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👋 Hey there, friend, it’s Kim. You know, host of The Kim Komando Show.
This week’s show has a license plate that fogs over, a chatbot that got dumped and a robot retirement party in a 75-ton furnace. Yes, really.
Grab it before the weekend gets away from you.
📻 Boston, now you get me twice! Welcome to all our new listeners on WRKO 680 AM Saturday nights. Already a Sunday night regular? Stay put. I’m still on WXKS 1200 AM, too. Why did Boston get two stations? Because one just wasn’t wicked enough.
🗺️ Where’s Waldo Kim? With 510 stations coast to coast, I’m probably closer than you think. Check the map to find your station.
🔐 This week’s show is brought to you by NordPass. Still using your dog’s name and “123” for everything? One breach, and a crook can walk right into your email, your bank and your Amazon account. NordPass makes a strong password for every account and remembers them all for you. Right now, get 55% off a 2-year plan plus 4 extra months. Grab the deal here.* Let’s do this! — Kim
📬 IN THIS EMAIL
🎧 This week’s show: Amazon has a secret file about you
🧊 Number of the week: People most likely to steal at self-checkout.
⏩ Jump to a segment: 12 must-hear stories, one tap each.
👤 Meet the guest: She AI’d her murdered brother. The court took it away.
🎲 Brand New or Not True: Three gadgets. Two are fake.
✂️ Cutting-room floor: 3 tips you not on the show.
🥁 Worst jokes of the week: You’ll groan, I know it.
🎙️ On the big show this weekend
Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando
Amazon has a secret file on you
Amazon keeps a file on you, friend, and you’ll want to know what’s in it. A woman dumped ChatGPT and the internet lost its mind. (You have to hear why.) I’ll also tell you who really controls that “free” thermostat. You’ll hear how AI caught a medical emergency a doctor might have missed, and how a murder victim gave his own impact statement in court.
Plus, a dog filmed a wedding, and Harry invented a license plate the Flock cameras can’t read. Privacy, AI, scams and the weird stuff, all in one show. Watch it on YouTube or grab the podcast.
Or if you’re on the go, 🎧 Listen to the podcast
Why do Amazon Prime drivers make terrible comedians? Their delivery takes two days. (lol)
🧊 NUMBER OF THE WEEK: 40%
That’s how many shoppers in one group admitted using self-checkout to shoplift, according to a LendingTree survey. Picturing a broke teenager? Wrong. These folks can afford the avocados.
One generation is way ahead of the rest. (Spoiler: It’s not Grandma.) Big stores are changing how you check out because of this.
Watch the whole story here. It’s so interesting!
Keep scrolling. There’s more good stuff below. 👇
🔑 STOP REUSING THAT PASSWORD
Be honest. How many of your accounts use the same password? Crooks count on it. When one site gets breached, they try that email and password everywhere: your bank, your email, your Amazon account.
That’s where NordPass comes in. It creates a strong, unique password for every account, locks them all in an encrypted vault and fills them in for you on your phone, tablet and computer. You remember one master password. That’s it.
It also watches for data breaches and warns you if your info shows up, so you can change that password before a thief uses it. Amazing.
✅ Right now, you get 55% off. That’s $1.34 a month, plus 4 extra months. Get NordPass now.
⏩ JUMP TO A SEGMENT
The 12 you can’t miss. Tap any line to go straight there on YouTube.
▶ Meta’s new AI keeps a file on your mother-in-law.
▶ The “E for Everyone” game that showed your kid a vape ad.
▶ Meet the AI radio DJ who never asks for a raise.
▶ Self-checkout is checking out. Guess who’s stealing.
▶ Amazon has a file on you. Here’s where to find it.
▶ She dumped ChatGPT. The internet lost it.
▶ The $2 bottle of water that cost one woman thousands.
▶ ChatGPT flags a possible medical emergency.
▶ Strangers will photograph your family’s grave. For free.
▶ The Tesla Roadster might fly. It’s only nine years late.
▶ Your power company wants to give you a free thermostat. Here’s the catch.
▶ Google’s time machine takes you back to your childhood home.
Want all 31 stories? Here’s the full chapter list.
👤 MEET THE GUEST: STACEY WALES
In 2021, Stacey Wales’ brother Chris Pelkey was shot and killed in a road rage incident in Chandler, Ariz. He was a combat veteran and missionary, driving home from a church softball game.
At sentencing, Stacey did something no one had done in an American courtroom. She wrote a victim impact statement in Chris’ words, then used AI to let him deliver it with his own face and voice.
The judge gave the shooter the maximum, 10½ years. Then an appeals court threw out the sentence because the AI statement was too emotional.
Stacey came back on the show to tell me what happens now. Should AI ever speak for a victim in court? Listen first, then hit reply and tell me where you land.
⚖️ Watch Stacey’s interview. Talk about being an advocate! She is amazing. Really.
🎲 BRAND NEW OR NOT TRUE
Three gadgets. Two are made up. One is real, and you can back it on Kickstarter. Andrew had to pick. Now it’s your turn.
1. The NapDesk: A standing desk that syncs with your calendar. See a free hour? It lowers itself into a twin bed, dims your monitor and wakes you five minutes before your next meeting.
2. The Chimera: Headphones without the head part. Two speakers on arms clamp to the back of your gaming chair and hover next to your ears. Nothing touches you.
3. The Snack Snitch: A smart chip clip. Open the bag after “kitchen closed” time, and a tiny camera snaps your photo and texts it to your spouse.
Lock in your answer, then see if you beat Andrew. No peeking.
Keep scrolling. My best jokes are still to come. 👇
✂️ CUTTING-ROOM FLOOR
Three tips that didn’t make the show. Email readers only.
- Flip this switch before a thief does. A crook watches you type your passcode, then grabs your iPhone. With that code, they can change your Apple Account password and lock you out of your own life in minutes. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Stolen Device Protection and turn it on. Away from home, big changes need your face, not just your code, plus a one-hour wait. That buys you time to mark the phone as lost. Done.
- Find the subscriptions you forgot you’re paying for. That free trial from 2023? It’s probably still billing you. On iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. On Android, open the Google Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions > Subscriptions. Cancel anything you haven’t opened in a month. I found $14.99 a month for an app I used exactly once. Ouch.
- Make Google’s AI summary vanish. Not a fan of AI answers sitting on top of your search results? There’s no official off switch, but here are three ways around it:
- The quick trick: Type -ai at the end of your search. It usually hides the AI summary, but it doesn’t always work.
- The sure thing: After you search, tap Web in the row of tabs under the search bar. If you don’t see it, tap More first. You get plain links, like the good old days.
- Make it permanent in Chrome: Go to Settings > Search engine > Manage search engines and site search. Under Site search, click Add. Name it “Google Web” and paste this URL: google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14. Click the three dots next to it, and choose Make default. From then on, every search you type in the address bar skips the AI summary. Searches you start on google.com will still show it.
🥁 WORST JOKES OF THE WEEK
Why did the hippie head to the volcano? To get himself a lava lamp.
What do you call a cashier who does tricks with the scanner but still charges full price? A scan artist.
How do you know someone owns a Tesla? Don’t worry. They’ll tell you.
(Andrew groaned at all three. That’s the only review I trust.)
🙏 THANK YOU, NordPass
Thanks to NordPass for making this week’s show possible. Here’s a tip most people never think about until it’s too late.
What happens to your passwords if something happens to you?
Your family could be locked out of your bank, your email and every photo you’ve ever taken. NordPass Emergency Access lets you name one trusted person who can get into your vault when it counts, without ever knowing your master password.
Set it up in two minutes:
Open NordPass on your computer, and go to Settings. Scroll down to Other, and select Emergency access.
Select Give Access, type your trusted person’s email and select Give Access again. They need a free NordPass account with that same email.
Have them open NordPass, go to Emergency Access > Received, select the three dots next to your name and choose Accept.
Here’s the smart part. When they need in, they select Request to See Passwords. You get an email and have 7 days to say yes or no. If you can’t answer, access opens up automatically after 7 days. Change your mind? You can revoke it anytime.
✅ Emergency Access comes with NordPass. Get 55% off plus 4 extra months. It’s so important.
That’s the show. If it saved you money or a headache, two quick favors:
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Peek at your Amazon file this week. Amazon keeps a profile on you, and it’s guessing a lot more than your shoe size. Watch how to find yours and what to delete.
Tech question? Drop me a note here. Every episode at komando.com/podcasts.
Forward this to the friend on the HOA board. They need it before the next meeting. (Friend, if that’s you: Welcome! Get this email free every week at GetKim.com.)
Kim
@kimkomando everywhere
P.S. Only got a few minutes? Start here. Harry built a license plate holder that fogs over on command. Clear as mud? That’s kind of the point. 🔔 One click here, and you never miss a show: Subscribe on YouTube. Thank you and see you next week on the radio and YouTube! 🙂
Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando
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