Tailored advice: Create a “persona” for your AI chatbot when you write a prompt. Pick a role and give some context. For example, “Pretend you’re a graphic designer giving me feedback on my website’s color scheme and branding. What should I adjust?” You can do this with any role you can think of! More smarts like this are coming soon in my small-biz newsletter.
6 signs your vacation rental is a scam

It’s that time of year when so many of us are planning vacations and booking a rental. Sadly, scammers are very aware of that, and they’re always changing their tricks to fool people out of their money, rentals — or worse.
One of the most prolific thieves scammed people out of $7 million over just two years. He listed 100 properties across the U.S. and accepted 10,000 offers. His bait-and-switch schemes worked … till he got caught.
Being familiar with the red flags can save you from being a victim. And that’s why I’m here today — to give you the know-how.
1. Suspicious photos
Does the picture of that beachfront property look like it’s straight out of a pricey photoshoot? Images that are just a little too polished should raise your eyebrows. Try a reverse image search to see if a pic pops up elsewhere online. How? Open a pic, right-click on it, then choose Search Image or similar in your browser.
2. That doesn’t add up
Some hosts list a property at different price points on multiple platforms. The highest bidder wins, so your stay could get canceled if they find someone who’ll pay more. But wait — it could also be a “phantom rental.” In this scheme, crooks cook up a completely fake listing using a bogus address and photos and run away with your money.
3. Under pressure
When you’re rushed into making a decision, you’re more likely to overlook serious flaws in the listing. A legitimate host won’t rush you into sealing the deal.
4. ‘Can you send me a gift card?’
Always pay through the rental site. Secure payment methods include debit, credit and sometimes a direct bank transfer. Never pay using gift cards, a cash app, crypto or a certified check.
5. Too good to be true
Can your phone be rigged to explode?

This past week, a frenzy of small explosions rocked Lebanon, causing thousands of injuries and killing at least 25 people. The cause? Thousands of Apollo AR924 pagers and ICOM walkie-talkies blew up in the hands of members of Hezbollah leaders and their families.
Secret Santa scam
A viral gift exchange claims you’ll get 36 presents for the price of one, but it’s too good to be true. Here’s how this pyramid scheme leaves most people empty-handed.
🧑🎄 Secret Santa scam trending on social: It goes like this. Send one anonymous gift and you’ll get dozens in return. Invite your friends, too! Spoiler: Your gift goes straight to a scammer, who won’t even send you coal in return. This pyramid scheme goes by names like “Secret Sister” or “Secret Santa Dog.” Pass!
4 colors
Mosquitoes love most: Red, orange, black and cyan (a bright green-blue). Researchers found the pesky bugs are most likely to ignore green, purple, blue and white. Summer color scheme: Check! ✅
The fresh face of payday loans: Cash-advance apps

You get paid next week, but your credit card bill is due this week, and, oops, so is that new car payment. You’re only a few hundred bucks short — you just need a way to bridge the gap.
Unfortunately for you, there’s an app for that. Actually, there are dozens. They’re called cash-advance apps. And most things about them tick me off.
Pig-butchering scams cost Americans $4B a year – Don’t be a victim

Looking for love online? Keep your head on a swivel for pig-butchering scams.
Cybercrooks play the long game in this one. They “fatten you up” with lovey-dovey texts over months, and then, once they have your trust, they send you to slaughter with a crypto scam.
🐽 Can the spam: You can set up rules in your inbox so your uncle’s rants or high school friend’s pyramid scheme emails are automatically filed away in a folder of your choosing. In Outlook, Gmail or Apple Mail, go to your filters and look for an option like “Skip the inbox.”
He fell for an online Ponzi scheme
YouTuber Antenna Man is opening up about being a victim of the Agridime Ponzi scheme. He hopes others don’t fall into the same trap. Plus, a woman tracks down a thief with an AirTag, and someone hacks a guy’s Bluetooth headphones — creepy stuff!
🐷 Beware the pig butchers: I’ve been warning you about pig-butchering scams for years, and now they’re finally mainstream news. A random message leads to a friendly chat, and before you know it, you’re pouring your money into a get-rich-quick scheme. The scams play with your emotions, whether that’s love, fear or panic. Your critical thinking goes out the window. Remember this — and share this (paywall link).
Get rich quick … never: The FTC is handing out $12 million in refunds to over 25,000 people who fell for a house-flipping scheme. The Zurixx scam lured victims with promises of quick cash and endorsements from HGTV stars like Tarek El Moussa, Hilary Farr and Christina Hall. Basic three-day training courses started at $1,997 and ranged all the way up to $41,297. Oof.
🐷 He got butchered: A 75-year-old Midwestern man is broke after giving $715,000 to a sly romance scammer. It started with a LinkedIn message but quickly turned into a classic “pig-butchering” scheme. The crook promised huge returns on investments. Hit this link to read the texts between the man and his fraudster. So very sad and so very avoidable.
No beating the Bezos: The FTC is going after Amazon for a price-fixing scheme that generated more than $1 billion in profits. But a lot of the evidence is gone. Shocker, Amazon’s top brass (including Jeff Bezos) used the messaging app Signal to make their texts automatically disappear — forever.
Good riddance: An evil 28-year-old woman from Delaware will hopefully spend a long time in prison for her role in a massive sextortion scheme. She and a group of accomplices pretended to be “young, attractive females” and lured young males (including many minors) into video chats. They then recorded the chats and threatened to leak the footage unless they were paid. Talk to your kids and any other guy in your circle.
You can set up rules in your inbox so your uncle’s rants or high school friend’s pyramid scheme emails are automatically filed away in a folder of your choosing. In Outlook, Gmail or Apple Mail, go to your filters and look for an option like “Skip the inbox.”
👻 Juicy deets: A class-action lawsuit against Meta reveals the company used secret tech to get a leg up on Snapchat back in 2016. The scheme, dubbed “Project Ghostbusters,” sidestepped Snap’s encryption to track everything people did on the app. Who ya gonna call? The Feds.
Massive fraud campaign: Over 8,000 domains, including big names like MSN and eBay, fell victim to a spam scheme. “SubdoMailing” sends millions of deceptive emails daily, bypassing spam filters, duping folks into clicking and then raking in ad bucks. FYI: Domain owners, use this “checker” to make sure you’re safe. Everyone else, double-check any email that asks for money or account updates.
Tech life upgrades smarter than the stuff on TikTok

Listen, I know there are folks on TikTok sharing good advice — but there’s a heck of a lot of bad advice there, too. Financial tips and tricks? Yeah, look elsewhere; 63% of it is misleading.
It’s not surprising why. On a platform with just seconds to grab someone’s attention, creators have to make big promises to get views. Following that advice can bite you in significant ways — looking at you, get rich quick scheme.
55% of Americans have been scammed - Keep yourself safe online and offline

It’s my job to help people with their digital problems, and it’s sad how often that means assisting folks to sort out a scam. Or even being the one to break the news to them.
Sorry, that new girlfriend isn’t into you. She just wants your money. It happens more often than you’d think — to men and women alike.