October 1, 2025

The suburban hacker house: She helped North Korea infiltrate American tech

This isn’t a ripped-from-the-headlines new Netflix series. This really happened in a quiet neighborhood called Litchfield Park that’s about a 20-minute drive from Phoenix, Arizona. Christina Chapman, 50, looked like your average middle-aged suburban woman. But inside her humble home? A secret cyber ops center built to help North Korean IT workers buy equipment and […]

September 25, 2025

Meet your financial evil twin

A man named William Woods spent years trying to prove he was … himself. Why? Because another man, Matthew David Keirans, stole his Social Security number and birth certificate, built a whole new life with them and lived under Woods’ identity for decades.  The guy really committed to the bit. Keirans got caught only after […]

September 23, 2025

Meet the scammers driving your neighborhood

Ever get one of those weird texts that says something like, “Your package is waiting” or “Click here to unlock your cash reward”? We all have. Most people figure it’s just a scammy mass text from some sketchy website. You can’t be so sure anymore. What if I told you those shady texts didn’t come […]

September 21, 2025

Saving passwords in your browser? Stop that.

“Hi, Kim, I save all my passwords in my browser. So why do I need a password manager? Thanks for your newsletter. I can tell it’s a lot of work. The quality every single day is incredible.” — Robby in South Carolina Thanks for your question and kind words, Robby. Now, l get this question […]

September 19, 2025

The airlines sold you out

Let’s talk about something no one thinks about when booking a flight: where your travel info really goes. An investigative bombshell from 404 Media just uncovered that the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a company owned by the biggest U.S. airlines, has been giving federal agencies access to passenger records.  No, I’m not talking about flagged […]

September 15, 2025

Identity thieves are coming for your insurance

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. […]

September 9, 2025

VPNs that spy on you

Using a VPN? Better make sure it’s not on this list. VPNs are supposed to keep you safe. They encrypt your internet traffic and hide your location from hackers, ISPs and creepy ad trackers.  But what if the app was secretly collecting browsing data, location, everything you type, anything you do, then selling it all […]

August 31, 2025

Scams are an underground industry

You already know the usual scams. Romance, crypto, tech support, job offers, fake investments, and the list goes on. But what you might not realize is that a growing number of people behind these scams aren’t evil masterminds.  They’re victims, too. Across Southeast Asia, scam compounds have become a massive underground industry. These operations run […]

August 29, 2025

Don’t just freeze, fight back

Ashley in Washington asks: “Kim, do I really need identity theft protection? I used to have LifeLock years ago and dumped it because they constantly were selling me other things. I heard you say on your radio show that you use NordProtect now. Why? How is any of this different than freezing your credit? Love […]

August 26, 2025

New scam trick: Fake sites that look too good

Here’s the newest con in town: Scammers are using AI to clone legit websites, and they’re scary good at it. I’m talking about perfect logos, identical layouts, right down to the fonts and buttons.  The crazy part is that they spin these sites up in minutes. Then, they shove them to the top of Google, […]

August 25, 2025

They buried your opt-out button

This is insane. Like almost cartoon-villain-level shady. Say you’re trying to delete your personal information from some shady data broker’s website that’s selling your data to advertisers, marketing companies, stalkers, coworkers or anyone else with the money.  But when you search for their opt-out page on Google? Nothing pops up on the results page. Did […]

August 20, 2025

Schools spy on kids even at home

School is back in session, but here’s something no one told you at orientation: Your kids may have more eyes on them than just their teachers’. Even if you don’t have kids in school, you really need to know about this. A new study from UC San Diego uncovered what’s really going on with those […]

August 17, 2025

AI meets true crime

In late November 1987, Nashville police got a call about a revolting stench on Charlotte Avenue. What they found under a dirt-floor crawl space shocked even the most hardened crime scene veterans: two decomposing bodies, buried and forgotten beneath a broken-down home. The address traced back to James Shaffer, a convicted rapist already serving time […]

August 16, 2025

The new scams that know you by name

Ever get a text that feels … a little too real? You know the ones: “Your account has been locked. Click here to verify.” Most of us roll our eyes and delete them.  But the new generation of scams? They’re scarier and a whole lot smarter. 📱 Smishing goes high-tech In the past month, investigators […]

August 12, 2025

The sound police are coming for ya

Look at that picture. What we’ve got here is not just another traffic camera, but a fully deputized decibel detective. Meet the sound police. These new noise cameras are the cousins of speed and red-light cameras, but instead of catching you with a heavy foot, they’re busting you for a heavy exhaust.  No radar guns […]

August 11, 2025

🎥 She rang his doorbell. Smiled. Took his bank card. Then drained his bank account.

Scott Merovitch did everything right, or so he thought. A longtime Wells Fargo customer, he got a call that seemed totally legit. The person on the line knew his recent transactions. They said his debit card had been compromised and the bank needed to send someone to his house to collect it.  A woman actually […]

August 10, 2025

Old-school static wins the spy wars

This is one of the coolest things I’ve learned recently: Foreign intelligence agencies still use good ol’ radio to share top secrets. Even with all the powerful tech at their fingertips, radio use in espionage has actually gone up in popularity since the 2010s. Pretty wild. Russia in particular loves this technique. Why? Intelligence agencies […]

August 7, 2025

Privacy report card: Which AI flunked

AI bots are our digital sidekicks. They’ve helped me write emails faster, plan my vacations, you name it. But the more we share, the more these bots learn about us. That can come back to bite you. Let’s lock down your data before your secrets become someone else’s payday. 🤖 Hall of shame Not all […]

🚨 You must read this before your next Uber ride

⚠️ Warning: This story contains details about sexual assault that may be disturbing. I know two women who were raped by an Uber driver. That’s not hearsay or a story I read online. They trusted the ride, believed the app was safe and paid the price in the most horrific way possible. Now, The New […]

August 6, 2025

Your EV battery knows where you’ve been even if GPS is off

You already know your smartphone tracks your every move like a jealous ex. And your car? Duh, it’s been watching you since Bluetooth became a thing.  Here’s the shocker: Researchers at MIT just revealed that your EV battery alone can quietly map your life without GPS, Wi-Fi or cell signals.  Before you even think, “Kim, […]