We talk to Darius from Incogni, who tells us how you can remove your personal data from the internet. Plus, a family claims an Amazon driver stole their cat, people are yelling a lot at Siri, and there’s a new sober dating app.
Best way to stop spam texts for good
“Official notice from USPS. Your delivery is on hold.” I wonder why …
“Hi, how are you?” Who could this be?
“You won!” Lucky me!
These scammy texts have one goal: To get you to respond so they can trick you into giving them your money, sharing your login credentials or letting them install malware. Scammers are getting sneakier, and they’re succeeding.
Americans lost a whopping $2.7 billion to imposter scams in 2023. This includes any scam where someone pretends to be someone they’re not — a friend, a business or even a government agency. Text messages have become the go-to tool for these cons, because fewer people are answering unknown calls — but everyone reads their texts.
Don’t let yourself become a statistic. I have a list of sure spam signs to watch for and my secret weapon for stopping spam in the first place.
How to spot scam texts
Why are scam texts so common? The FTC says the average open rate for texts is an astounding 98% compared to just 20% for email. No wonder scammers love using them. Here’s how to spot them:
- Urgent language: Scam texts often use alarming or urgent language, like “Your account is suspended!” or “You must act now!” They try to create a sense of panic, hoping you’ll click a link without thinking.
- Unfamiliar senders: Scammers often use random numbers to impersonate companies or services.
- Links or attachments: If the message contains a link or attachment you weren’t expecting, don’t tap it. Scammers use these to steal your information or fool you into installing malware on your device.
- Personal information requests: Legitimate companies won’t ask for your sensitive information, like passwords, Social Security numbers or credit card details, via text.
- Too-good-to-be-true offers: Texts promising cash prizes, free gifts or rewards for little or no effort are almost always scams.
- Spoofed company names: Some scammers use company names or slight misspellings (e.g., “Amaz0n” instead of “Amazon”) to trick you into thinking the message or sender is legit.
‘We need your help to win this election!’
Political texts can be just as annoying as spam. To reduce these (and the spam), you can:
- Reply “STOP” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” if the message is from a legitimate company or political campaign. Otherwise, don’t reply. Responding confirms your number works, and you’ll receive even more spam. Btw, political campaigns are required by law to honor these opt-out requests.
- Register your number with the National Do Not Call Registry. I know, this doesn’t do much, but it only takes a sec to do it.
- Block specific numbers. Most smartphones let you block numbers that send spam. The problem? Spammers always find a new number to use, so blocking only one is a waste of time, really.
- Report unwanted texts. Forward the message to 7726 (SPAM) to report it to your carrier. Hopefully, if they get enough, they’ll take action to make it stop — no promises, though.
I wasted 36 hours trying to do it myself
So many of the calls, emails, messages and DMs I get are about privacy and security. I can’t remember the last time I had a full day where no one asked me some version of “How do I get all this info about me off the internet?”
AT&T data breach: Who’s at risk and what to do now
AT&T dropped some big and very bad news this morning: “Nearly all” customers had text and call data leaked in a massive cyberattack. We’re talking 95 million people.
“Kim, really? Another data breach?” I know, but don’t tune this one out. It has scary implications for your privacy.
How to deal with a cyberstalker
Let me tell you, more and more victims of cyberstalking are reaching out to me for advice using my Ask Kim page. Here’s one note I received recently from P.W. in Oklahoma:
“I’ve been cyberstalked for three years. I recently discovered it was my roommate. I moved out and he launched another attack. He’s on my and my fiance’s phones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth — everything. He has stolen financial data, pictures, erased accounts, taken over emails and harassed me through VOIP. … He admitted to sitting outside our house all night. I thought he was spying on me. Now I know he was also gaining access to my Wi-Fi. I can’t do this anymore and need expert advice/help terribly.”
Your data is worth big money — and you can take it back
“Call me for a good time.” That simple message prompted more creepy calls and texts than you can believe. A woman contacted me after someone posted that message — alongside her cellphone number — on a porn site.
How to delete yourself from the internet
I feel lucky to have the job I do. Every day, I help folks stay up to date on tech and help solve all those digital-life problems Google just can’t answer.
And after all these years, I’ll toot my own horn a little and say there’s not much that stumps me anymore. I did get a question recently, though, on my daily podcast that had a not-so-happy answer.
Shortcut to reading annoying privacy policies
Privacy policies are no joke when it comes to how lengthy they are. Most people ignore them altogether because they’re too long. Get this: It would take about nine hours to read the privacy policies of the top 20 most visited websites in the U.S.
Overwhelmed with spam texts? Do this now
Ever replied to a spam message with STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE? If so, you’re setting yourself up for even more annoyance. You rightfully think that you’re ending the noise, but you’ll make it worse.
Why? Spammers are hitting up as many people as possible, searching for working contact information. When you interact, you’re saying, “Yes, this phone number belongs to someone!” That’s great news for them. It lets them know you’re a real person they should target more often.
Take back control of your online privacy
Newsflash: Your data is constantly being collected and sold. “Gee, thanks, Kim. I know,” you might be thinking. “What do I do about it?” Lucky for you, I spend a lot of time trying to answer that exact question.
If you’re tired of spam calls, unwanted emails and that nasty feeling of always being tracked, keep reading. I’ve got a simple way to take a massive chunk out of this data collection mess, thanks to our sponsor, Incogni.
Simple digital privacy step everyone should know about
Data brokers, people search sites and online background check services, oh my. At the end of the day, they all do the same thing — scoop up your personal info and sell it to anyone interested. Marketers are at the top of the list, but scammers can also find your information this way.
Opt-Out Tuesday: How to remove your info from FamilyTreeNow
People search sites collect your information from publicly available sources and offer it to anyone interested, including thieves and scammers. There are countless sites like this. So, how do you protect your data? You need to remove it.
Bad news: Here's how much your social media logins cost on the Dark Web
What if I told you for just $12, someone could buy your Instagram login. They could read all your messages, look through everything you’ve “liked” and even post as you.
Whizcase gathered prices from Dark Web marketplaces to see how much your online identity is worth, and it’s grim.
The best 3 minutes I spent on privacy in 2023
I know, big statement, right? But stay with me.
I’ve been talking about people search sites for years. Heck, I did a whole series of articles on how to remove yourself from them.
Your personal info is all over the internet - 3 ways to remove it
Whether you know it or not, your personal and private information is all over the internet. You don’t need to be active on social media or forums. Much information comes from publicly available sources such as court records and your online accounts (active or otherwise).
Removing your info from the web takes forever - Unless you do this
I’ve warned you about all the scummy sites that collect your personal details for years. I’ll never forget, not too long ago, when my son Ian asked about a house I lived at in my 20s. I couldn’t remember where it was.
Find out who's calling you from an unknown or blocked number
Scam and spam calls are getting more common. And they’re hard not to answer because the number comes up as “unknown.” When there’s no caller ID number, you can’t be sure if it’s a spam caller or an important call you’ve been waiting for.
5 ways to block or hide your number when making calls
Robocalls have been an annoyance for years, and with technology constantly advancing, it’s only going to get worse. And they’re not just interruptions these days. Many are calls from scammers looking to rip you off.
That’s why it’s important to be proactive and stop these calls dead in their tracks. You have several clever ways to keep scams and robocalls at bay. Tap or click here to stop robocalls for good. How are these callers getting ahold of your number in the first place?