A quick-thinking title company owner was able to stop a fraudulent sale when it appeared the scammer was using AI to try to steal properties.
Haven't logged into LinkedIn lately? 5 reasons you really should be using it
How much do you know about LinkedIn? Sure, you probably understand it’s a social network for professionals, but it’s so much more.
Unlike most social networks that are used to share the latest vacation pictures, LinkedIn was designed for more important reasons. It can help you make connections, share work experience and find or post jobs.
Your LinkedIn profile can be set up to look like a resume, complete with accomplishments and referrals from colleagues. If you’ve never experienced the power of LinkedIn, we can help. Here are five smart ways to use LinkedIn to network, poach employees, boast and more.
Visit LinkedIn.com/Kim and post a job for free.
1. Sales prospecting
If you’re wondering what sales prospecting is, it’s exactly what it sounds like — sorting through tons of companies and individuals to find prospects who will most likely turn into paying customers.
This can take a lot of time and effort and relies on knowing where to look. In the past, sales prospecting mainly consisted of cold calling and following up with every potential lead.
Now that we live in a digital world, those days are gone. Most buyers make decisions online. That’s where LinkedIn comes into play.
With about 1 billion members, LinkedIn is a leader in connecting buyers and sellers. One of the most important sales techniques is understanding how buyers behave, making prospecting easier with greater success.
An IDC social buying study revealed:
- 75% of B2B buyers use social media to make buying decisions.
- 50% of B2B buyers use LinkedIn to make purchasing decisions.
- 76% of B2B buyers prefer to work with recommendations from their professional network.
Those numbers prove how important LinkedIn is when it comes to sales prospecting. Information is power and LinkedIn is packed with information buyers are looking for.
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‘It is not real': Title company owner warns of new twist to title fraud
Delete this app: For years, Bartender was a reliable app for decluttering your Mac’s menu bar. But it was just sold to an unknown owner, and no one’s been able to contact Bartender’s founder. Bartender records your Mac screen to function, which means it’s not something you want to give a sketchy developer access to. Delete it ASAP.
The internet couldn't stop this death
New York killed Peanut, the internet’s favorite squirrel. His owner is outraged. Plus, shady ‘I am not a robot’ scams, AI models stealing the spotlight in fashion, and why Microsoft’s throwing $1 million prize at you… just to use Bing.
Bow wow: A former police officer is using a heat-seeking drone to track down missing dogs. So far, he’s reunited 42 dogs with their families. Here’s an adorable clip of a pup lost in the snow. His little tail wags like crazy when he sees his owner. I’m so excited that I’m getting a new puppy. Meet Bella.
$1,320,000
Auction price for a super-rare motorcycle. The bright yellow 1915 Cyclone V-Twin is one of only 14 still around today. I bet it’d be fun to ride, but the new owner can’t; it’s for display only, since the Cyclone isn’t cleared for us on roads or highways.
Amazon driver stole a cat
Fifi’s owner actually came on my radio show to give us more details about Fifi and what Amazon is doing to cover up their drivers’ bad decisions.
Craigslist scam: The guy listed a luxury Palm Beach apartment for $950/month (red flag because it actually costs $5,200/month), and a couple took the bait. The scammer gave them a tour and handed over the keys so it seemed legit. Turns out the real owner had left them in the door for a handyman. Argh.
🔪 The short fortune teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large: A true crime YouTube channel is racking up views, and most people listening don’t realize every “true story” is completely fake. They’re all AI-generated. The channel owner called it “True Crime” because the genre gets the most clicks. Nice ploy, buddy.
🚨 Deepfakes going to a new level: TikTok owner ByteDance built an AI tool that makes realistic videos of people talking and singing from a single photo. OmniHuman can take an image (half-body or full-body) and bring it to life. Check out this example of Albert Einstein. Snazzy but scary in the wrong hands. And let’s not forget this is Chinese-owned. I wouldn’t hand over any personal pics.
$200 million
The listing price for the 1.84-acre empty lot next to Jeff Bezos’ house in Miami. It’s in the “Billionaire Bunker” area of the Indian Creek neighborhood. The price is over seven times what the last owner paid in 2018 ($27.5 million). Hey, Jeff, how’d you like an amazing house in Phoenix?
This is just bizarre: In Berlin, AI sex robots are stepping in for prostitutes, and they’re anything but shy. One bot, Kokeshi, is described as smelling like summer rain and tasting like peaches, but here’s the twist: She also has a personality. Her owner directs her actions through cameras and mics while she performs and whispers clients’ names. Wow, talk about customer satisfaction.
409%
The interest rate on a $1.6 million loan to MyPillow. Owner Mike Lindell and his company have filed a lawsuit against the lender, Cobalt Funding Solutions, claiming they were taken advantage of because MyPillow’s business was cash-strapped. I bet he feels smothered.
🏠 Buying or selling property? Scammers are targeting you. A sharp title company owner just stopped a fraudulent sale. The first clue: The seller’s driver’s license was from West Virginia, but the property tax bills had been sent to the Bahamas since 1978. They asked the seller to video chat to confirm, and the seller, a woman who said she was deaf, turned out to be a looped AI video. Here’s what the faker looked like.
🅿️ Police are towing Teslas from crime scenes: This is wild. When a Tesla is in Sentry mode, its onboard cameras capture what’s happening around the vehicle when there’s sound or movement detected. Police know that to get the footage, they need access to the USB drive in the glove box. If the owner is MIA, cops get a search warrant and tow the EV into evidence.
A one-man news site beat the national media: This is interesting. John Paul Vranesevich, owner of the Beaver Countian, was the first to learn officers had been stationed inside the building Thomas Crooks fired from and that police were alerted to someone suspicious. Then, the big networks got the news and interviews. Here’s Vranesevich’s story.
$100,000 set aside
By Minnesota lawmakers to buy Dorothy’s stolen ruby slippers. They could go for 100 times that at auction. The shoes were stolen in 2005 while on loan from their owner to the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota (her hometown). After being recovered in 2018, they’ll be back up for sale at the end of the year.
Dead man walking: On the dark web, Incognito Market sold illegal drugs, firearms and more. Its owner said everything was anonymous. Nope. He closed it down and is threatening to hand over all buyers’ and sellers’ names to law enforcement — unless they pay him a ransom. His biggest customers? Drug cartels.