🐶 Dogs look like their owners? Science says it’s not just in your head. We might subconsciously choose pups that resemble us or our kids. Women have hair similar in length to their dog’s ears. And yep, they match our vibes, too. The longer we’re together, the more they start to copy us. Look at my Bella!
Elder fraud is exploding: Your data is making it worse
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.
The next iPhone? Nope. This one has no screen, no apps, no keyboard
ChatGPT
I always want you to be tech ahead. That’s why I want you to think about what if your next device didn’t have a screen? Or apps? Or a keyboard?
That’s exactly why Sam Altman (OpenAI’s CEO) and Jony Ive (the former Apple design genius behind the iPhone) are working on a new kind of AI gadget that could completely change the way we interact with technology.
1 day
That’s how fast your online order could arrive, courtesy of USPS’s quiet glow-up. They’ve ditched the snail jokes and entered the express lane with Priority Mail Next Day to compete with FedEx, UPS and Amazon. It’s currently live in 62 markets and delivers packages under 20 pounds within one day, as long as they’re dropped off by 6 p.m.
Postural regression therapy: Millennials and Gen Z are now curing “tech neck” by copying babies. The fix? Lying on your stomach like a 6-month-old. Influencers swear it helps their posture, digestion, even core strength. So yeah, we’ve reached the timeline where adulting means scheduled floor flops. I’m looking forward to nap time.
📦 Package delayed scam: This one is spreading fast. You place an order after seeing a tempting ad, but the package never shows. Then comes the excuse: delays due to tariffs or customs. Next thing you know, they’re asking for extra fees after checkout.
🫀 Teen heart hacker: A 14-year-old in Texas built an AI-powered heart screening app that can detect cardiac issues in seven seconds with just a smartphone mic. Yes, seriously. It’s 96% accurate and already in clinical trials. App detects heart failure? I wonder if it can hear mine breaking during tax season.
Self-healing concrete: Scientists made concrete that can literally fix itself, and it’s technically alive. They’re using synthetic lichen that feeds on sunlight and air. It then produces calcium carbonate, the same ultra-strong material found in Roman concrete. When cracks appear, they fill in naturally.
Walt Disney lives again? Kinda. He’s being turned into a lifelike robot for Disney parks, so guests can see what it might’ve been like to meet him. It’ll look like him at age 62 and use real lines from his speeches. The twist? His granddaughter says he would never want this.
🧬 Silicon Valley’s baby fever: Welcome to the Build-a-Baby boom. Startups like Orchid and Nucleus want to sell you on polygenic testing: basically “future-proofing” your baby’s DNA for everything from BMI to bipolar disorder. The cost? $50,000.
30 cats
That’s how many feline participants confirmed you smell exactly like they thought you would. Researchers in Tokyo ran a sniff test with 30 house cats and found they spent more time smelling strangers than their own humans. Translation: Your cat knows who you are and has already decided you’re not worth the extra sniff.
TSA’s planning touchless pat-downs: Yep, they’re working on VR tech that lets agents “feel” you without any actual contact. How? Sensors scan your body shape, then send the data to haptic gloves, creating a virtual version of your contours. And don’t you know all that is going into some database? Speaking of … Did you know that the TSA likes to hire dentists as supervisors? They are already experts in performing cavity searches.
🚨 AT&T data leak: Hackers just exposed 86 million customer records, including names, phone numbers, emails and addresses. Worse? Nearly 44 million Social Security numbers were leaked in plain text. That’s prime info for scammers and identity theft. PSA: Stay alert for phishing attempts and keep a close eye on your accounts, folks.
Lot cop unleashed: Walmart’s testing a security robot in its parking lots. It has wheels, cameras and apparently a dude behind the mic, whispering “Yo, what you say?” to shoppers. Is it surveillance? Art? Cyberpunk cosplay? Either way, the vibes are dystopian. Next up: R2-D2 with a gun.
📅 RIP, Samsung accounts: Samsung says inactive accounts will get deleted starting July 31. If you haven’t logged in for two years, it’s over: data gone, account gone, possibly your Galaxy brain, too. Exceptions made if you bought something or used reward points. Congrats on ghosting Samsung so hard they took it personally.
The pirate said, “Can I buy an I?”: Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune are hitting streaming for the first time, just one day after episodes air. Hulu and Peacock snagged multiyear deals for new and old episodes. Sony and CBS are still in a legal slap fight about it, but the real winner here is your Roku.
$250 million
That’s what MrBeast says he’ll spend on content this year, but he still needs a wedding loan from mom. Worth a cool billion on paper, MrBeast says he’s cash-poor IRL, leaving his mom to spot him for cake and canapés. Somewhere, Jeff Bezos just Venmo’d his mom out of guilt.
🪥 No floss can fix stupid: A top U.S. dental marketing firm accidentally exposed 8.8 million appointment records and 2.7 million patient profiles online: names, emails, birth dates, billing info, all just sitting in the open. Hackers didn’t even have to lift a finger. Be sure to keep an eye on your Explanation of Benefit records.
🤖 Humanoids at your doorstep: Amazon’s testing humanoid robots that might literally leap out of delivery vans. The company’s building a “humanoid park” to train these robot couriers to drop packages while dodging pets, toddlers and possibly your Ring camera judgment. Humans may still drive the vans, for now.