Alexa might be listening more than you think. George, your AI host, breaks down how much data your smart speaker is really grabbing, plus the Venmo ‘oops’ scam that could cost you big, fragile iPhone 17s, the MGM hacker teen, and device advice you need to hear.
Tags: cost, data, device, download, smart speaker
Big TikTok news: Trump is expected to sign an executive order today that officially puts TikTok’s “sale” in motion. Word is that ByteDance will drop its control and the U.S. will lease TikTok’s algorithm so it stays “American enough” to keep running.
🪓 He DoorDashed zip ties, bleach and a hatchet: In Sweetwater, Texas, a delivery driver got an order that didn’t exactly scream “movie night.” Instead of shrugging it off, they called the police and probably saved a life. When officers arrived, 42-year-old Neil Cooper had barricaded himself inside a motel room, claimed he was armed and refused to come out. A hostage managed to escape before negotiations began, and Cooper eventually surrendered. He’s now facing kidnapping and drug charges. Here’s the twist: The hostage was also arrested on an outstanding warrant after failing to identify themselves. Wow.
🍊 Fruit ninja: Coca-Cola has teamed up with MIT to save … oranges. Seriously. A bacterial disease is wrecking citrus trees, and Coke’s using AI to fast-track a cure. If they don’t figure it out, orange juice could be basically extinct in 25 years. The project’s called “Save the Orange.” Yes, that’s real. I’m rooting for juice. Your future breakfast might just be toast.
📱 Scratchgate is here: iPhone 17 Pro owners already started posting battle scars within 24 hours of launch. Apparently, the anodized aluminum frame scratches super easily, revealing shiny silver underneath. YouTubers warn that the camera bump chips, too. Here’s a solution: Buy a $13 case or embrace the “relic guitar” vibe.
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Clever scam spreading: Venmo, Zelle and Apple Cash are being used for the “accidental deposit” trick. Scammers send you money (using stolen cards, of course), then say oops before begging you to send it back. If you do, your bank later reverses the original payment, and you’re out real cash. PSA: Never send money back to strangers. Let the app deal with it.
🚨 Insurance info spill: Hackers dumped 150,000 American Income Life insurance records online. Names, emails, birthdays, even policy details, all out there in the wild. Normally this stuff gets sold quietly, but giving it away for free? That’s like handing out candy to every scammer in the neighborhood. Expect a wave of phishing, fake claims and identity theft soon.
⚡ Secret SIM bust: The Secret Service just shut down a rogue telecom network in NYC. Think abandoned apartments stuffed with 300 SIM servers, 100,000 SIM cards, illegal guns, and to top it all off, 80 grams of coke. Investigators say the system could’ve spammed 30 million texts a minute, crippled 911 and blacked out cell towers near the U.N. Assembly.
⚡ Apple Pay’s “free money”: You have to see this TikTok of a woman crying because she thought Apple Pay was Apple’s way of giving her money. She thought every tap, every time she accepted cookies and every app she downloaded earned her cash. I bet she thinks American Express is a train. Watch the short video here. Real or not? Let me know when you rate the newsletter at the end.
🛏️ Fake sleep science: Turns out sleep trackers are only 65% accurate at guessing your sleep stages. They’re basically playing a slightly smarter version of “Are You Asleep Yet?” based on your wrist twitches. Helpful? Maybe. Lab-grade reliable? Not even close. Still, 1 in 3 adults say they aren’t getting enough sleep, which explains why we keep buying the devices.
