Welcome to your Wednesday edition of tech smarts, friend. Want the best deal on Facebook Marketplace? Sellers love round numbers, so offer 50% instead of something random like 54%. Message late at night or early morning when they’re more eager to sell. 💰 Always offer cash + fast pickup, no one likes a flake. And before you throw out a number, ask “Is this your best price?” to make them drop it first. 

🎉 We have a winner! Congrats to HeatherD**** with a Gmail address! You won a Kim Komando Show ballcap (a $24.95 value)! We’ll be in touch to get your mailing info. Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun! At the end, I’ll tell you how you can still win, if you’re not Heather. — Kim

It’s not just clingy exes popping into your messages out of the blue. Scammers are ramping up phony texts across the country. You can make the texts stop (more below). Here are the latest ones making the rounds and the red flags to watch for:

🚨 Fake missed toll or parking ticket

The FTC just warned about this one. You get a text claiming you have unpaid tolls or a parking ticket and must pay immediately to avoid late fees or legal trouble. The link takes you to a fake payment site that steals your credit card or driver’s license info.

💰 Nonexistent tax rebate

Scammers love free money, yours, that is. After the IRS announced stimulus payments for 2 million people in December, crooks started blasting texts saying you’re owed a $1,400 rebate. The link? A phishing site set up to steal your personal details or install malware on your phone.

👋 “Oops, wrong number!”

This one plays on human kindness. It starts with a vague message like, “Hey, is this Jessica?” or “Oops, wrong number!” If you respond, they’ll keep chatting, slowly steering the conversation toward a scam investment, a fake emergency or a malware-infected website.

📱“Suspicious activity” on your Apple ID

Scammers are texting about “suspicious activity” on your Apple ID, urging you to call a fake support line. Once they have you, they’ll try to steal your personal info or even take control of your phone to install spyware. 

📫 USPS “delivery issues”

If you get a text about a “delivery issue” or needing to “confirm your address,” don’t fall for it. Scammers are sending fake USPS messages with links that steal your personal info. USPS never asks for sensitive details over text.

How to shut scammers down

• Ignore & block: Don’t click links or reply. Block the number, enable spam filters and use your phone’s “Report Junk” feature.
• Go to the source: If you’re unsure, log in to your official account or call the company directly.
• Update your security: Keep your phone’s software and security apps updated. Turn on 2FA or use an authenticator app for extra protection.
• Report bad texts: Forward them to 7726 (SPAM) to alert your mobile carrier.

🛑 Sick of spam texts? Stop them before they start!

Barry and I did, and it’s a game changer. No more scams, just peace of mind!

The best way is to get your number off those shady people-search sites and data broker lists. That’s exactly how scammers get your info. 

Barry and I don’t get spam texts at all because we use Incogni, and it works. They go after the data brokers selling your personal info and remove it automatically.

✅ I’ve got a 60% off deal for you. Just use my link to learn more about Incogni, see how it protects you and sign up here to clean up your digital footprint. The less of your info floating around online, the fewer scam texts, robocalls and junk emails you’ll get. It’s a no-brainer!

🧑🏼‍🍳 Your kitchen just got an upgrade.

• Slice your veggies in seconds with this chopper (22% off) that has five swappable blades. Nice.
• Get the perfect portions every time on a smart food scale ($21.89).
• Seal in freshness with a Mason jar vacuum sealer ($30) that comes in 10 colors.
• Stay organized with a 50-pack of reusable meal prep containers (13% off). So much better than baggies.
• Wipe, dry and repeat with a pack of 15 classic kitchen towels ($22).

🍽️ Cold dinner? Grab this warming mat (63% off) for food while the deal lasts.

📱TikTok’s parental controls: In a total PR move and after seven years in the U.S., the app is rolling out Family Pairing tools. You can block access at certain times and check who’s following your teens. There’s a new “Time Away” feature to set a schedule and a “wind down” option for bedtime. Why now? It’s looking at a sale or ban next month, silly.

Don’t use that tone with me: HP owners are pissed. A recent firmware update bricked HP’s LaserJet M232-M237 even with official HP toner installed. One small-business owner wasted $60 on new cartridges that didn’t work. HP is working on another better update to fix the last disaster of an update. What could possibly go wrong? 🙄

Still have a DVD collection? Check for disc rot. Many Warner Bros. DVDs from 2006 to 2008 are failing prematurely, even though properly cared-for discs should last up to 100 years. Signs of trouble include loading errors or freezing. Warner Bros. will replace them or exchange them for a title of similar value. Contact support at whv@wbd​.com.

😱 This is horrifying: A mom says she’ll never let her daughter go to another sleepover again. Why? Her 11-year-old found cameras in her friend’s bedroom. The parents said they were “for security” but turned off. Except … the light was on. So she covered them with a shirt. The parents came in, removed it and that’s when she called her mom to pick her up. 

First foldable iPhone will be over $2,000! Apple is going with a book-style design that’s “AI-driven” for multitasking. It’ll have a 7.8-inch crease-free inner display and a 5.5-inch outer display. Leaks also say Face ID is out this time, replaced by a Touch ID side button. As for the release? Most likely late 2026 or early 2027.

Stopping gunshot wounds in seconds? It’s now possible. The FDA approved Traumagel, an algae- and fungi-based hemostatic gel administered via medical syringe. It’s safer and less painful than gauze, and it finds where it needs to go on its own. Just imagine how useful this will be for soldiers in the field. 

👽 Just for the record, sleeve them alone: This is wild. NASA launched the Voyager 1 and 2, each carrying a Golden Record filled with photos and audio representing life on Earth almost 50 years ago. Think a nursing mother, nature pics and human speech. The kicker? Both spacecraft are experiencing major power problems. Aliens are more into comet books anyway.

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📈 What’s hot? Google Trends knows. If you run a business, search for keywords related to what you do to see what’s popular. Use the filters at the top to search by region, time and category to make your content or products match the buzz.

Price tags can fool you: Always check the unit price (cost divided by the number of units). On sites like Amazon, it’s in parentheses in tiny letters next to the sale price. This makes comparing prices easier to see if buying in bulk is actually worth it.

👮 Need help but can’t speak? In many areas of the USA, you can text 911 instead of calling. It’s not available everywhere, so it’s best to check ahead. Visit text911.info to see if it works in your area. It could literally save your life. 

Save battery on your iPad: By default, most apps run in the background and drain power. Social media and messaging apps might need this, but many others don’t. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh, check what’s important, and turn off the ones you don’t need. 

How about a few more Facebook Marketplace tips?

• Misspellings are your friend! Search “dinning table” instead of “dining table” or “Lawnmore” instead of “lawn mower” to find hidden gems.
• Listings with bad photos, short descriptions or weirdly low prices are often from people who just want the item gone fast.
• Some sellers relist items at lower prices after a week or two. If you see something you want but it’s too expensive, save the listing and check back later.
• Sundays and Mondays are gold. People list items after weekend cleaning sprees.

One for the road: A guy is selling a 50” 4K flat-screen TV on Facebook Marketplace for $1. A woman asks him, “What’s wrong with this TV to only be selling it for a dollar?” The man tells her, “There’s nothing wrong with the picture or anything like that, but the volume is stuck on max. You can’t change it at all. So are you interested in buying it for a dollar?” She said, “Well, I can’t turn that down.” (Yea, you’re gonna use that one, I know it!)

🎉 I’m giving away a Kim Komando Show ballcap (a $25 value) every day this week! Want in? Just reply with “I love The Current” for your chance to win. I’ll pick a random winner daily! Good luck! I’ll see you back here tomorrow with the best tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim