Breaking news and tips

Elder fraud is exploding: Your data is making it worse

ChatGPT

I’ve got bad news: Today’s online scammers know everything about you. They’re scraping your info and everyone else’s from the web and buying the rest from data brokers and people-search sites. 

📈 The stats are scary

Folks age 60-plus are the biggest target. Almost 72% of scams start with personal data grabbed online. Data brokers vacuum up your info like phone numbers, emails, past addresses, income, favorite takeout spots and then auction it off like eBay for creepers.

With this data, they use personalized weapons.

🎯 Criminals know who to target

Study this list. Here’s what these attacks look like:

  • AI phone calls that sound like your grandkids.
  • Medicare fraud quoting your last doctor visit.
  • Calls from “your bank” that know your address.
  • Investment traps tailored to your retirement income.
  • Romance scams where your “lover” has the same interests.

Live in a state with higher retirement incomes? 

You’re in the bull’s-eye. Texas seniors lost an average of $51,700 per complaint. My state, Arizona, had the highest elder fraud rate per capita (3.5 cases for every 1,000 seniors). Yikes.

🛡️ How to fight back

1. Freeze your credit:
Even if you’re not worried about identity theft, a credit freeze keeps crooks from opening accounts in your name.

2. Use call filtering apps:
Try tools like Hiya, Nomorobo or your carrier’s spam call protection. And never answer unknown numbers, voicemail is your friend.

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Less mess, more yes

👑 Your bathroom should be fit for a queen (or king).

🛒 Peek at my cart: I’ve got a whole list of essentials I reorder all the time. Nothing flashy, just solid.

Kim’s cart: 10 genius buys that keep you (and your stuff) safe

ChatGPT

I test a lot of gear. Every product here solves a sneaky problem and helps you stay one step ahead of scammers, snoops and opportunists. I’ve done the digging so you don’t have to. Let’s go shopping!

Fraudsters love “washing” checks and rewriting new amounts unless you use this pen. Its ink chemically bonds with paper, so the info can’t be scrubbed off. Get Uni-ball 207 Gel Pens ($6.08).

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Get free stuff: Freecycle is a fantastic online community where folks give away things they no longer need or find items they want.

🔥 Baseus charger recall: Over 55,000 portable chargers are being recalled after reports of them catching fire. Look for model BS-30KP365 with a serial number ending in 0 to 9 or D (check the bottom). If that’s you, get a free replacement on their website.

Apple’s all out of ideas

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Last year, Apple promised groundbreaking AI, but Siri’s failures have left the company scrambling.

By the numbers

135

Dead Sea Scroll fragments redated by AI with a better eye than your average historian. The system, named Enoch after the biblical prophet, was trained on radiocarbon-dated samples and subtle handwriting quirks invisible to humans. Then it read the Dead Sea Scrolls and confidently told researchers they were late by 100 years

🔴 Go live, privately: Instagram lets you livestream just to your close friends instead of all your followers. Tap the + button, choose Live, then select Share with Close Friends and start broadcasting. You can add up to three pals. Want to tweak your list? Head to More (three lines) > Settings > Who can see your content > Close Friends.

What’s inside that mega cheap hard drive

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Super-cheap storage sounds great until you see what you’re really about to get. Don’t get burned.

🧳 Global Entry is getting faster: New camera tech will soon let travelers breeze through passport control without stopping. Your face gets scanned on the move, so no kiosks or lines. It’s being tested at seven airports, including Miami, LAX, Chicago O’Hare and Toronto. Suddenly, that $120 five-year membership doesn’t sound so bad.

Sip happens

😋 Only food and drink upgrades that slap.

🎁 Got your Father’s Day gift? Shop my ultimate gift list now, so it shows up by this Sunday.

WWDC 2025: iOS 26, Live Translation, and Apple’s next AI moves

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Is Apple running out of new ideas? We break down everything from WWDC 2025, what’s legit, and what’s noise. Plus: A cyberattack takes down a major food supplier, AI goes head-to-head with cancer, and ChatGPT loses at chess to a console from 1977.

Smarter seat belts soon

Remember when you’d sit in your dad’s car sans seat belt? Me, too. Well, Volvo’s working on adaptive seat belts that tighten or loosen based on your size and how serious the crash is. So if you’re smaller, it eases up to protect your ribs.

💉 Catching cancer sooner: I hate cancer. A new blood test can detect if cancer is coming back months before it shows up on a scan (paywall link). It finds tiny traces of tumor DNA in your blood, which could mean faster treatment.

Cancel what you’re not using: I use Rocket Money, an app that finds all your recurring subscriptions and lets you easily cancel anything you don’t want. The first time I logged in, it saved me $435!

Kim Komando Show

Google’s eating itself alive — June 14th, Hour 1

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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.

My heart is racing

🔎 Think size matters? These tiny tools work hard.

🏃‍♀️ Go the distance: Get your steps in without leaving home on this smart treadmill (9% off) that folds up for easy storage.

Record your screen: OBS Studio is a free app that works on Windows and Mac. It’s easy to use: Just go to Add Source > Display Capture, choose Automatic as your Capture Method and hit OK. Now click Start Recording, and Stop Recording when you’re done. Pro tip: Use this guide for the best video settings.

🛡️ 1 billion malware threats: 1 simple fix. Antivirus software protects your devices from viruses, ransomware and more before they can do any harm. Cover five devices for just $19 for the first year. That’s less than a trip to the movies.