Plus, is your info safe with Amazon Clinic? I tell you why it’s a privacy no-go. Also, I give my advice to a realtor dealing with an influx of spam calls. A shifty USPS employment scam, big dreams for Zuck’s dead Metaverse and five ways to spot legit-looking scam websites.
Tech trick: How to tell who's calling when you don't recognize the phone number
Ever received a text message from a number you don’t recognize? I get a lot of texts from numbers that I have no idea who that person is. Instead of replying with “Ahem, who dis?” there’s a hack you’re going to use time and time again.
If you get a text from an unknown number, mobile payment apps like Venmo, CashApp, Zelle or PayPal can help you put a name to that number.
Copy and paste the number into the app and the mystery sender’s name might just be unveiled.
I tested this on a phone number belonging to someone I knew had a Venmo account. Their name popped right up.
FYI, this hack only works if you have an account with one of those mobile payment apps. The sender also has to use their real name and number in the app. But hey, it’s better than shooting in the dark.
There’s the flip side: Be sure to disable your mobile payment app from sharing your name and phone number with other people. The steps vary per app. In Venmo, open Settings, Friends and Social and toggle off Phone contacts.
What about blocked numbers?
Dialing *67 conceals your number from someone you call. There are similar numbers you can dial to respond to mystery callers.
The first is *69, which traces the number of the last person who called you. It works even for anonymous or hidden calls, so you can get the phone number and exact time they called. Once you have that number, you can block it on your phone so they can’t call you anymore.
There are more codes and secrets you can use to hunt down who called. Tap or click here to check them out.
💀 My favorite way to answer spam calls? “Maricopa County morgue, you kill ’em, we chill ’em.” I’m terrible ….
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.
Airplane crash for YouTube views, Apple's VR headset & laptop expiration dates
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.
How to get ahold of someone whose iPhone is on Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb mode has been standard on smartphones for a long time, and it’s excellent for keeping distractions at bay. It’s a great feature, but people avoid using it for fear of missing important calls and messages from certain people. Not to worry!
3 smartphone tech tips everyone over 50 must know
Embracing the digital age can improve your life, both personally and professionally. But it can be hard to keep up with the crowd if you didn’t grow up with high-tech gadgets like smartphones or tablets. That’s why we’re sharing a few tech skills all folks over 50 should know.
Block spam texts on your iPhone once and for all
Is your phone full of blocked numbers as a result of spam calls? These types of calls can range from nuisances to dangerous scams.
Being more discrete with your phone number can help reduce the number of unwanted calls. Tap or click here for tips on keeping your number private.
It's easier than you think to change default apps on your Android
If you’ve ever purchased a phone, you know how easy it is to get caught up in customizing your settings. Whether it is your background image or default browser, there are many ways to personalize your device.
Android is one type of phone with a wide variety of customization settings. While default settings may be convenient for a while, you don’t have to confine yourself to them. Tap or click here to quickly access the secret menu on your Android phone.
Good news! This annoying type of scam call was just banned
“Hi! We’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty.”
If you’ve ever received a call like that, you’re far from alone. The good news is you might not have to deal with them moving forward, thanks to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a new ruling that’s expected to free the public from this nuisance.
The one word you should never say to a telemarketer or scam caller
You might get dozens of spam calls weekly, but you might not know where the companies got your number. Thousands of data brokers peddle information, and it could be the source of your annoyance. That’s why we started our Opt-Out Tuesday series with instructions on removing data from sites like FreePhoneTracer. Tap or click here for details.
This terrifying phone scam uses a trusted phone number to trick you
Spam phone calls have been around for years and come at the most inopportune times, like when you’re sitting down for a family dinner. But they aren’t just annoying telemarketing calls these days. Now we have to worry about scammers trying to rip us off. Tap or click here for ways to silence spam calls without downloading any apps.
How to silence spam calls without downloading any apps
Our smartphones do many fabulous things, from calls (both voice and video) to texting, pictures, game playing and so much more. They nowadays tackle what most of our computers can.
However, that can come with a drawback: how do you protect yourself from unwanted people connecting with you? You should check your phone daily to ensure that it is always secure and that you are not vulnerable. Tap or click here for five phone security settings that feel like secrets.
Top 5 scam calls and what you can do to get them to finally stop
Most people have an extensive contact list saved on their mobile phones. So, when a call comes through from an unknown number, it usually arouses suspicion. Unfortunately, it is more than likely a robocall or scammer.
Warning: These are the tactics scammers use to fool older people on the phone
While scammers have embraced the digital age to target victims through social media, fake websites and landing pages, don’t think that they forgot their roots. A simple phone call is still an effective tool for criminals to practice their crooked trade.
7 brilliant ways your smartphone can help you get things done
You email, text, check your step count and hit “reject” on all those spam calls. But there’s so much more you can do with your smartphone. Let’s jump into seven uses I’ll bet you never thought of before now.
Remember back in the day when you’d mark a line on the wall as your child grew? Consider this the modern equivalent. Fair warning: You do need the latest high-end iPhone.
Clever way to stop those annoying robocalls
The current plague of annoying robocalls, telemarketing and spam calls is bigger than ever, and it seems like it’s getting worse each day. This is why it’s so important to protect your personal phone number.
Treat it like it’s as confidential as your other sensitive information — your banking credentials, address, Social Security number. And don’t give it away willy-nilly as you probably did before.
Facebook data leak: 500M user phone numbers for sale online
Facebook has a history of betraying its users by not protecting their privacy. That’s why it’s crucial to take matters into your own hands if you choose to stick with the platform. Tap or click here for 10 Facebook privacy and security settings to change.
How to stop annoying robocalls and scam calls for good
Some robocalls are easy to spot. When a robotic voice warns your car’s warranty is out of date or that a credit card you don’t have has been compromised, it’s obvious you should just hang up.
But what if you got a call from a real person at a hospital, saying there’s been an emergency? That happened to Kim recently. She didn’t fall for it, but it would have been all too easy to let emotion win out over logic.
Screen your calls with an app that shows why a business is phoning you
Most of us avoid calls from businesses that we aren’t expecting to receive — especially when we don’t recognize what the business is or why they’re calling. Dodging phone calls can get old, though, considering so many come in each day. Incessant spam calls can bury legitimate ones and make it tough to tell what is what.