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Identity thieves are coming for your insurance
Midjourney
I was shocked by this stat the other day. The National Insurance Crime Bureau says identity theft–driven insurance fraud is projected to spike 49% by the end of 2025.
Really, insurance fraud?
You see, identity theft isn’t just about someone opening a store credit card or taking a car loan out in your name anymore. Criminals are using stolen info to pull off insurance fraud to quietly file bogus claims that will jack up your premiums and deny you future coverage.
🪪 They’re not amateurs
These scammers are building synthetic identities. Think people made from a mix of real info (like your Social Security number) and fake details. Then they use those ghost identities to buy policies and file false claims to collect the money.
Let me break it down:
- In Iowa, an insurance adjuster allegedly forged clients’ signatures to reroute settlement checks to himself.
- In Texas, a man used his ex-wife’s identity to open an auto policy and pocket all the payouts.
- And NICB warns that synthetic IDs are now being used to file fake life insurance and medical claims that can sit undetected for years. Wow.
🚨 So what if it’s not ‘you’?
Here’s the part no one tells you: Even if the fraud isn’t in your name, it can still come back to bite you.
If someone builds a synthetic ID with your SSN or address, insurance companies may flag you as high risk, especially if there are multiple claims tied to your data. That means higher premiums, denied coverage or even getting dropped altogether.
Trying to untangle that mess? It can take months of fighting with insurers, credit bureaus and law enforcement. In the meantime, you’re stuck with the consequences. This kind of fraud is quiet, invisible and devastating if you don’t catch it early.
That’s why I use NordProtect, a sponsor of my radio show. It monitors your personal info (Social Security number, email, phone number, address, etc.) and watches for signs it’s being used to open insurance policies, take out loans or commit fraud. If something shady pops up, you’re alerted immediately, and Nord guides you through shutting it down fast.
1
The number of parents needed to make some baby iguanas. A female casque-headed iguana at Exotic Zoo in England just gave birth to eight healthy hatchlings without ever meeting a male. The phenomenon, called parthenogenesis, makes the babies genetic clones of mom, one of the rarest events in the animal kingdom. My bet? A very sneaky male iguana.
🚗 Make sure your car’s safe: About 1 in 5 cars on the road have an open recall that hasn’t been fixed. Check yours at the NHTSA website by choosing your state and entering your license plate number or VIN. FYI: You can also search recalls for tire brands and car seats.
⚡ Meta’s new toybox: Zuck is taking the stage tomorrow for Meta Connect, where he’s expected to drop two new smart glasses (one with a tiny display), an $800 Prada tie-in, plus fresh Meta AI bots. No new headsets, but Meta’s VR games, apps and third-party VR gear should get airtime. Think less “metaverse utopia,” more “notifications on your face.”
🚀 Firefly on the moon: A Texas startup just made the second-ever private moon landing. Their Blue Ghost lander is testing heat, dust, drilling and even whether GPS works that far out. You know, “people living up there one day” basics. NASA’s paying companies instead of building everything themselves. Why? It’s cheaper and faster.
📱 Bars from space: So Elon Musk wants Starlink to be your phone provider. Instead of towers, satellites beam calls straight to your pocket. Texts are working now for some. Starlink just locked down spectrum rights from Globalstar, the same radio lanes carriers use. Verizon’s sweating, FCC’s nervous, and you might finally get service in that one Target parking lot black hole.
🔮 Fringe vs. formula: YouTubers and podcasters are stirring up physics drama, asking why the field feels stuck. Eric Weinstein pushes his own theory, Sabine Hossenfelder calls out cowardice, and Joe Rogan treats cosmic debates like UFC fight night. Physicists insist progress is real, but the internet wants receipts on trending hype vs. conspiracy fuel, with the algorithm keeping score.
Over 500 million
That’s how many images have already been edited with Nano Banana. The AI tool is part of Google’s Gemini, which is the #1 iPhone app in the U.S. App Store. The hook? It keeps character likeness and lets you mash multiple pics together, like putting your face into a suit. Try it now on iOS and Android. You can generate or edit up to 100 images per day.
💻 Microsoft doomsday alert: Mark your calendars, November 2025 is when Windows 11 23H2 (Home & Pro) officially stops getting updates. Translation: Your laptop becomes an all-you-can-eat buffet for malware. Enterprise folks get an extra year, but for everyone else, upgrade to 24H2 or roll the dice. Some PCs can’t upgrade because of … audio drivers and wallpaper software. Yes, wallpapers. Unbelievable.
🙂 Don’t worry, be happy: Or just move to Hawaii, Maryland or Nebraska. Those are apparently the three happiest states, where the biggest stress is whether your corn’s tall enough, your crab’s spicy enough or your mai tai’s strong enough. WalletHub crunched 30 metrics (depression, income, job security) and crowned the trio champs of health, wealth and vibes.
⏱️ Pressure’s on: Apple Watches that track hypertension just got FDA approval and start rolling out today. The watch monitors your cardiovascular patterns over 30 days and alerts you if your blood pressure looks like it’s creeping too high. It’s not a replacement for a doctor or a real cuff, but it could be a game changer for the millions who don’t know they’re at risk. The feature is coming to Series 9, Ultra 2 and all future models, and yes, your wrist might just save your life.
A smart tip to help protect your retirement savings: With the economy so unpredictable, I don’t put all my eggs in one basket. I protect a portion of my savings with real gold and silver from Goldco. And right now, Goldco is giving up to 10% back in FREE silver when you open a qualified account.
$725 million
That’s the total Facebook is shelling out for its privacy sins. Payouts depend on how long you were active between 2007 to 2022, so your hardcore FarmVille grinding may finally pay off. Don’t expect much, though. Basically, 15 years of oversharing buys you lunch, not a vacation.
👀 Trading goes social: Robinhood’s turning into a social app. You’ll see verified trades (paywall link) like time stamps and profits. Even follow public moves like Pelosi’s options game or Zuck’s stock moves. Beta’s just 10,000 people early next year. Basically, a social feature for Wall Street gossip making it way too easy to copy.
🦜 Scammers’ new low: Two domestic abuse survivors in Cleveland connected through a Facebook post about a parrot named Precious, hoping the rescue would bring some comfort and healing. But it turned out to be a scam. The so-called rescue used stolen business info to appear legitimate, took their money and disappeared. There’s a special place for scammers targeting people at their most vulnerable.
💬 World’s first telepathic wearable: MIT researchers have built AlterEgo, a headpiece that lets you communicate without speaking. No implant needed, it sits around your ears and uses bone conduction to pick up tiny movements in your mouth, face and vocal cords, then software turns them into words. Imagine what it will do for speech disorders. Amazing.
🚚 See-through Prime: Amazon’s cooking up AR glasses for the masses, but drivers get the beta first. Their version has turn-by-turn directions glowing in the lens. Sure, your package might land three houses over, but at least the driver got to feel like Iron Man on the way. Consumer release? 2027.
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⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Want a YouTube video to play on repeat? On desktop, right-click the video and select Loop. Great for study beats, background music or white noise.