Criminals want to get to know your schedule … so they know exactly the right time to attack. Beware of camouflaged cameras recording every time you leave the house.
How to (kindly) ask people not to post your kids on social
A 27-year-old grad student was just caught using pics of real kids on the internet to make AI child porn for pedophiles. Even more disgusting? He worked by request. This story made my skin crawl, and it brings me to a question I’ve been getting more and more often:
“Kim, I don’t want pictures of my kids on social media. How do I tell friends and family not to post them without sounding preachy?”
Your kids, your rules
You’re totally justified in wanting your kids’ faces off the web. It’s a fact creeps scan public accounts looking for kids to prey on. It’s also easier than ever for pedophiles to pose as a kid and groom your child on Snapchat, Roblox — you name it.
There’s also this: Posting your kids to Facebook or Instagram basically gives Meta the thumbs-up for using those images to train their AI models. The law is way behind here. As a parent, it’s up to you to protect your kids.
Keep things drama-free
Save yourself an awkward situation by telling people before a big get-together. Most folks mean well, but they might not know the risks of sharing kids’ photos online, especially if they’re not parents themselves.
- It’s about you, not them. This is for your kids. Use “I” and “we” statements, and don’t tell anyone else how to parent.
- Share your reasoning. Or just send them a link to this story!
- Be clear and firm. Don’t leave any wiggle room on public posting.
- Do it one-on-one. If you have the convo over email or text, do it privately, not in a group message.
I wrote up an example you can copy:
“Hey, I wanted to let you know ahead of time we’d like to keep photos of the kids off the internet for privacy and safety reasons. (We saw some stories that really spooked us!) If you could avoid putting pics of them on social media, we’d really appreciate it!”
If it’s already posted …
Don’t panic. Reach out ASAP and ask them to remove it with a link to the specific post. I’d go with a text; a comment on a public post feels like you’re calling them out.
Ask Kim: 'Is my new online friend tricking me?'
I got a call from Jim in Sacramento about a new friend he met on Facebook. She messaged him out of the blue and they hit it off (just friends, he’s married). Now, she’s introduced him to her aunt, who happens to be great with crypto.
America's drinking water is under attack
Water systems in Kansas, Texas and Pennsylvania have already been hit by hackers in China, Russia and Iran. Plus, clothes that block 5G waves, AI coming to Alexa, and Walmart’s new digital pricing. We also chat with Joseph Cox about his book “Dark Wire,” which is about Anom, the FBI’s secret app used by criminals.
Feature or bug? Criminals’ iPhones are rebooting on their own when seized by the cops, and it’s all tied to a recent iOS 18 security update. Law enforcement is calling it a nightmare when it comes to retrieving evidence. Here’s the issue: When the phone reboots, it defaults to a “Before First Unlock” state. Even if police use third-party tools to try to access the data, they can only get limited information. No word yet on a fix.
$300,000
How much an Alabama woman stole from the church where she worked. Most of the money went toward buying virtual gifts for TikTok creators. She faces up to 20 years in prison. What a mess.
5 texts you must ignore this holiday season
Scammers draw from a bottomless bag of tricks to get you to hand over your money. They dramatically ramp up their actions when there’s a global event or an upcoming holiday. Not even Veterans Day is safe. Tap or click here for a story that proves criminals have no shame.
FBI warning: Crooks are using this new tech support scam
One of the most important parts of my job is making sure you know what criminals and cybercreeps are up to. Enough people fall for this junk — I don’t want you to be a victim, too.
The FBI is warning about tech support scams that robbed folks of a whopping $542 million in just the first half of 2023. It all starts with a notification that looks like it’s from your bank or even the government warning of a computer hack. You guessed it. They’re fake.
😲 The No. 1 show on Netflix right now: “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” dives into the true story of two brothers convicted of murdering their parents in 1996. The newly elected Los Angeles District Attorney says, “I will have to review the confidential prison files for each brother, the transcripts from both trials, and speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel and the victims’ family members. Only then can I make a decision.” I don’t think much will happen at their resentencing hearing on Dec. 11.
Dating app nightmare: A Utah woman matched with a “serial killer in the making” on Tinder. They chatted for months, and she met his parents. For their second date, he brought her to a secluded park for a picnic and stabbed her multiple times. Miraculously, she escaped. When detectives asked him if he would do anything differently, he said, “I’d get a sharper knife.”
$3,000 cellphones
White-collar criminals are shelling out to stay connected in prison. Some are smuggled in by guards and others via drone. A former securities broker who went to prison told Business Insider (paywall link) a box of 50 phones, camouflaged to look like grass, landed in the yard one day.
Major slip-up: A company TikTok, Uber and X hired to verify user identities left admin credentials exposed online for over a year. They process photos of faces and driver’s licenses, a boon for criminals. Yup, a free meal ticket for identity theft. Remember, when you give info to a company, you’re giving it to their vendors, too.
Criminals using Wi-Fi jammers: Police caught an international crime ring staking out marks’ homes. Once the victims left, they used Wi-Fi jammers to disable the house’s Wi-Fi and security systems to rob them. A Chilean gang tried to do the same thing to me, and the Phoenix SWAT team even stormed my house! Worth the watch, promise.
🍯 High-tech honeypot: The FBI wanted to spy on criminals doing business on untraceable phones, so they started a phone company. “Anom” sold encrypted phones that secretly sent copies of every message straight to the FBI. Even Anom’s employees knew they were a part of the sting. Their slogan? “Keep secrets safe!” Ahem, not sure spilling the beans about Anom was a great idea …
🚨 Selfie scam warning: Criminals are combing social media for selfies, and older adults are the main targets. Why? They use your selfies to open fake accounts or access existing ones that use facial biometric tech, all so they can steal your money. Safety checklist: Enable multifactor authentication and keep your social media profiles private.
Careful what you post: Criminals are crawling social media accounts for videos of folks talking. Just 10 seconds is enough for AI tools to rip off your voice to scam loved ones and break into voice-authorized accounts. Come up with a safeword with your family to use if they ever get a distressed-sounding call from “you.”
Trying to sell online? You're a theft target
Criminals no longer need to stake out your house to case it; they can simply browse your online listing.
Flock, the startup that’s all about catching criminals with its license plate cams, finds itself on thin ice, legally. They “forgot” to secure installation permits in Florida, Illinois, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.
How hotel hackers get your info
Are you on a legit hotel website? In just one minute, I cover the tactics criminals use to scam you.
Privacy tip: 5 ways you’re being tracked you must stop right now
Online privacy is an oxymoron. For example, an advertiser ID on your phone is supposed to keep your location anonymous. Are you surprised it doesn’t? Me neither. Tap or click here for steps to see and remove your advertiser ID.