Welcome to the 21st century: You can finally save WhatsApp messages as drafts. Your unfinished messages will appear at the top of your chat list. Look for Draft in green under your contact’s name to the left of your saved message.
Ask Kim: 'Is my new online friend tricking me?'
I got a call from Jim in Sacramento about a new friend he met on Facebook. She messaged him out of the blue and they hit it off (just friends, he’s married). Now, she’s introduced him to her aunt, who happens to be great with crypto.
“The aunt showed me three trades where I made 15% with a $500 investment in 10 minutes while I watched on WhatsApp. I have lost no money at this point. Before I give the aunt $10,000, I wanted to know your thoughts.”
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news
This is a classic pig-butchering scam. I know it all seems like things just fell into place, and that’s the point.
How am I so sure? What’s happening here is following the exact script these criminals use. I’ll outline it for you.
- Cold outreach: It starts with a random text, friend request, DM or comment. They’re friendly and chatty.
- Feeding time: They want to know about your life, maybe send you photos and tell you about what they’re in. After a while, money comes up. It’s usually under the guise of an investment opportunity.
- Fattening the pig: This is where money changes hands — but only a tiny amount. They’ll ask you to test with a small investment. Surprise, your money is growing already!
- Slaughter: Now you’re convinced and have invested even more. At this stage, victims can be in for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. You may realize something is wrong and ask to remove your money. It’s way too late.
Jim, you’re the pig, and you’re getting greedy. Keep it up, and you will be slaughtered.
🚩 Red flag 1: A random woman messaged you out of nowhere and wanted to be friends. Sorry, but that never ends well.
🚩 Red flag 2: This stranger just happens to have a relative who has made it big in crypto. Who shares that with someone they just met? I wouldn’t.
🚩 Red flag 3: The initial investment went gangbusters.
You need to walk away. Document everything first, though. Take screenshots of your conversations, the websites these people have directed you to, bank statements, all of it. This is important evidence if you try to get your cash back and everything hits the fan.
Then, it’s time to unfriend and block your new pal.
Is social media really starting to charge fees for privacy? Check the facts
Rumors have been swirling for years that Facebook will start charging. Before, it was fiction. Now? Well, it’s looking more like fact.
You can thank the latest European Union (EU) privacy regulations — and I mean that. These new regulations do a lot to protect the sensitive data of consumers like you and me.
No more green bubbles … kinda: Apple’s upcoming iOS 18.2 update for iPhones ends the blue-versus-green speech bubble dilemma. Blue bubbles have always meant secure iMessage chats (iPhone to iPhone), whereas green bubbles lacked end-to-end encryption (Android to iPhone). Now, you’ll be able to set third-party apps like WhatsApp or Signal as your default encrypted messenger.
How to quickly find and search photos you’ve sent
A friend sent you the name of a great hotel in Palm Springs, but you can’t find the message. Try searching your texts. Tap or click here for tips to find any message you’re looking for in seconds.
You can do the same with your photo album. Instead of scrolling forever, try searching for “sunset,” “Hawaii,” “dog,” or anything else you want to see. Tap or click here for pro tricks to hunt down any image in a snap.
Genius trick to find any message you're looking for in seconds
Social media platforms let you pin a post to the top of your page, so it’s always the first thing your audience sees. Did you know that this useful feature is also available on your iPhone? Tap or click here to pin messages for easy reference later.
The FBI is sounding the alarm: I’ve been saying this for years: For sensitive convos, always use end-to-end encrypted apps. It took a massive telecom cyberattack from Communist China for the Feds to say it. Signal, WhatsApp, Google Messages and iMessage work for both calls and texts. PSA: RCS messages between iPhones and Androids aren’t encrypted.
🤳🏼 Stranger danger: If you use apps like FaceTime or WhatsApp for calls, your IP address could be shared with the person you’re talking to. Want to keep your IP private? Open the app, hit Settings, find Privacy or Connection, and switch off Peer-to-peer. Your calls might not be as clear, but your IP will stay hidden.
Save data: Chat apps like WhatsApp are excellent for keeping in touch but can eat up a ton of data. If you use one, open its settings and customize how media is downloaded. If you pick Wi-Fi, you won’t download videos and pics until you’re on a recognized network. Nice.
⚠️ Scammers’ new tactic? Using social media and messaging apps like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram to tell you you’re hot or offer tips to show you how to make money. About 86% of victims are tricked into transferring money themselves — without the crooks ever accessing their accounts. Come on! Please don’t fall for it.
Meta-morphosis: Meta’s AI Studio for Instagram lets you create an AI version of yourself. The AI “you” can chat with followers on Instagram, Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. It’s free to use at ai.meta.com/ai-studio or in the IG app. I’ll hold off on creating an AI Kim.
🏎️ A Ferrari exec slammed the brakes: A Ferrari C-level exec got a text from his CEO, who wanted to chat on WhatsApp. They were texting about possible mergers when the CEO said, “Let’s talk.” And they did. The C-level exec said it was someone posing as the CEO (paywall link). He tested the caller, asking for the name of a book the actual CEO had recommended the exec read the week before. Surprise, the scammer hung up.
👨👩👧👦 95% of teens have a smartphone: Smartphone Free Childhood is an organization that offers support for parents who don’t want to cave to the social pressure. They’ve set up local WhatsApp groups to “empower each other.” Here’s another option: Teach your kiddo to use their smartphone responsibly.
Buzz off: WhatsApp is full of scammers, and they can add you to a group with others without your consent unless you change a setting. Open the app, then head to Settings > Privacy > Groups. Choose My Contacts or Nobody.
Check your WhatsApp account: Open the chat app, then hit Settings > Linked devices for a list of every device where your account is in use. If you see a device that doesn’t belong to you, someone else has access. Log out of all devices, then change your password ASAP.
Ask Me(ta) anything: Meta just added its AI chatbot to the search bar on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Ask it anything you’d ask a search engine. Google Search is so dead. Access Meta’s chatbot without logging in at meta.ai.
The top 10 most impersonated brands online - Read this to steer clear of phishing
Phishing scams have been around for years, but the thieves behind them constantly change techniques. Earlier this year, phishing scams targeted your bank accounts. Tap or click here for details on these dangerous financial scams.
End-to-end encryption comes to Facebook Messenger - Here's how to enable it
End-to-end encryption is an important security tool to protect communications. Tap or click here to find out how to encrypt your emails and text messages.
The technology makes it more difficult for hackers to infiltrate conversations. Almost all chat applications, including Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp, use end-to-end encryption.
These YouTube and WhatsApp copycat apps are hiding malware
Your smartphone has many handy tools already built in when you open the box. But adding apps makes these pocket-sized computers even more impressive.
You can find apps to help with almost anything you can think of, from banking to translating languages to ways to stay organized. Tap or click here for nine apps everyone over 50 should download.
There's a hidden second message folder in Facebook - Here's how to find it
We’ve published quite a few stories about messaging apps and how to use them efficiently. Tap or click here for 12 clever tricks for WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage and Google Chat. If you’re using Facebook Messenger, there might be a few more features you don’t know about.