Record your own voice directions

Google’s Street View relies on cars with multiple cameras for its pics. What was the first animal Google hired to capture a place they couldn’t access by car? Was it a … A.) Bird, B.) Camel, C.) Gorilla or D.) Penguin?

Find the answer here! →

🧈 This gold scam panned out: A 74-year-old Maryland man bought gold bars with his life savings and handed them over to a fraudster to “protect his bank account.” After, he saw a story on the local news about a woman losing $1 million dollars to this same scam. He contacted the police, who set up a trap and arrested the scammer. Unfortunately, the gold was long gone.

Faces identity theft before they turn 18. And age verification might make the problem much worse. Think about it: To get access to social media, your kid uploads their name, face, and a document or two. One breach and a criminal has it all.

Another health care data breach: This time, it’s HealthEquity, a tech company that runs health savings accounts. Criminals got their hands on 4.3 million people’s names, numbers, addresses and payment info. What’s strange, though, is that no malware was spotted during the investigation, and there’s been no ransom demand yet.

🏎️ A Ferrari exec slammed the brakes: A Ferrari C-level exec got a text from his CEO, who wanted to chat on WhatsApp. They were texting about possible mergers when the CEO said, “Let’s talk.” And they did. The C-level exec said it was someone posing as the CEO (paywall link). He tested the caller, asking for the name of a book the actual CEO had recommended the exec read the week before. Surprise, the scammer hung up.

This doesn’t make cents: Honda, Hyundai and GM sold driving data for pennies. A letter to the FTC revealed data broker Verisk paid Honda 26 cents per car and Hyundai 61 cents per car. The info was then sold again to auto insurers. Hello, higher premiums. Opt out by going into your infotainment system’s Settings and looking for Data Privacy or Data Usage.

Water + electricity = Bad: Tesla is warning about a “charging hack” going around on social media. Folks are wrapping damp towels around Supercharger handles, claiming it increases the charging rate. It doesn’t. You’ll just interfere with the system’s temperature monitors.

💉 No butts about it: The FDA approved a new blood test to screen for colon cancer. With FDA approval, Medicare and insurance companies are more likely to cover the $895 Shield test. It won’t mean the end for colonoscopies, but it’s a way less invasive way to see if cancer is present.

What wood you do? A Georgia man lost his phone at night in the woods, and, while looking for it, he fell down a 50-foot well. He called for help but spent a long, cold night in the well. Rescuers took almost two hours to get him out using special equipment. PSA: Don’t walk around alone at night in the woods.

For a starter home. That’s the new norm in 237 U.S. cities, up from 84 cities just five years ago. Metros in Wyoming, Colorado and Connecticut are new on the list.