bam, a judge awarded him $52,325.89. I wonder how many others will follow suit.

👸🏽 A game of thrones: Meghan Markle, the former B-grade actress and, by marriage, the Duchess of Sussex, has a new Netflix show that paints her as entitled, out of touch and unoriginal, as you’d expect. This is strange: Princess Kate is a bona fide beekeeper and shared a heartfelt family beach video post-chemo. In her Netflix show, Meghan’s wearing a beekeeper outfit and recently posted a beach video to Instagram. Coincidence? Doubt it. Looks like she stole the recipes she cooks, too. Such a waste.

Tough love: After Kelly’s 73-year-old mother-in-law lost $150,000 to a scammer over nine months, the family took over, and the MIL is pissed. The family froze her credit, moved into a bigger home so they could live all together and took over her finances. Kelly’s MIL has shown no signs of being mentally incapacitated. What do you think? Let me know when you rate this newsletter at the end.

The opposite of artificial intelligence is natural stupidity: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just teased new ChatGPT features coming in 2025, including family accounts, improved voice mode and a “grown-up” version without the content guardrails. That last one frightens me; there’s already a problem with AI-generated child porn.

$1.3 million

Prince Harry’s salary at BetterUp. The U.S. company is the app equivalent of a life coach, yet ex-employees describe it as “a toxic trainwreck” where “everyone is living in fear.” Didn’t he use those words to describe the royal family?

🎥 James Bond’s favorite pasta is mini penne: The next movie in the James Bond franchise is in limbo, with no script or timeline. Why? A stalemate between the Broccoli family, which holds creative control, and Amazon, which owns the rights to release the films. The Broccolis don’t trust Amazon’s algorithm-driven, streaming-first approach or the idea of endless spinoffs (paywall link). Can’t blame ‘em — just look at what Amazon did to “The Lord of the Rings.”

Steve Harvey is not dead: Communist China-owned NewsBreak (aka the most downloaded news app in America) ran an AI-generated article this week claiming Steve Harvey died. It went viral on social media, so you might’ve seen it. Spoiler: He’s alive. Now, imagine if that bogus article was about a nuke secretly planted in the USA. Talk about a family feud.

What a tragedy: Philip Tong, a 45-year-old dad with diabetes, felt short of breath, was coughing up blood and had blue feet. He used Amazon’s One Medical to book a telehealth appointment. The doctor’s advice? Buy an inhaler. Tong died later that day in the ER; he was in sepsis. Now his family is suing. If you’re experiencing severe symptoms, please call 911. Telehealth has its place, but nothing replaces emergency care.

So your kid started a YouTube channel: Get access so you know who’s leaving comments and messaging them. Open the YouTube app on your phone, tap your profile picture (bottom right) > gear icon (top right) > Family Center. Tap Invite a teen to ask to supervise your kid’s account.

🧬 This is a crazy story: Jenna Gerwatowski, 23, took a DNA test and discovered her grandmother, whom she’s never met, is 100% a murder suspect. A newborn was left to die at a Michigan campground in the 1997 “Baby Garnet” cold case. Investigators matched Jenna and Jenna’s mother’s DNA to the baby and charged Jenna’s grandma, Nancy Gerwatowski, with the child’s murder. I can’t imagine how the family feels.

Out of control: A family is suing Character AI after its chatbot encouraged their autistic teen to hurt himself and told him murdering his parents was a “reasonable response” to their limiting his online activity. It’s the same app that led a 14-year-old to suicide. Parents, keep tabs on your kids’ AI usage. You have to be ahead of what they’re doing.