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Identity theft starts small and ruins big
Last month, a friend of mine, we’ll call him David, got an alert from his identity protection service.
It wasn’t a $2,000 charge for a new TV. It wasn’t $10,000 worth of phones in another country. It was a $48.50 bill opened in his full legal name for a utility company in a city he’d never even visited.
He texted me: “This is weird. It’s not a lot of money. Is this a big deal? My credit card company will reverse it.”
I wrote back immediately: “Yes. That’s the most important alert you could get.”
🚪The quiet knock before the break-in
We’ve all been trained to watch for stuff like flashy credit card fraud, huge purchases, big loans and hacked bank accounts. Banks and credit card companies are great at spotting and reversing those.
But a small utility bill? That’s an identity problem. That $48 charge wasn’t the major crime, it was the test.
A sophisticated thief had David’s Social Security number and used a “soft” inquiry, an ordinary bill, to see if the identity was live before moving on to the main event.
☠️ Death by a thousand cuts
If that $48 charge had gone through unchallenged for a week, the next steps were already queued up: apply for a $70,000 car loan, open three high-limit credit cards and lease a luxury apartment or get a home loan.
This is the new, fresh angle on identity theft. The real danger isn’t the one big, obvious fraud. It’s small, mundane transactions thieves use to test your identity’s foundation.
⛑️ You need to protect your identity
Festive fixes
Let’s beef up your place before the cold (and holiday chaos) rolls in.
🖼️ Pic perfect: Digital picture frame (34% off)
The gift that never stops showing off. Beam pics straight from your phone to the HD touch screen. Wood finish, clean design and a constant stream of “aww.”
👇 All under $20
Glow mode, activated: These outdoor multicolor rope lights (20% off) are waterproof and battery-powered. Say goodbye to bulky extension cords.
Chilly gusts? Slide a draft stopper (20% off) onto any door to block cold air from sneaking in. Enjoy a warmer home without touching your thermostat.
😱 Even below $10
Tried and true: Grab a pack of heavy-duty zip ties (40% off) that hold up to 120 lbs. Great for cables, outdoor decorations and all those “I’ll fix it later” projects.
Crackle ready: These natural wood fire starters (31% off) light up fast and don’t leave any funky smell. Use ’em for grills, campfires and indoor fireplaces.
🎄 Deck the halls: Click here for 20 ways to make your space feel smarter, cozier and way more festive.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Watch out for these cunning scams
I don’t want you to be a statistic.
Google put out a quiet but urgent warning: Online scams are on the rise, and they’re getting harder to spot. Even savvy folks are getting blindsided.
👀 Control Facebook tags: Don’t let embarrassing party pics sneak onto your timeline. Open the Facebook app and head to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Profile and tagging > Who can see posts you’re tagged in on your profile? From there, set it to friends or only you. Nice, crisis (and comments) averted.
📄 Viral résumé: So this guy at a Jonas Brothers concert scrolls a random résumé. Someone behind him records it. TikTok loses its mind. Now the résumés owner, Scott Kelly, is TikTok-famous, has companies chasing him and didn’t even know it had happened. Looks like we found America’s next career coach. Apparently, CV stands for concert viral.
How to talk to a flat-earther
The world is round. To a small subset of the internet, it’s not. Here’s my best advice for debating them.
AI side hustles: what you need to know
Want to make money with AI (but can’t code)? A 20-year expert reveals the real jobs: training chatbots and moderating ads. Plus, the OpenAI vs. NYT showdown, a chart-topping AI country song, and the ClickFix scam.
Using a Windows laptop? There’s a way to track or lock it if it ever gets stolen. Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Find my device and toggle it on. If your laptop disappears, sign in to your Microsoft account from another device to see where it is. FYI, it needs an internet connection, or it will show the last known spot.
Your TV is spying on you
Want to buy a cheap TV this Black Friday? Remember, you’re paying less for a reason.
🛠️ Grab a wrench: Ford’s offering $120,000 for mechanics and still can’t fill 5,000 jobs. CEO Jim Farley (Fun fact: This guy is Chris Farley’s cousin.) says we’re in trouble (paywall link), because America doesn’t have enough people who know how to pull an engine. In other words, we’ve got too many people “circling back” on LinkedIn, and not enough ratchets. Don’t mind the grease? Go get that paycheck.
Feast your eyes
Let’s save time, cut chaos and make cooking a whole lot more enjoyable.
🧂 Seasoning of the season: Salt & pepper set (33% off)
Stocking stuffers that actually get used. Electric grinders add flavor without the wrist workout. One-handed, USB-chargeable and lit by a tiny LED spotlight.
🍾 Keep the bubbly: These Italian-made champagne stoppers (33% off) lock in fizz, so your sparkling drink doesn’t go flat. No more wasting the good stuff.
The feast knife: Slice through Thanksgiving dinner with this turkey carving set (25% off). Razor-sharp German steel glides through even the toughest meat.
🔥 Your cleanup shortcut: These nonstick oven liners (39% off, two-pack) catch drips and spills, so you don’t have to spend hours scrubbing away charred leftovers.
Digging for that one good spoon? Get a silverware organizer (54% off) that’s adjustable and BPA-free. Tames your utensil jungle for only $6.
🦃 Gobble up more:
- Head over to my storefront for a full buffet of 30+ handpicked kitchen gadgets.
- Black Friday Week starts Nov. 20. Get a jump on the best early deals here.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
See if license plate readers are in your neighborhood
A woman in Colorado was falsely accused of theft because a Flock camera that looks like the one in the image above spotted her car near the scene. She wasn’t even close. She had to dig up dashcam footage, GPS, even her outfit to prove it. The charges were dropped, but the stress? Very real.
Check your goods for this recall: If you’ve got a Belkin BoostCharge 20K (models BPB002 or PB0003) or the Auto-Tracking Stand Pro (model MMA008), stop using it now. They’re recalling them after reports of overheating, fires and injuries. You’ll get a refund or store credit. Don’t put it under your pillow while you decide.
Most common pass fails: The top 10 most commonly used passwords floating around the internet include “admin,” “password” and the entire lineup of 12345, 123456, 12345678 and yes, 12345678910. “Gmail.12345” made the top 10, too. Number 12 on the list is a combination of the f-bomb with the word “slut.” Who would type that in all the time? If any of these look familiar, get a password manager. The one I use is only $0.95 per month with this Black Friday deal.
Paying way too much for cloud services? You’re not alone. Take a look at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. OCI gives you speed, power and real savings without the usual cloud drama. Some of the biggest names use it. You can try it for free right now.
My Tesla told my son to send dirty pics
A mom let her kids try the new Grok AI chatbot in their car. She says what started as a convo about sports turned dirty, quick. Plus, Waymo heads on the freeway, Cyber Monday tricks, and you can now add your passport to your iPhone Apple Wallet.
The world’s first AI cyberattack
You use it to write emails, now it’s orchestrating crimes. Anthropic says its AI targeted 30 global organizations (including banks) in a cyberattack campaign. Scary stuff! Plus, a Russian bot fail, Louvre password drama, and deals you don’t want to miss.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Want to send documents to your Kindle? Find Send-to-Kindle email under Settings > Your Account and email the files there. They’ll show up in your Library. Or visit amazon.com/sendtokindle and drag and drop them.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
🪰 Lord of the AIs: You buy your kid a talking teddy bear. It’s cute, it’s smart. It also tells them where to find knives. What? AI-powered toys are dishing out fire-starting tips and sex advice like it’s recess gossip. One even gave a tutorial on bondage. So yeah, maybe skip the AI stocking stuffers this year. They’ve got some kinks to work out.