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Millennials are the newest scam target

(First, a weird image for this story, I know. I was playing around with Meta AI. Why? Coming on Monday, tips, tricks and don’ts of using AI to create art, logos and more. You don’t want to miss that newsletter!)

If you’re a millennial, or you love one from a safe financial distance, brace yourself: This age group is losing more money to scams than anyone else, boomers included. 

Yes, the digital natives, the “I’ve got 47 tabs open” generation born between 1981 and 1996, are getting cooked online.

Millennials aren’t getting taken because they’re naïve. They’re falling for scams because the cons have gotten better and faster. Between work burnout, raising mini-humans, pending divorces, rising rents and pretending to understand tax forms, the bandwidth is low and the scams are high. 

💼 The job offer

You get a text about a remote gig. It pays well, sounds flexible and looks like something you could actually do. No experience needed. But there’s a catch: To get started, you have to send money. 

Sometimes it’s a background check fee. Other times, it’s buying a gift card or crypto to complete a task.

These fake hiring managers sound legit. They’ll email you contracts, logos and messages from fake HR reps. But once you send that payment? They vanish. The job never existed. And your money isn’t coming back.

📈 The investment tip

You get a DM from someone talking up a hot opportunity. Crypto, stocks or some new “AI coin” is about to explode. They might claim to be a well-known investor or financial adviser. The pitch sounds smart, like they know what they’re doing.

Sometimes it’s a one-on-one message. Other times, it’s a whole group chat hyping it up. But it always ends the same way: You put money in, and then the coin tanks or disappears. It was a setup from the start.

Pro tip: If your financial adviser has anime in their profile pic, maybe sit this one out.

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Grime doesn’t pay

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Folding phones, unfolding regrets

ChatGPT

I would love a foldable phone. It’s fun to imagine strutting into a coffee shop, flipping open your phone like you’re Batman calling Alfred. 

But now Samsung’s dropped the seventh-gen Galaxy Z Fold and Flip, Google threw in the Pixel Fold, Motorola whipped out retro with the modern Razr+, and I’ve got questions. 

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⚡️ 3-second tech genius: On Windows, press Ctrl + or to zoom. On Mac, use Cmd + or . Want things back to normal? Hit Ctrl + 0 (Windows) or Cmd + 0 (Mac). Works in most apps.

I thought Alexa was creepy: Amazon’s buying Bee, a company whose wearable bracelet records everything you say. Why? AI summarizes your day, makes to-do lists and creates a searchable log of your life. It’s always listening and has no wake word (paywall link). I’ll pass.

Don’t trust Tesla Autopilot to drive for you

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A recent lawsuit reveals the ugly truth: Autopilot can ignore stop signs, blow through intersections and fail to brake.

By the numbers

$0

The tuition cost at the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine. The Walmart heiress is footing the bill for the first five graduating classes at her brand-new med school, AWSOM, in Bentonville, Arkansas. It’s not charity, it’s a bet to prove that preventive care, art and a side of nutrition training can reshape health care. Call it Whole Foods meets Grey’s Anatomy.

👂 Listen up. Watching my husband Barry struggle to hear was tough, so I did my research and found these high-tech hearing aids. See if you qualify for a 45-day, risk-free trial and a lifetime of support. Don’t wait, check today!

Hackers trick Gmail’s AI summaries

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Gmail’s Gemini AI shows quick bullet-point summaries at the top of your emails, but scammers can slip in fake warnings using hidden text.

🧨 Fission accomplished: This is bad. Communist China hackers used a SharePoint flaw to target 400+ orgs, including the U.S. nuke agency (NNSA). Microsoft says the exploit hit agencies in the U.S., EU, Middle East and more. They say no classified files were stolen since the backdoor’s been open since July 7. Yea, right.

Potty like a rock star

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Stolen data for sale

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A startup is cashing in by selling your stolen data to debt collectors, lawyers, and rivals. It’s legal … sort of. Android phones detect earthquakes, Mark Zuckerberg expands his secret Hawaii compound, and cottage cheese has a viral moment.

Charlie Chaplin’s in theaters after 100 years

Charlie Chaplin famously rereleased his 1925 silent classic The Gold Rush in 1942 with new narration and edits, believing it would connect better with modern audiences. Now, thanks to film archivists and AI, the silent masterpiece has been painstakingly restored. The 4K version just premiered at Cannes and hit 250 theaters worldwide.

👶🏼 Billionaire baby mama drama: Ashley St. Clair, a 26-year-old conservative influencer, is suing Elon Musk (paywall link) for full custody of their son, Romulus (yes, really). She claims he offered $15M and $100K/month to keep quiet, then slashed support when she didn’t. Now the court’s involved, the windows are papered and Elon’s side quest is fully glitching.

❤️ See your liked posts on Instagram: You can view everything you’ve liked, whether it’s posts, reels or whatever. Go to Profile > Menu (three lines) > Your activity > Interactions > Likes. Scroll through or sort by Newest to oldest to find what you’re looking for.

Kim Komando Show

Amazon packages pile up on her porch  — July 19th, Hour 1

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What if your house became an Amazon warehouse? Listener Karen from California is stuck in this nightmare. Plus, AI superintelligence, Beyoncé’s secret music files stolen, and how a bad Yelp review could cost you thousands.

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🌐 Set a start page in Chrome: You can make Chrome open your favorite website when you launch it. Go to Settings > On startup > Open a specific page or set of pages > Add a new page. Type in the URL (like https://www.komando.com) and click Add. Next time you open Chrome, it’ll take you straight there. Neat.

🧪 Tumors, meet your match: Scientists may have found a workaround for cancer’s ghosting tendencies. Instead of waiting for tumors to “respond,” they’re forcing the convo with a generic RNA vaccine. It basically slaps the immune system awake, and in mouse tests, it worked solo or with backup. I hate cancer.