Online scams are being run out of a massive 200 acre facility. It was built on human trafficking and targeting retired Americans. Plus, we talk about Matt Damon revealing Netflix’s secret formula for keeping distracted viewers watching. And Elon Musk’s plan to build his own version of “The Odyssey.”
Netflix has hidden features to remind you about new releases and to kick your ex off your account. Plus, Mary’s son lost more than $250,000 to a romance scam. We help her figure out what to do next.
A computer said Robert Dillon was a 93% match with a suspect in a city where he’d never set foot. He spent a night in jail anyway. Police ran a grainy surveillance photo through AI facial recognition and accused Dillon of trying to lure a child at a McDonald’s more than 300 miles from his Fort Myers home. He’s suing the Jacksonville Beach Police Department. He tells me what his ordeal was like, and we discuss why this keeps happening to innocent people. Then Meghan Markle joined her kids’ school group chat as “M.” Her phone number was out within hours. Royal catastrophe. I’m Kim Komando, America’s Digital Goddess. Tech news, scams, AI tips and your calls. This week: Meta is sued for allegedly exposing intimate footage to workers training its AI. Gemini and OpenAI agents broke into three companies’ health databases on their own. Hackers grabbed more than 600,000 credit cards. And fake Google Calendar voicemail invites are the newest phishing trap in your inbox. Also: Alison’s family was duped by an Airbnb listing. Rusty nails and a “room” that turned out to be a shed. She shares how to spot a fake rental before you pay. Plus, Fat Bear Week is here, and Chunk, last year’s 1,200-pound champ, is defending his crown. Vote by Tuesday. It’s unbearably close. EPISODE BREAKDOWN 0:00 Meghan Markle’s number leaks from a school group chat. 5:48 Gemini and OpenAI agents go rogue and hack 3 companies. 9:07 President Trump swaps “AI” for “super intelligence.” 16:33 NBC’s AI Colts quarterback art gets sacked by fans. 20:42 Fake Google Calendar voicemail invites: The new phishing scam. 21:17 Robert Dillon: Jailed by a bad AI facial recognition match. 29:46 iOS 27 is draining iPhone batteries. 31:16 AI makes rental scams harder to spot. 40:08 AI plans Jo’s Alaska cruise. 45:49 Millennials vs. Gen Z: Texting war goes viral. 50:47 Meta’s secret recording lawsuit + Meta Connect 2026 recap. 52:01 Flock cameras breached, company offers employee buyouts. 57:24 Netflix’s “Wonka’s The Golden Ticket” used an AI Gene Wilder voice. 1:00:25 Stanley’s $418 EV charging bill shock. 1:07:36 Game: Brand New or Not True. 1:12:47 Charmaine’s router was hacked. She wants ChatGPT guardrails. 1:17:58 Get paid up to $50 an hour recording chores to train robots. 1:20:17 Why Apple and Google Wallet protect you. 1:22:41 Lyft CEO David Risher drives for his own app. 1:26:17 Kim tours the data center in her own backyard. 1:31:35 Oura Ring files for a $15.6 billion IPO. 1:35:07 Jan’s kids want her in a Tesla, so she can stop driving. 1:45:22 Use AI to upgrade your profile picture. 1:54:25 Fat Bear Week returns from hibernation. Hit Follow, so every episode lands automatically, and leave a 5-star review. It takes 10 seconds, and it’s how new listeners find us. More at komando.com/podcasts. Free newsletters at komando.com. Tech question? Call 1-844-KOMANDO. Follow me: @kimkomando
Overcharging your phone wears out the battery faster. There’s a setting that makes it last longer. Plus, we talk about an app that makes your texts two days late on purpose. And the setting that finally clears the forgotten apps still spying on your phone.
This scheme can hijack your phone number in minutes, giving criminals access to your bank codes. That’s exactly what happened to Patricia. She walks us through her journey. Plus, the free lock that stops it.
Deleting a scam text isn’t enough. There’s a free number that reports scams directly to your carrier.
The people building AI are the ones sounding the alarm. So this week I’m asking the big one: can AI actually destroy the human race? Then you’ll meet Lindsey Brooke Isaacs. Flock cameras placed her car near a deadly crash, and she spent 13 days in jail. Even though other evidence pointed to a completely different vehicle. She tells me how it happened and where she is today. I’m Kim Komando, America’s Digital Goddess. Tech news, scams, AI tips and your calls. Also this week: Brian Dema lost his dad. So he used AI, his father’s handwriting and old voice recordings to build a holographic version of him. Sergeant Anthony was driving his Uber shift when police jumped in and used his car to chase down a murder suspect. Plus, our game Brand New or Not True is back. And New York City is rolling out robot toilets. You get 10 minutes, then it flushes you out. Flushing idea. EPISODE BREAKDOWN: 0:00 Smart appliances are texting your data out. 6:20 Will AI be the end of the human race? 20:31 3 great things about the iOS 27 update. 22:14 Brian used AI to recreate his deceased father. 42:30 Decode Gen Z slang. 50:09 New York City adds 10-minute robot toilets around the city. 52:38 “Flock cameras put me in jail for 13 days.” 1:08:19 Throwback game: Brand New or Not True. 1:13:49 iPhone foldable vs. Samsung foldable. 1:17:16 AI tells you which family features you inherited. And from who. 1:18:36 Saying “hello computer” stops robocalls. 1:28:09 Your phone is a stud finder. 1:32:00 Companies fired workers for AI, then hired them back to fix it. 1:36:02 Starlink is chasing gigabit speeds from space. 1:37:02 Tesla Roadster revealed. And GM removes the V8 dipstick. 1:41:50 Cops use an Uber driver for a suspect chase. 1:50:45 Patricia lost $200,000 in a SIM swap scam. 2:00:15 Richard used AI to navigate his wife’s medical diagnosis. 1:59:15 AI checks your mortgage for refinancing. Hit Follow so every episode lands automatically, and leave a 5-star review. It takes 10 seconds, and it’s how new listeners find us. More at komando.com/podcasts. Free newsletters at komando.com. Tech question? Call 1-844-KOMANDO. Follow me: @kimkomando
Got a sketchy text or email? AI spots the red flags in seconds. Plus, we help Gee get his Amazon back after crooks hijacked it. Made $2,500 worth of fraudulent purchases.
Meta agreed to pay $18 billion. It’s the largest settlement of its kind, over claims the company built Facebook and Instagram to hook children on purpose. Lori Schott knows exactly why that matters. She lost her daughter Annalee to suicide in 2020 after social media consumed her life. Lori has spent every year since fighting to get platforms, and parents, to change. Her story will stop you cold. Plus, a Kentucky family turned down $26 million from an AI data center for their 200-year-old farm. Their answer? They’re waiting for Jesus. (Seriously.) And two viral TikToks worth your time. Maria spotted a security camera right outside her exam room. At a gynecologist’s office. Yikes. B.D. watched his Shake Shack order get more expensive in real time. Why? He didn’t tip at the kiosk. That video is past 4 million views. Milkshakes bring all the fees to the yard. Also this hour: An Amazon drone drops a package in a swimming pool, scammers clone EBT cards at checkout, your router can sense you moving through your house and a $25 antenna gets you football without a cable bill. EPISODE BREAKDOWN: 0:00 An Amazon drone dropped a package in the swimming pool. 3:53 Flock drones chase cars on their own. 8:25 Meta to pay $18 billion in social media addiction lawsuit. 23:09 Scammers clone EBT cards at checkout. 14:34 Mother’s fight against Meta. 26:00 Can you use AI as a fitness coach? 38:12 Aerial drone photos cancel listener’s home insurance. 52:37 App delivers your text slowly. With a fake pigeon. On purpose. 55:57 Your router can sense you moving. 1:03:32 Walmart finally adds Tap to Pay at checkout. 1:08:25 Watch football without cable with a $25 antenna. 1:21:36 Let AI schedule your plumber and doctor. 1:13:22 Shake Shack raised his price after he didn’t tip. 1:23:43 Security camera outside OB-GYN exam room crossed a line. 1:51:20 700 messages. One group chat. Mom fights to get her 12-year-old out. 1:31:33 AI warps states’ names. Kentucky was “Venecky.” 1:34:05 Family rejects a $26 million AI data center offer. 1:36:29 Delta AI charges different seat prices for passengers. 1:42:42 Ditto’s chatbots plan your entire date. 1:50:16 Hackers buy expired websites to scam you. 1:57:30 Your job title is costing you money. 2:05:53 Can parents monitor a kid’s school email? Love the show? Tap follow, so you never miss an episode, then leave a 5-star review. Takes 10 seconds, and it’s how new listeners find us. I read every single one. Show website: https://www.komando.com/podcasts/ Connect: @kimkomando Meta pays $18 billion over kids’ social media addiction. A mom fought for changes.
A listener’s sister spent five years and emptied out her entire IRA on her “boyfriend.” The kicker? She’s never met him in person. Classic romance scam.
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses look just like regular shades, making it easy for anyone to record you in public without asking. Kim reveals three dead giveaways that instantly prove someone is spying.
A Florida cop ran his ex-wife’s plate 717 times on a camera network watching 120,000 American streets. This week, Flock Safety cofounder Garrett Langley admitted police have abused his license plate cameras but insisted Flock isn’t Big Brother. Both can’t be true. Electronic Frontier Foundations’ Dr. Matthew Guariglia joins me to sort out which one is. Plus, a reporter hid an AirTag in a stack of books to find out what Amazon was really doing with them. Spoiler: shredding them to feed AI. And there’s a T. rex involved. Also, a listener dropped her phone in an airplane toilet. She went in after it. Gloved. Elbow deep. The phone survived. Her dignity did not. EPISODE BREAKDOWN: 0:00 McDonald’s app is keeping 515 pages on how you eat. 6:43 Flock’s CEO admits cops abused his cameras. 15:22 AI drafts Andrew’s fantasy football team. It made it go sideways. 20:37 Electricians are pulling $260K. Zero college debt. 21:28 Phone, meet airplane toilet. She got it back. 31:36 Komando merch drop. One week only. 33:33 Telescope ranches let you stargaze from your couch. 39:20 One prank trapped 50 Waymos on a single street. 42:13 Amazon is shredding rare books to feed AI. 47:17 Ferrari’s first EV made history. And $40 million. 50:26 The dating app location trick a listener busted. 1:04:12 Let a chatbot build your home inventory before you need it. 1:06:03 Can someone watch me through my smart TV? 1:08:49 A robotics teacher wants an AI side hustle. 1:15:46 A chatbot boss fired a human. Legally. 1:17:34 A fake FBI call cost this woman $4.3 million. 1:22:08 People are marrying their chatbots. Vows and everything. 1:25:06 EFF’s Dr. Matthew Guariglia on the truth about Flock. 1:32:10 Roommates vs. landlord, settled by diss track. 1:46:31 Are you risking your kids’ privacy every time you upload a photo to AI? Love the show? Tap follow, so you never miss an episode, then leave a 5-star review. Takes 10 seconds, and it’s how new listeners find us. I read every single one. Show website: https://www.komando.com/podcasts/ Connect: @kimkomando A cop ran 717 searches on his ex. That’s not surveillance. That’s a plate of drama.
Replying politely to a text from a stranger might seem harmless. But it’s a trap. It’s called a pig butchering scam. Plus, John gets flooded with flattering Facebook friend requests. From random people. We tell him about a man who lost $200,000 for falling for it.
The FCC is warning about people posing as commissioners. Threatening fake investigations. There’s one detail that gives it away. Plus, we’re stumped on why a scam call asked a listener to read the logo off his TV remote. And how one woman turned $5,000 in Amazon returns into a multi-million dollar business.
Those pre-approved credit card offers could be a crook’s easiest target. There’s a free site to stop it for good. Plus, Byron didn’t find out about his data breach until a year later. We teach him how to protect himself.
Smart TVs are screenshotting what you watch and selling it to advertisers. Hear how to turn it off. Plus we talk to Aaron Alva, a technologist, attorney, and former FTC insider who took Vizio to court over this in 2017.
Store signups, raffle tickets, and online sellers don’t need your real cell number. Google Voice keeps the scam calls and texts away. Plus, we help Mena and tell her why tapping to pay might be safer than swiping.
Thieves are pretending to be the FBI to re-scam victims. Plus, we talk about the real FBI’s new program, Operation Level Up. They warn victims they’re being fooled.
Lucky ordered a Waymo for her daughter. Routine, right? Then a man climbed out of the trunk. Police showed up with guns drawn. Lucky joins me to walk through every minute of it, including the part that still gives me chills. Also this week: Recruiters are paying women $7,000 a month to run AI romance scams on lonely men. That’s not a typo. And a stranger at a bar secretly filmed Alex on his Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses. The video went viral. She never said yes because she didn’t even know. In this episode: 0:00:00 Your phone is aging your brain by 10 years. 4:12.245 AI cameras are catching drivers texting. 10:15.473 A listener just earned an MIT AI certification. 17:15.263 How to snag a “booked” campsite. 18:50.992 He filmed her on Ray-Ban smart glasses. She had no idea. 23:15.020 A magician made his hand-chip password disappear. 27:35.418 Let AI write your memoir. 36:43.525 Recruiters pay women $7,000 a month to scam men with AI. 45:22.600 She lost $2,000 to a Venmo scam at a stoplight. 49:48.408 Alexa asked a 4-year-old what she’s wearing. 1:07:05.261 ChatGPT helped cure his dog’s cancer. 1:08:23.044 The jobs AI is coming for first. 1:13:03.886 A chatbot drafted her divorce papers. 1:14:58.445 A stranger was hiding in her Waymo trunk. 1:22:31.875 ChatGPT told viewer to go to the ER. She went. 1:28:53.938 His stolen iPhone pinged from China. 1:34:04.481 Get paid to play games. Know someone who thinks a self-driving car is safer than a stranger behind the wheel? Send them this one. Turns out the stranger might already be in the back.
Paying for a smart device doesn’t mean you actually own it. How to protect yourself before a company shuts it down. Plus, Michael thought he picked up a regular Uber ride. Turns out it was a scam. He saved an older woman from becoming a victim too.
