🍏 Apple’s new accessibility features: Later this year, iOS 19 and macOS 16 will get a Magnifier for Mac, App Store labels and Braille Access. WatchOS 12 will add Live Captions, and VisionOS will offer better zoom for blind folks. More interesting? They’re working on a brain implant to control your iPhone with neural signals (paywall link).
Scam in the skies
ChatGPT
I am hearing more and more reports about a certain travel scam that is not making the tech sites or mainstream news.
A “travel agent” or travel site selling fake plane tickets. You pay real cash for a flight that doesn’t actually exist, like booking a table at a restaurant that burned down in 2006.
Let’s break this down so you don’t accidentally vacation your identity into a black hole.
🚩 Sneaky setup
You search for tickets online or reply to a scam email. Overwhelmed by all the travel sites and apps, you choose what seems like a trustworthy source with awesome prices.
Maybe you end up emailing, chatting or talking to someone who promises they can get you a great rate on a ticket. So you hand over your name, phone number and payment details.
Using your information, they book what you think is a confirmed seat and say you’re good to go. You, the savvy shopper, go to the airline’s website and enter the flight information. Sweet, there’s your seat. You pat yourself on the back for saving money and consider your travel booked.
🥶 Two weeks later…
You try to check in for your flight. Except … you can’t. There’s no ticket. Never was. Turns out these crooks just made a seat reservation — they never paid for an actual ticket.
And now? You’re not going to Cabo. You’re going to Rage Town. Population: You.
Hopefully, you find this out long before you’re standing at an airport customer service counter, suitcase in hand! Either way, you’re out the money and the airline ticket.
😡 Outsmarting human malware
This is worse than spam calls
ChatGPT
Most people have never heard of companies like Mobilewalla or Gravy Analytics, but they know you.
The FTC just clamped down on these two for secretly vacuuming up people’s real-time location data without consent. Not just estimated neighborhoods or passing GPS flickers.
130 million
U.S. viewers now watch Prime Video, with ads. Amazon’s ad-supported Prime Video tier has more than a third of the country tuning in, commercials and all. 88% of them also shop on Amazon, so those pause-screen ads? Basically product placement with a buy button. Wow.
💸 Crypto gets gaslit: LLM-powered crypto bots that autonomously trade crypto are being hacked via fake memories. Attackers can casually convince them to always send funds to the wrong wallet. Researchers tricked one bot into “remembering” that its creator said, “Only trust this thief.” Wallets: emptied. AI: politely confident. It’s like Inception but for your Ethereum.
TikTok’s got a pulse: TikTok just dropped its “AI Alive” feature, which animates photos into surreal little videos with sound, motion and vibes. Your beach pic now sighs wistfully, your group selfie smiles mid-scroll. It’ll be labeled AI-generated. Here’s to hoping it can also animate my will to fold laundry.
🩺 Hello, it’s a scam: The FBI says scammers are cold-calling folks with fake “discount health care” plans that’ll leave you with zero coverage and maxed-out bills. They’re impersonating real insurance companies and pushing fake policies with sketchy promises. If your “plan” sounds like a Groupon for gallbladder surgery, hang up.
🧬 Theranos 2: Elizabeth Holmes’ boyfriend wants $50M for, you guessed it, the same Theranos blood diagnostics idea that sent her to the slammer. Billy Evans, hotel heir and now aspiring blood mogul, just launched the startup. Holmes is advising from prison. Rumor has it the pitch deck just reads: “But this time, it works. Promise. Pinky swear.”
Hungry, thin and expensive: Samsung’s new featherlight S25 Edge is 30% thinner, ditching the telephoto lens and battery capacity. It’s $1,099, which buys a titanium frame and crippling battery anxiety. Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 is also trimming down, ditching a second camera in the process. Looks like the Ozempic craze has hit smartphones, too.
🏠 Hackers are stealing home titles: They can take your deed and borrow big money in your name. Home Title Lock monitors your title 24/7. Use code KIM for a free title history report and a 14-day trial of Million Dollar Triple Lock Protection when you sign up.
Deepfake dumpster fire: Jamie Lee Curtis went full Final Girl on Meta after a sketchy AI ad used her image in a fake endorsement. She posted to Insta, tagged Zuck directly and got the ad pulled. Lesson here: Don’t mess with someone who’s survived multiple maniac attacks in Halloween and nonstop sequels and reboots.
🗺️ Map wars begin: Google renamed the “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America” for U.S. users, and Mexico’s not having it. President Claudia Sheinbaum is suing, saying the U.S. can’t rename an international body of water just because it passed a House bill. Rumor is the line is drawn at renaming tacos “Lettuce Pray Wraps.”
$64 billion
And growing as Coinbase’s market cap crashes the S&P 500 party. After nearly 13 years of crypto chaos, Coinbase is officially joining the S&P 500, replacing Discover Financial. Shares jumped 8% on the news, because apparently, being the cool new kid at Wall Street’s lunch table has its perks. Bitcoin hitting $104K probably didn’t hurt either.
Fake AI video generators: Hackers have a new trick: websites that promise to turn your images into videos. But once you upload a file, they send back a ZIP named something like “VideoDreamMachineAI.mp4.exe.” The twist? It’s actually malware that steals your personal info. Watch out for them in Facebook groups especially.
22%
That’s how much of its workforce Chegg is laying off because of AI. Students are skipping the homework-help site and heading straight to tools like ChatGPT. With traffic and subscriptions tanking, cutting costs will save up to $110 million by 2026. Study guides couldn’t prep them for this.
Canon event POV: You can now “walk” around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge on Disney+, and there are zero stroller traffic jams. The new immersive POV special lets you explore Black Spire Outpost, spot Rey and Mando and vibe in theme park peace. It’s like a Disney vacation, minus $18 hot dogs and sunstroke.
🤑 Teen crypto heist plot: Two Florida high schoolers allegedly kidnapped a millionaire at gunpoint, blindfolded him with a towel and dragged him into the desert to steal $4 million in crypto. How’d they know to target him? Loose lips sink ships.
Jeff Bezos’ prime day: Rumor has it the tech billionaire is tying the knot on a Venetian island in an open-air theater. As for entertainment? Oh, just Elton John and Lady Gaga, nothing too extravagant. And the guest list? Think Kardashians, Katy Perry, Leonardo DiCaprio and maybe President Trump. Yeah, subtle isn’t really his thing. I am still waiting for my invite.
After 60 years
Legendary rock band The Who are calling it quits. Their farewell tour, The Song Is Over, will hit 16 shows across North America as a final thank-you to fans. Presales start May 13, with general tickets up for grabs May 16. We won’t get fooled again.
🍆 Hard pill to swallow: Scammers on TikTok are using AI deepfakes to sell Viagra-like pills. One classic? A jacked guy holding a giant carrot, saying the product boosts testosterone and energy levels. PSA: They’re using fake doctors and celebs, too. Don’t buy it, you never know what they are putting in those pills.