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How I stopped scammers cold
“Kim, Lifelock has gotten so expensive. Do I even need it?” — Matt in Texas
I’ve been hearing this a lot, Matt. I agree, LifeLock is pricey. My bill was $239.88 a year. Now, I’m paying $62.64 a year, that’s a 74% savings! More about that later.
Yes, you really need a service to protect your identity, more so than ever before. Number one, there have been so many data breaches, just assume the scammers and thieves have all your personal data.
Add to that today’s AI tools make it super easy for someone to create fake documents, clone your voice and put you talking in a video.
No red flags
Throw away your assumptions that you’d somehow “know” if someone stole your identity. No sirens go off. You don’t get a text from a hacker whispering, “Gotcha.”
In reality, identity theft often happens in total silence every five seconds.
Like the retiree in Florida who lost $14,000 when a thief opened a credit card in his name and drained his credit line before the bill even showed up.
Then there’s Susan, who got a collection call for a $36,000 car loan she never took out. A thief used her name and driver’s license to snag a new SUV.
Another woman had $18,000 in loans taken out using her name. She never got an alert. Not from her bank, not from her credit monitoring service.
The dark side
You find out only when you try to do something boring, like apply for a loan, get a job or file taxes. By then, you’re already in financial Hunger Games with your name attached to debt, crimes or worse.
Fire up the fun
🎆 Take your backyard bash from “meh” to “heck, yeah.”
- 🔥 Hotter than the 4th of July: This smart air fryer (30% off) packs dual heaters. Bonus: It’s PFAS-free.
- 🌡️ Is it done yet? Poke it with a digital food thermometer (20% off). No more guessing if your chicken is still clucking.
- 🧊 Cooler + seat = genius: It’s a chair, cooler and backpack (24% off) that holds 40 cans and keeps ’em frosty.
- 🍋 When life gives you lemons: You squeeze every drop with a stainless steel citrus juicer (21% off). Built to last.
- 🍾 Cheers to this: Flat fizz? Not with this champagne stopper (13% off) made in Italy.
- 😋 Save your leftovers: Pack up Grandma’s cherry pie in these glass containers (38% off). 4.5 stars and 17,000+ reviews.
✅ Hungry for more? There are plenty of kitchen must-haves in my Amazon store.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
This phone is made in the USA
“Kim, I love my iPhone 16 but hate it’s made in China and apps track everything you do including your bowel movements. Is there a phone made in the USA that doesn’t track you?” — Paul in Tampa, Florida
Well, Paul, there’s exactly one, the $1,999 Liberty Phone from Purism. If the name makes you want to stand up and salute, you might sit right back down when I tell you the rest.
🛍️ Prime perks for Gen Z: If you’re 18-24 or know someone who is, Prime for Young Adults is a deal. Get all the Prime benefits with a $0 trial for six months, then it’s 50% off. For a limited time, earn 5% cash back on faves like beauty, tech and personal care. During Prime Day next week, that jumps to 10%. Don’t miss out.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
By age 60, collagen drops by half! Hello, joint pain and wrinkles. NativePath Collagen is my secret weapon. Just two scoops a day, and boy, what a difference! Get 45% off, free shipping and a bonus gift!*
Unlimited PTO is out
It sounded like a dream until the reality of business kicked in. Now, Big Tech is ditching the perks and rediscovering a brutal truth
$1 billion
How much it can cost to develop a single drug. The MIT-founded startup ASG has a new biosensor that detects proteins in 15 minutes and could replace slow, pricey ELISA tests used in drug development. Faster tests mean cheaper bioprocessing, more efficient manufacturing and a chance for rare disease drugs that usually get shelved for being “not profitable enough.”
Never let strangers handle your phone
You’re a nice person, so you hand it over. Here’s how one quick scam could get you to rethink that.
🚀 NASA+ is coming to Netflix: Starting this summer, you’ll be able to stream rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks and views of Earth from the ISS right on Netflix. More details and schedules will drop closer to launch. Psst, you can watch NASA+ for free on the agency’s website with no ads.
Big-brained buys
🧠 You don’t need to be a genius to use today’s picks.
- ⚡ End the outlet wars: This power strip tower (22% off) has 16 plugs. Plus, four USB ports and a 10-foot-long cord.
- 🔌 Split ends: No, not your high school haircut. One USB-C cable (8% off, two-pack) charges four things at once.
- 🙈 Hide those wires: A cord management box (10% off, two-pack) is the adult way to tidy up your tech mess.
- ⌨️ Typing ninja? Switch between your phone, tablet or laptop with this Bluetooth keyboard (5% off).
- 🛜 Bye, dead zones: A Wi-Fi extender ($9.99) covers up to 45 devices. No more buffering in the bathroom (lol).
- 📺 Movie-theater level magic: If you can swing it, this 4K smart TV ($699.99) has flicker-free tech.
🛍️ Treat your digital self: My Amazon shop is packed with more smart buys I know you’ll love.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Google’s eating itself alive
Google’s new AI-powered search is tanking its own traffic. Plus, your ChatGPT chats live forever, a job offer scam, and a car rental side hustle making real money. Then I talk to Holly from Kentucky, whose kiddo ordered 70,000 suckers on Amazon.
Google’s Veo 3 is out
The new AI video generator creates lifelike eight-second clips from just a prompt. It’s amazing. You can try it free through Vertex AI on Google Cloud by signing up for a trial and using the $300 in credits. FYI: This thing was trained on millions of YouTube videos.
🖨️ Oh, Brother! Millions of Brother printers have default passwords that hackers can reverse-engineer using the serial number. Brother can’t fully fix it via firmware. For the love of toner, change the admin password so your printer doesn’t get hacked.
Clean up your Chrome bookmarks: If your favorites bar is filling up, save space by removing the bookmark name. Right-click a bookmark, select Edit, delete the Name and hit Save. You’ll still see the icon. FYI: If you have multiple links to the same site, they’ll all look the same now. Just rename them.
Viral missing cop post is a scam – June 28th, Hour 1
A viral Facebook post says a 27-year-old cop vanished. Here’s the deal: Sgt. Katie Cunningham is alive and well. She joins us to set the record straight. Plus, the truth behind the latest TikTok ban rumors and how tariffs could boost your YouTube views.
From grimy to shiny
🏠 Your cleaning MVPs have entered the chat.
- ✨ Grout wants its sparkle back: Hit it with a stain cleaner (38% off) and wait a few hours. Boom, scrub-free clean.
- 🧽 Where’s that sponge? This stainless steel sink caddy (28% off) keeps it handy. Bonus: removable brush holder and cloth hanger.
- 🐶 Shed happens: Suck up pet hair fast with this handheld vacuum (29% off). Works on fabric, carpet, sofas, you name it.
- 🚽 Drop it like it’s hot: Plop a cat-shaped tablet ($17.99, three-pack) into your toilet. Cleans with every flush.
- 🧼 Big clean, tiny sheet: Toss a detergent sheet (9% off, three-pack) into your wash. 4.3 stars and 15,000+ reviews.
- 👕 Damp clothes? Not in this house. Dehumidifier bags ($21.99, 10-pack) last for weeks. Just hang ’em in your closet.
▶️ Want more cleaning genius? Tap into my Amazon store for more of the good stuff.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
🤖 Ask for up-to-date answers: ChatGPT can sometimes give outdated info, especially on recent events. Try saying, “Can you search the web and verify with 2025 sources?” If it does, you’ll usually get clickable links. PSA: Double-check the sources, too. If a website looks unfamiliar, give it a quick Google to make sure it’s legit.
AI-proof, for now: Turns out some white-collar gigs are harder to kill than expected. Looks like we’re gonna need tens of thousands more accountants, CEOs and financial advisers by 2030, even as AI keeps eating jobs like it’s at a buffet. AI also can’t replace CEOs because it hasn’t learned golf yet.