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Tech roundup: the 3 big email scams, Ascension hack, NJ drone ban
‼️ 3 email scams spreading now: Look for these three big ones. First up, fake invoices for bills, gifts or whatever. Scammers hope you’re too busy to check and will just pay it. Second, bogus celebrity endorsements — go to their official social media profile or website instead of trusting a random email or ad. And finally, keep an eye out for extortion schemes in your inbox. More crooks are using your personal info and maybe a photo of your home to scare you into paying them. Stay sharp!
Ascension Healthcare hack: We now know how big the May cyberattack really was. Hackers grabbed medical records, payment info, insurance details, IDs and addresses of 5.6 million people. If this breach affects you, watch for a letter via USPS mail. Either way, freeze your credit and get yourself off the Dark Web.*
Seriously, what’s going on in NJ? The FAA banned all drones from flying over parts of New Jersey until Jan. 17. The U.S. government’s even saying they’ll shoot down or detain anyone caught in a no-fly zone. Thinking about flying a drone there? First, check the list of 22 areas in which drones are banned.
Maybe they really are UFOs: An Air Force vet posted a bunch of videos of a glowing orb flying over his house in New Jersey. The orb darted around for about 30 minutes in broad daylight. He used to work on airplanes, knows a ton about drones and says he’s never seen anything like it. Have you? See the videos for yourself.
History teachers are in the past: An online charter school in Arizona is ditching human teachers. Kids get two hours of academic instruction daily taught entirely by AI. The rest of the day is dedicated to life skills workshops covering subjects like financial literacy, goal setting and entrepreneurship led by “guides.” Bet they make even less than teachers.
🦍 Tag, you’re it: If you’ve got kids obsessed with the Meta VR game “Gorilla Tag,” talk to them. There are videos all over the internet telling them to install the free VPN app Big Mama to cheat. It’s just a front for selling access to your home internet and network. Need a VPN you can trust? Here’s my pick.*
Hit the right notes: Now you can chat with Google’s NotebookLM AI podcast host-sounding bots. Feed in your notes and they’ll answer questions based on what you wrote. It’s still in beta, so double-check to make sure it doesn’t mess up any facts. Barb in Chicago wrote, “Kim, thanks for telling me about NotebookLM. I am using it to teach my customers about how to use the hair products I sell.” You’re welcome.
Travel gram: Meet 94-year-old Joy Ryan. She’s on a journey to visit every continent with her grandson, and she didn’t even get her passport until she was 91. She’s the oldest person to visit all 63 U.S. national parks, too. I hope she got the senior discount! Follow her journey on Instagram. It’s amazing!
