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Millennials are the newest scam target
(First, a weird image for this story, I know. I was playing around with Meta AI. Why? Coming on Monday, tips, tricks and don’ts of using AI to create art, logos and more. You don’t want to miss that newsletter!)
If you’re a millennial, or you love one from a safe financial distance, brace yourself: This age group is losing more money to scams than anyone else, boomers included.
Yes, the digital natives, the “I’ve got 47 tabs open” generation born between 1981 and 1996, are getting cooked online.
Millennials aren’t getting taken because they’re naïve. They’re falling for scams because the cons have gotten better and faster. Between work burnout, raising mini-humans, pending divorces, rising rents and pretending to understand tax forms, the bandwidth is low and the scams are high.
💼 The job offer
You get a text about a remote gig. It pays well, sounds flexible and looks like something you could actually do. No experience needed. But there’s a catch: To get started, you have to send money.
Sometimes it’s a background check fee. Other times, it’s buying a gift card or crypto to complete a task.
These fake hiring managers sound legit. They’ll email you contracts, logos and messages from fake HR reps. But once you send that payment? They vanish. The job never existed. And your money isn’t coming back.
📈 The investment tip
You get a DM from someone talking up a hot opportunity. Crypto, stocks or some new “AI coin” is about to explode. They might claim to be a well-known investor or financial adviser. The pitch sounds smart, like they know what they’re doing.
Sometimes it’s a one-on-one message. Other times, it’s a whole group chat hyping it up. But it always ends the same way: You put money in, and then the coin tanks or disappears. It was a setup from the start.
Pro tip: If your financial adviser has anime in their profile pic, maybe sit this one out.
77%
The accuracy rate of EchoNext spotting structural heart disease, higher than 13 cardiologists combined. In a medical version of John Henry, AI went head-to-head with humans, and it won. EchoNext nailed diagnoses from ECGs more often than the docs’ 64%. It’s basically the Sherlock Holmes of heart scans, minus the Victorian outfit.
🛜 Full bars, slow internet? Those little Wi-Fi bars only show your connection to the router, not your internet speed. So even if they’re full, apps can run slower than a Monday morning. When in doubt, run a speed test and check if your download, upload and ping match what you’re paying for.
Good in the world: After the horrific July 4th floods tore through Kerr County, Texas, one woman started a Facebook group to reunite survivors with their stuff, and 36,000 strangers joined in. Volunteers are cleaning mud-soaked diaries, baby shoes and wedding rings, then posting photos to help people reclaim what’s left. It’s heartbreak, healing and hope.
🏡 Yelp is not treason: Turns out, leaving a three-star review can cost you $2K. A Scottsdale renter who dared to complain got fined $4,000 for “negativity.” Why? A sneaky non-disparagement clause in the lease. The company only walked it back after local news and the FTC caught wind.
Zooming on the Autobahn: Mercedes-Benz is letting drivers hop on Microsoft Teams calls while driving. Yes, really. You can use the in-car camera to broadcast your face mid-merge, just no screen sharing (thankfully). It’s launching in the new CLA first, part of a push to make your car a third workspace. Because apparently, two weren’t exhausting enough.
🕵️♀️ Tracked and terrified: A Nebraska woman thought she dropped her AirPods. Instead, she pulled a tracking device from her car, then found four more. The kicker? That’s not illegal in her state. No consent laws, no tracking rules. She installed cameras, caught her ex, and is now pushing to change the law. Here’s what to do if you find one.
13
The number of autonomous vehicle companies Uber now has deals with. It currently counts companies like Waymo, Motional, Baidu, even delivery bots like Nuro, in its Infinity Gauntlet. Uber’s building the whole arena. Baidu alone ran 1.4 million robotaxi rides last quarter in China.
💖 Fastpass to love: You can now find your Disney partner obsession in a new dating app called Single Riders. You can plan park dates, geek out over hidden Mickeys or sing “It’s a small world” together. If Goofy offers you style goals, this one’s for you.
🧠 Fight bots with bots: Getting fake iPhone charge alerts? Sketchy emails pretending to be PayPal? You’re not alone. The good news: PayPal’s new fraud-detecting AI is watching for this stuff in real time, and it’s getting freakishly good at it. Remember, it won’t catch all the scams though.
Batteries that don’t burn: Lithium batteries are super efficient and occasionally super explode-y. But researchers just made a version that stops itself from catching fire. When the battery gets too hot, built-in flame retardants release chemicals that shut down the reaction before it becomes a fireworks show. No flames. No smoke. No 30,000-gallon fire truck cameo. EVs really need this pronto.
0️⃣ Zero, zilch, nada: My privacy secret weapon eliminated spam calls and texts on my phone. Silence feels so good. I negotiated a 60% discount just for you. You’re gonna love it!
1%
That’s the brave percentage of people who actually pay when faced with a paywall. Yea, I don’t either. We harness our energy into searching elsewhere for that kernel of information, or simply throw in the towel.
💾 Old PCs, new problems: If you’re using an older Intel PC with a Gigabyte motherboard, heads up: There’s a new vulnerability that could mess with your system memory. Gigabyte’s pushing out BIOS updates to fix it, but only for certain models. If your board’s too old, their advice is basically “call someone.” Start backing up. And updating. Immediately.
📺 Your TV isn’t a tablet: Here’s a simple rule. Take your TV’s size in inches and multiply it by 1.2 to get the best viewing distance. For example, if you’ve got a 50-inch screen, sit about 60 inches (or 5 feet) back. Now you can binge without straining your eyes.
Copilot can see you: Microsoft just gave Copilot Vision full desktop eyes. Now, instead of peeking at one app, the AI can see everything you’ve got open. Yes, your billion tabs. Just hit the glasses icon and start chatting. You can also trigger it with your voice. It’s like Clippy evolved and learned surveillance tactics.
46%
How much of all U.S. TV use went to streaming in June, topping both cable and broadcast combined. Streaming is eating TV’s lunch, breakfast and dinner. And yes, Netflix is back in its hot girl summer era with 13.5% growth. Traditional TV? It’s giving “landline.”
⚾ Robo-umps at bat: MLB’s All-Star Game is testing robo-umps, and pitchers are having an existential crisis. It’s not C‑3PO calling the game. There’s still a human ump, just with an earpiece feeding real-time calls. Each team gets two ball/strike challenges. Basically a high-tech cheat sheet with zero patience for bad takes.