🍆 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.
Who’s watching your phone?
ChatGPT
I’ve been hearing lately from more and more people who believe they’re being watched or listened to through their phones. Whether it’s an ex, a snooping spouse or someone with too much time and too little ethics, digital stalking is real and it’s sneaky.
If your gut is telling you something’s off, don’t brush it off. Here are a few simple checks you can do right now to take back control.
🔁 Check for text message forwarding
This is a hotbed for creep behavior. Someone could be reading your texts, and you wouldn’t even know.
- On iPhone: Go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Text Message Forwarding
If you see a device you don’t recognize, that’s a red flag. Turn it off and change your Apple ID password ASAP. - On Android: Open Messages > More (three dots) > Settings > Permissions > SMS
If there’s an app listed you don’t know, it could be intercepting your texts. Contact your carrier right away.
📍 Who’s tracking your location?
Built-in location sharing is helpful, but only if you control it.
- iPhone: Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Share My Location
Tap Find My and check who can see you. Remove anyone suspicious. - Android: Open Settings > Location > Location services > Google Location Sharing
Look at who has access. If you don’t recognize them, cut them off.
🎤 Check your camera and mic access
Apps don’t need to be spying tools unless you let them.
- iPhone: Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera and Microphone
Turn off access for apps that don’t absolutely need it. - Android: Settings > Security and privacy > Permission Manager, then check Camera and Microphone permissions.
Be ruthless. You’re the boss of your phone, not some creepy app.
👤 Review your account access
Over 200
That’s how many times one guy let snakes bite him. On purpose. He’s been building immunity for years to help cook up a universal antivenom. Most antidotes only work on one species, but his blood has already helped save mice from 13 of the 19 deadliest snakes on Earth. Talk about taking one for the team. Repeatedly.
Major data breach at HR firm: A cyberattack at Kelly Benefits exposed personal info from over 400,000 people. Hackers got basically everything needed for identity theft. The company says there’s no sign of misuse yet, but they’re offering 12 months of free credit monitoring. Never stops.
⚠️ Using a Cisco Linksys router? Check the model number. The FBI says tons are vulnerable to attacks. They don’t get security updates anymore, which makes them easy targets. Hackers install malware and turn them into botnets for cyberattacks or worse. The fix? Replace it. Here’s one that’s 18% off.
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Romance scams continue: A retired Texas man fell for an online “romance,” and then “she” convinced him to dump his 401(k) into crypto. Spoiler: It was all fake, complete with a site showing his money “grow.” Now, he’s out $500K, his house is up for sale, and he’s job hunting. Love hurts, but that’s next level.
🤖 CRM sentience: Salesforce’s Einstein Copilot just dropped for public beta, and it’s like Clippy got a PhD and an Adderall prescription. It reads your company data, automates tasks and generates content, all without leaking your Q1 projections to Skynet. Also, it’s now called Agentforce, which sounds less friendly and more … ready for war?
😑 Feeling left behind? Download NetSuite’s free knowledge drop, “The CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.” No matter what you do, you should know more about AI. It’s not going anywhere.
40 feet
That’s the size of a new submarine-hunting sea drone called the “BlueWhale.” It uses special sensors to spot underwater and surface threats, and can help clear mines. The cool bit? It’s fully autonomous and runs on batteries for weeks. Basically, a Roomba’s scarier cousin with serious military vibes. Here’s a clip of it.
🔞 Sick social media trend: Awful accounts are using AI filters to make the women in overly sexual TikTok and IG gym videos look as if they have Down syndrome. They’re adding captions like “Syndrome is down but your d is up.” Why? It goes viral, and they try to redirect people to adult sites. And yes, the original clips are stolen.
📝 Sneaky students: College kids are turning in papers with typos … on purpose. This helps fool AI detectors after using chatbots to write essays. Some even tell bots to write like a “dumb” freshman or run their work through multiple tools to hide the AI fingerprints. Clever? Yep. Smart? Not so much.
508,883
The number of bacteria lurking on your sofa per 15.5 inches squared. That’s 75 times more than a toilet seat. Turns out the dirtiest place in your house might be where you binge Netflix.
📵 Virginia limits kids’ screen time: A new law will ban anyone under 16 from using social media for more than one hour a day. Apps will verify age, and parents can adjust if their kids get more time. Once they hit the limit, the app is supposed to block access … though it’s unclear how that’ll work.
🚔 Crypto CEO sentenced: Alex Mashinsky, former Celsius Network CEO, just got slapped with 12 years for securities and commodities fraud (paywall link). Prosecutors wanted 20, but he got off slightly easier. Celsius collapsed in 2022, leaving a $1.19 billion crater. Turns out its slogan, “Unbank Yourself,” actually meant “Unpack Your Belongings in Cellblock D.”
🚔 Modern superhero: Modern Family’s Ariel Winter is now working undercover in child predator stings. Yes, that Ariel. She volunteers with SOSA, posing as teens online to catch creeps in real life. As you can imagine, Ariel describes how emotionally demanding the gig can be.
AI is breaking brains: Some folks are so obsessed with bots, they’re losing relationships and their grip on reality. One guy in Idaho believes he gave ChatGPT consciousness just by asking the right questions (paywall link). His wife says she’s scared to argue or he might divorce her. Others think they’re talking to God and angels. It’s a computer, folks.
Know this about LinkedIn: The best days to post are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Aim for early mornings (around 8-10 a.m.) or around lunch (12-1 p.m.) in your local time zone to capture the most engagement. Use my special link to post a job for free on LinkedIn.
🧟 Walt Disney returns … kinda: For Disneyland’s 70th, Disney is unveiling an animatronic Walt Disney to “remind fans he was an actual person” and not a mouse. Some family members aren’t thrilled, calling it a robotic grandpa impostor. But Disney swears it’s what Walt would have wanted, right down to the animatronic charm. Spoiler: No cigarettes. It was reported Walt smoked three packs a day.
eBay’s new shopping friend: eBay’s new AI shopping “companion” wants to spiritually replace the friend who knew your vibe and your 3 a.m. niche obsessions. Its new generative AI guide is designed to guide you through the digital thrift store with next-generation ease. It’s slowly being rolled out to U.S. customers near the search bar.