Elder fraud is on the rise – These are the most common scams
Here’s a stat that blows me away: One in every 10 seniors is a victim of identity theft each year. Americans over the age of 60 lost $3.4 billion in fraud schemes in 2023. That’s almost an 11% increase from the year before, and things are only getting worse.
🚨 Use Amazon, Facebook, PayPal, Google or Microsoft? Hackers want your passwords. Tricks to get Google logins are up 243% this year because that one password can unlock a ton if you use Gmail. Watch for calls and texts urging you to click a URL, download an app or scan a QR code.
Every 1 to 3 days
How often docs say you should 💩. All bodies are different, and the most important thing is knowing what’s regular for you. Good tips here if you’re not! Poop jokes aren’t my favorite kind of jokes, but they’re a solid No. 2.
Does this toga make my gluteus look maximus? Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Herculaneum papyri scrolls were buried when Mount Vesuvius erupted. The scrolls were too fragile to read — until now. Using AI machine learning and computer vision, researchers can decipher what’s on them without physically unwrapping the delicate material.
🚀 Polaris Dawn: Billionaire Jared Isaacman, the guy who led the first all-civilian spaceflight to orbit Earth, is gearing up to be the first private astronaut to take a spacewalk. The team is zooming there on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, reaching an altitude not seen since the Apollo moon missions. At around 435 miles from Earth, they’ll open the hatch and exit the spacecraft (paywall link).
Most Gen Zers have no idea how to type: Just ask Jonah Maier, who stares at his keyboard to hit the right letters (paywall link). Blame schools. In 2000, 44% of graduates took a keyboard course; by 2019, that dropped to 2.5%. Educators just assume the tech-savvy generation knows how to type. Spoiler: They don’t!
It’s not just social media: A scientist says technology as a whole is to blame for the rising mental health crisis. Biologist Richard Dawkins thinks our genetic evolution is too slow to keep up with how fast things have changed. The kicker: Even if we pull the plug on tech, we’re so reliant on it that things might actually get worse.
🤖 Beware the good idea fairy: The U.S. government will now get access to OpenAI and Anthropic AI models before they’re accessible to the public. The U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute (wow, sounds fancy) will assess AI’s capabilities and risks. The goal? To keep AI in check and establish safety standards the world can follow (paywall link). There are so many problems with this, I don’t know where to start.
“My phone died. Can I use yours?” It’s a trick spreading quickly across the country. Someone who’s clearly frazzled asks if they can call a friend on your phone to pick them up because their car won’t start. You unlock your device, hand it over and that person runs away with it.