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Digital cash, physical threat
ChatGPT
Picture this: You’re worth millions in crypto. You think your money’s safe because it’s digital, anonymous and locked up behind a strong password. But there’s one security hole you didn’t count on, your physical body.
That’s exactly what happened in a terrifying case out of New York City.
Two men allegedly kidnapped a crypto investor and held him captive for weeks in a luxury town house. Why? To beat the password out of him. It’s called a “$5 wrench attack” by insiders.
Kidnapped for crypto
According to The Wall Street Journal, Michael Carturan, with $30 million in crypto, walked into a Soho town house expecting a pitch meeting … and left 25 days later barefoot and traumatized.
The goal? Force him to unlock his Bitcoin wallet. Kidnapped. Held hostage. Tortured, yes, even threatened with a chain saw, until he gave up his wallet info.
This isn’t a plot from a Netflix thriller, it’s real life. And it’s a terrifying new way criminals are going after digital riches.
Carturan finally escaped barefoot into the street, flagged down an NYPD officer and lived to tell the tale.
Two suspects were caught, including (because this story wouldn’t be complete otherwise) a former crypto CEO.
This isn’t just one wild story
It’s happening more than you might think.
A Connecticut couple cruising around in their Lamborghini get kidnapped. Six guys grab them not because they’re flashy but because they thought the couple’s son was sitting on a fortune in crypto. Federal prosecutors say the plan was to hold them for ransom.
184 million accounts just leaked, yours could be next
ChatGPT
Hackers just hit a massive jackpot: 184 million accounts across Apple, Google and Microsoft were exposed in a sweeping data breach. I’m talking email addresses, usernames, passwords, device info (the whole buffet), now up for grabs on the dark web.
2 years and 182 days
That’s the age of the youngest-ever Mensa member. To qualify, you need an IQ of at least 132, which puts you in the top 2% globally. Joseph said his first word at 7 months and read his first book out loud by 1¾ years. By 5, he’ll be building an AI bot to replace his parents.
💬 Add and view Instagram captions: Want auto-captions on your story? Tap the (+) icon, upload your video, then tap the Stickers icon and select Captions. To see captions on other people’s stories and reels, go to your Profile > Menu > Settings and activity > Accessibility > Captions, then toggle on Always show closed captions.
🚀 The Force encrypts: The CIA apparently ran a fake Star Wars site to secretly talk with spies around the world. It had R2-D2 pics and everything. But behind the scenes? Informants would enter a password in the search bar to open a secret chat with their CIA handler. And yes, it’s been shut down.
🩺 AI at your next doctor visit: I told you about this six months ago, and mainstream media is catching up. Doctors are starting to use ambient listening tech that records your conversations. It filters out small talk, then writes notes and updates medical records. Pretty handy, since paperwork can drop from 90 minutes to under 30 (paywall link). But uh, imagine if that data gets breached.
Rural internet sucks: That’s why states like Louisiana and Nevada are spending millions on satellites instead (paywall link). Fiber is pricey and takes forever to build, so you can bet Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper are smiling ear to ear. The catch? Slower speeds and more outages. But hey, it’s better than nothing.
🚨 Don’t fall for it: Scammers are posting AI videos on TikTok promising free versions of Microsoft Office and Spotify. All you had to do? Run a short line of code. Plot twist: It installed malware that could steal your passwords and credit card info. And with no links involved, it was harder to detect.
Grad name reads go full robo: Pace NY grads scanned QR codes at graduation, then heard their names announced by an AI voice that sounded like a sentient Waze app. Phonetic accuracy? Maybe. Vibes? Students compared it to checkout somewhere between dystopia and Duane Reade. Four years of debt, and Alexa stole your thunder.
⚠️ iPhone alert: Data experts say you should update to iOS 18.5 ASAP to patch a nasty bug. Hackers could access your personal files just by sending you a malicious image. If you’ve got an iPhone XS or newer, go to Settings > General > Software Update and tap Download and Install. Don’t wait!
2.4 billion
That’s how many times people visited Zillow in just three months. Why? Because daydreaming is cheaper than buying. Only 4 million homes were actually sold last year, but that didn’t stop everyone and their mom from house-hunting from the couch. Zillow’s not just a listing site; it’s the new social media, where “cozy” means claustrophobic and “as-is” means “run.” When it comes to board games about buying real estate, Hasbro really has the Monopoly.
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🏃🏼♂️ Fake it ’til you jog it: There’s now an app called Fake My Run that lets you draw made-up jogging routes and upload them to Strava like you’re a cardio god. Inspired by “Strava mules” (yes, people pay others to run for them), the app’s developer says it’s a comment on running’s toxic clout-chasing culture. I was running down the street where the houses were numbered, 64k, 128k, 256k, 512k and 1MB. What a trip down memory lane!
🐶 Puppies vs. cancer: A biotech company is developing a home test to detect cancer using specially trained dogs and AI. You breathe into a mask for three minutes, mail it back and the pups sniff for signs of cancer while AI tracks their reactions. Does it work? Clinical trials showed 94% accuracy. They ain’t woofin’ around.
🗣️ Claude found its voice: Claude Free just leveled up with two new features: voice mode and web search. Now you can talk to Claude like it’s your AI roommate: Ask it to summarize your day, fetch docs, even send emails. And yes, it finally joined the “can Google stuff” club. Bonus: All this without paying a cent; well, you are paying with your data.
$9 billion
That’s how much fraud Apple says it’s blocked since 2019. The App Store stopped more than $9 billion in shady transactions over five years, with over $2 billion just last year. Add in nearly 2 million rejected apps and 711 fake customer accounts, Apple’s basically going full “you shall not pass” mode.
🍎 Apple’s rebranding its software: Leaks say instead of iOS 18, you’ll soon see iOS 26. Same goes for macOS 26, iPadOS 26, watchOS 26 and more (paywall link). The goal? To cut down on confusion and unify the branding, since some of the OS versions use different numbers. We’ll hear more at their developers conference starting June 9.
Phishing got a glow-up: Scam emails used to scream “Nigerian prince” with typos galore. Now, AI makes them sound more legit than your actual bank. No weird phrasing, no broken English: just a well-written lie in your inbox. Even tiny languages like Icelandic aren’t safe. Slow down reading your email, and don’t jump to act.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: In Facebook Messenger, type @everyone to notify everyone in the chat. It’s great for urgent messages.