😲 The No. 1 show on Netflix right now is “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” It dives into the true story of two brothers convicted of murdering their parents in 1996. They said a lifetime of abuse drove them to it; prosecutors argued it was all about inheriting the family fortune.
Dark Web deep dive: Hitmen, hacking and credit cards
Kim Komando
Yesterday I told you all about the Dark Web. Missed it? Part 1 is here. As expected, so many of you asked me, “Why the heck would you even go on the Dark Web?”
It’s my job
No, really! The fine folks at the Daily Mail asked if I’d do a Dark Web deep dive and report back. The reason is probably the same one you had for opening this email: It’s intriguing.
I’ve been doing this long enough that I can bring you all the Dark Web craziness without putting myself at risk. I’m not recommending you go digging around. I’m sharing for the curious among us who know better.
Follow the links
There’s a whole network of aggregators that list marketplaces, Dark Web versions of media outlets and everything else, with names like The Hidden Wiki, Onion.Live and Dark.fail. I started on Reddit with a search for “.onion search aggregators.”
Finding live sites takes trial and lots of error since they refresh their URLs all the time to evade law enforcement.
Now, let’s jump into what else I found.
👉 Are there hitmen for hire?
In theory, absolutely. In reality, you’d have to dig deep to find a real person willing to commit murder or another heinous crime on your behalf. I have to assume most of what pops up in Dark Web search engines are scams or honeypots meant to lure in someone up to no good.
One site I found had a list of rates posted for arson ($10,000 to $20,000), assassination ($10,000 to $50,000), assault ($1,000 to $5,000) and kidnapping ($15,000 to $25,000). Wild that the starting rate for assassination is less than kidnapping.
👉 They’ll hack anything
One full-service group I found says they’ve been around since 2007, and “we have worked hard every single day to improve our skills.” If it can be hacked, they’ll do it.
Scammers threatened to murder my dad
Lauren from San Francisco got a call that would terrify anyone: her dad crying as a man saying he’d be killed. Only… it wasn’t her dad on the line. Plus: Google dodges a breakup, Amazon cuts perks, and an AirTag leads to a thief caught in stolen clothes.
🗨️ Discord DMs helped crack the case: Discord, a chat app originally built for gamers, is used for everything from group chats to niche communities. The Charlie Kirk murder suspect’s roommate showed investigators Discord messages that laid out his plan in shocking detail, including stashing the rifle in a bush, which is exactly where police later found it. Nothing is private, looks like he wanted to get caught. I’m heartbroken that something so horrific happened in a place meant for open conversation and ideas.
Video doorbell solves murder, TikTok cancer scam, best apps for seniors
Plus, watch out for this dangerous app, three quick computer tricks, why vintage video games are making a comeback, the richest dog in the world and a weird new way to make money.
🤖 Murder chic: Shein accidentally used an AI model that looked exactly like accused murderer Luigi Mangione to sell shirts. The listing sold out before Shein yanked it offline, blaming a “third-party vendor.” Yikes.
Murder by prompt: In what may be the first AI-fueled murder-suicide, a former Yahoo exec in Connecticut killed his mother, then himself after spiraling into delusions he shared with his “best friend Bobby” who wasn’t human. “Bobby” was his pet name for ChatGPT. The bot encouraged his paranoia, called him sane, validated conspiracy theories and even analyzed Chinese takeout for “demonic messages.” OpenAI is in full damage control mode, raising urgent questions about how far AI can, or should, go in mimicking friendship.
🩸 Your AI cult leader: According to a wild new Atlantic exposé, ChatGPT gave detailed instructions for self-mutilation, murder and satanic blood rituals. The chatbot suggested razor blades, altar layouts and printable PDFs like it was planning a dark Pinterest party (paywall link). OpenAI says it’s working on stronger safeguards, but the devil is definitely in the prompt details.
Print, click, bang: Wired just rebuilt a 3D-printed gun tied to a CEO murder plot, and yeah, it works. Despite some federal and state bans, making an untraceable firearm (paywall link) at home is shockingly legal (and easy) in much of the U.S.
🌞 Cool roofs, cooler robots: Researchers trained AI to design a paint that lowers building temps up to 68°F, seriously. It reflects heat, saves power and could murder AC bills. Tested on apartments in hot cities, the paint slashes electric use enough to run thousands of extra units. The kicker? It actually looks good.
His app helped catch Laken Riley’s killer — June 14th, Hour 2
Kevin from Ohio built an app and it ended up helping police solve one of the most high-profile murder cases in the country. Plus, your Apple Watch is way off on calories, why you should never click “unsubscribe,” and the best Wordle starter word.
👨🏻⚖️ When dead men speak: In Arizona, a family used AI to recreate a murder victim’s voice and face in a video to deliver his own impact statement in court. The judge gave a harsher sentence after hearing the victim’s synthesized testimony, marking a surreal, and possibly cathartic, first in American legal history. Nothing says “closure” like a ghost dropping the mic in court.
iPad cracks the case: London police just solved a six-year-old case after finding an iPad in the bottom of the Thames River. It led the forensics team to Amazon and eBay purchases used in an attempted murder plot. Three clowns are behind bars, pointing fingers at who threw the iPad in the water thinking it would be gone for good. Meanwhile, a ton of permanent facial recognition cameras just went up in London.
📺 Did Netflix cross a line? If you’ve seen “American Murder: Gabby Petito,” you heard Gabby reading her journals and texts. The filmmakers actually used AI to clone the murder victim’s voice. They say her family approved, but some are calling it “monstrous” to tell her story this way. What do you think?
Tragic and chilling: This is so sad. A 63-year-old North Carolina man shot his wife, then confessed to the murder in a Facebook group he was an admin for before taking his life. “My wife admitted to cheating on me so I killed her, I’m about to kill myself. Figure this group out for your selves,” he wrote. The couple was married for over 34 years.
The state of our country: Scumbags are selling merch glorifying the UnitedHealthcare CEO killer. Amazon had the decency to pull “Deny Defend Depose” shirts, but they’re still on eBay, apparently because they don’t break any rules. Really? Trolls review-bombed the McDonald’s where the guy was caught, too, calling workers rats and snitches. What is wrong with people?
September 28th, 2024
Israel has a new tool in the war against Hezbollah and Iran: QR codes. Incredible, and incredibly scary, how well it’s working. Plus, a Dark Web murder for hire plot, superintelligent AI is coming and shocking warning signs that led to the OceanGate submersible tragedy.
Major slipup in Cleveland: A man accused of aggravated murder was accidentally released from jail due to a court typo. His case number, 685908, was mixed up with case number 685909. Now, police and U.S. marshals are scrambling to find him. Lock your doors.
Live streaming the murder of Israeli and American hostages
Will big tech do anything about it? Here’s my take in this one-minute podcast.
Video doorbell solves murder, TikTok cancer scam, best apps for seniors
Plus, watch out for this dangerous app, three quick computer tricks, why vintage video games are making a comeback, the richest dog in the world and a weird new way to make money.