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Grandma got played, but not by bingo
Let me tell you a true story that’ll shake you and hopefully protect someone you love from heartbreak or a well-rehearsed scam call.
It happened to a 90-year-old grandmother in Nashville. She picked up the phone because that’s what she’s always done. On the other end was a young woman, her voice trembling, the connection staticky. “Grandma, help! I was in a car accident. I need you to talk to a lawyer right now.”
Her granddaughter Amanda had just graduated from Auburn University. The voice? Familiar enough, especially with the poor signal. And Amanda calling from an emergency? Of course, Grandma was going to listen.
Next comes the ‘lawyer’
He said Amanda needed $6,000 immediately or she could end up in serious legal trouble. So the woman did what any terrified grandmother might do … she complied. She went to the bank and withdrew the cash.
An “errand person” came to her house and picked up the money. Yes, you read that right. Someone came to her front door. That’s how elaborate this scam was.
But later that night, something gnawed at her. She called the number again and said, “I want to talk to my granddaughter.” The scammer hung up. That’s when she dialed the real Amanda and realized the heartbreaking truth.
The good news
Amanda was OK. Her voice was deepfaked by the scammers. The bad news was Grandma was scammed out of $6,000. Lied to. Manipulated. Her family was furious, not at the scammer, but at her.
She said her daughters made her feel embarrassed, even ashamed, she fell for such a scam. That might be the worst part of this entire story.
Let me say this loud and clear: It is not her fault. This wasn’t a mistake, it was a targeted heist. A well-rehearsed act designed to prey on love and urgency.
You need to do this
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Unplanned & perfect
It wasn’t planned. Unlike the 17,397 pics cluttering my camera roll, recipe screenshots of dishes I’ll never make and reminders I never needed, this one was completely accidental. I was walking with my phone and accidentally double tapped. It turned out to be the most accurate snapshot of life I’ve taken in ages.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Want a distraction-free YouTube? Add -nocookie to the URL to skip tracking cookies. Whoa. That was a good one!
⛪ Pope picks: Sacrilegious TikTokers made a “Fantasy Pope League” because of course they did. The league got over 2,000 sign-ups on its first day. Here, you can draft cardinals fantasy football style and get points based on the progress of your cardinal on their pursuit of the big hat.
iPhone or Galaxy? Tariffs make the choice easier
New tariffs will drive up prices on China-made phones. That’s bad news for Apple.
🚨 iPhone alert: Apple sent out a major warning that mercenary spyware is on the loose. This kind of attack targets specific people based on what they do, like journalists or government officials. For the rest of us, it’s a good reminder to update to iOS 18.4.1 for the latest security fixes. Go to Settings > General > Software Update.
1 hour
The weekly amount of weight training needed to gain muscle. One study found just two 30-minute sessions a week helped participants get noticeably stronger and more jacked (paywall link), no five-day grind or bro science required. One set per exercise. Nine moves. That’s it. I hear you: “Instead of calling my bathroom the John, I call it the Jim. That way I can tell people I go to the Jim every morning.”
Cluckin’ wild
The Minecraft movie is meh, but Jack Black’s unhinged chicken ballad, “Steve’s Lava Chicken,” shot up to # 78 on Billboard’s Hot 100. It’s now the shortest song ever to hit the famed list, clocking in at 34 seconds, making it both a record and maybe a cry for help for our attention spans. Listen here, you have been warned.
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How click farms fake 5-star reviews
That flood of perfect reviews? Could be paid for. Here’s how to spot the signs.
Robot strawberries: In Virginia, a vertical farm is growing 4 million pounds of strawberries a year indoors, on two-story towers, with no soil, no bees and a whole lot of AI. The system analyzes 10 million+ data points a day. It’s less “Old MacDonald,” more “Black Mirror: Produce Edition.” Can’t wait for my future salad to come with bug patch notes.
📈 Teens are using ChatGPT for stocks: They’re running prompts to see where their money could land in a few years if they invest now. Take 15-year-old Ryan, up $6,000 after throwing his $800 paychecks into Bitcoin and MicroStrategy. Ambitious? Sure. Kids these days are skipping lawn mowing hustles and going straight to leveraged ETFs.
Down under deception: Most listeners in Australia thought “Thy” from “Workdays with Thy” was a real radio host for six months. The truth that she’s actually an AI from ElevenLabs only came out after some listeners dug into her backstory. Thy’s next career move? Running for office.
How the Vatican locks down the conclave — May 3rd, Hour 1
When picking a new pope, the Vatican cuts off the outside world. Signal jammers block phones. Anti-spy tech sweeps every corner. Plus, Hailey from Ohio heard a stranger talking to her baby through a Wi-Fi nanny cam. And tariffs might make your next iPhone cost more.
23%
That’s how many HTML attachments are malicious. They usually show up in your inbox with names like “invoice.html,” and when you click, they redirect you to phishing websites. That’s where scammers steal your info or drop malware on your device. Moral of the story? Stay sharp and use real-time protection. My pick is TotalAV, just $19 a year.
82%
The percentage of Americans who want businesses to disclose when they use AI. People just want to know if they’re talking to a human after years of chatbot creep, fake reviews and AI content. At this rate, Clippy from Microsoft Word would be a trusted news anchor.
Sam Altman wants your eyeballs — May 3rd, Hour 2
Forget passwords. The creator of ChatGPT is scanning irises to build a global crypto economy. Also, Noah from Virginia bought an old laptop and found a kid’s ’90s homework saved on it — so he read it on TikTok and made the internet cry. Plus, an Apple AirPlay hack and the chance to buy your own Waymo.