📬 Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Tomorrow: Snapchat was warned for years its speed filter was dangerous. A dad paid with his memory.
Happy Monday, {{first_name | friend}}. Somewhere out there, Apple, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft are probably arguing over clouds, ads, AI and who gets to put a camera on your microwave next. But quietly? They all help with building a free map of the whole planet.
No one company owns it. Anyone can fix a wrong turn, add a trail or put your favorite taco spot on the map. It’s basically Wikipedia with more traffic circles.
🗺️ So who keeps this massive world map up to date? A) A secret fleet of NASA satellites, B) The U.S. Postal Service, C) Everyday volunteers, plus paid editors from Big Tech or D) Your GPS lady, on her lunch break? Keep reading, you’ll wander into the answer at the end.
💧 Tomorrow in Splash of AI: how to untangle 40-message email chains, turn product photos into pro ads for free and make ChatGPT build calculators instead of writing essays. It’s free. Sign up at SplashOfAI.com.
🎤 Miss the show this past weekend? I got you. — Kim
TODAY’S DEEP DIVE
Cart before the fraud
Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando
🤯 WOW! Americans lost $2.1 billion to scams that started on social media last year, according to the FTC. Shopping scams were the most common kind. More than 4 in 10 people who lost money got hooked by an ad for something they wanted to buy. And more of those scams started on Facebook than on any other platform.
📖 Read time: 2 minutes
At a dinner party last week, a guy pulled me aside and whispered, “Kim, I found a great deal on a Chanel purse for my wife for Christmas. A special early Black Friday deal. I ordered it, and it never showed up. I keep leaving messages with their customer service, and nobody answers. Do you think I got taken?” Ahem, yes, you sure did.
Black Friday is still weeks away, but the scammers are already set up to steal. The fake Black Friday stores are open for business.
What you see looks perfect. Real logos. Real product photos. A countdown clock and a pop-up saying “Linda in Ohio just bought this!” What you don’t get is the stuff you ordered. And when you land on one through an ad, 8 in 10 of those ads run on Google or on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram.
🕵️ The tells of a fake store
Keep in mind that AI makes fake sites look so darn good. Before you hit “Buy,” check for these:
A price that’s too good. Real stores rarely knock 70% to 90% off name-brand gear. Scammers do it all the time.
A brand-new site. Four in 10 scam stores were less than 90 days old. Search the store’s name plus “scam” or “reviews.” No history? Walk away.
A funny web address. Watch endings like .shop or .store. A big brand’s store shouldn’t end in myshopify.com either.
No real way to reach anyone. No phone number, no street address, just a contact form.
A weird way to pay. Zelle, wire transfer, gift cards or crypto? That’s a scammer. Real stores take credit cards.
And always pay with a credit card, not a debit card. If the package never shows, you can dispute the charge and get your money back.
🛡️ Let your phone do the checking
Here’s the problem: Fake stores pop up and vanish so fast, nobody can memorize them all. That’s where NordVPN helps.*
I tested all the big ones before picking the official VPN of The Kim Komando Show. That’s NordVPN. I use it and so does my entire family.
Here’s how it works. Open the NordVPN app and turn on Scam, phishing, and malware protection. Then it runs in the background:
You tap a link. NordVPN checks the site against its database of known scams and uses AI to catch new ones.
Fake store? It blocks the page or warns you before it loads, before you ever type in your card number.
You download a file. It scans it and deletes anything dangerous.
It blocks trackers and many pop-up ads, so pages load cleaner.
And it’s no gimmick. AV-Comparatives, an independent testing lab, certified it for spotting fake shops. In the lab’s anti-phishing test this May, it blocked 96% of phishing sites with zero false alarms. (Translation: It won’t cry wolf on the real stores you shop.)
Traveling for Thanksgiving? NordVPN also scrambles your connection on hotel and airport Wi-Fi, so snoops can’t see what you’re doing.
Some great deals are legit. Like this one:
📩 Send this to someone who clicks every “70% off” ad on Facebook.
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WEB WATERCOOLER
🚀 Rocket fuel for piggy banks: SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and her husband are giving away more than 2 million SpaceX shares, worth about $270 million. The stock is priced around $135 a share. Kids 11 to 17 in lower-income ZIP codes go first. The original plan was one share per child. The stock lands in their federal Trump Accounts in December and stays invested until they turn 17. Military and foster kids come next. Families get notified automatically.
Printing money? Vibe check: Forget vibe coding. Now people are “vibe manufacturing.” A Michigan developer described a steel truck part out loud to ChatGPT (paywall link). It drew the design, ordered it from a metal shop and paid $156. Ten days later, it hit his doorstep. An Austin dad had AI design an offline answering machine so his kids can leave messages for their grandparents. He printed it himself. (Took 15 tries.) I love this!
💲 What is your phone bill costing you? If you are paying over $100 a month, you are overspending. Same networks. Solid coverage. No contract. Get a 5G phone plus an unlimited plan for only $59 a month.*
Gas stays put: Only 11% of Americans who drive gas cars say an EV is their likely next buy. Charging keeps getting better, too. US public chargers grew more than 14% this year. Price is the real snag. Just 34% think EVs cost less to own. Get this part. Once people switch, they stick. 77% of EV owners plan to buy another.
🛠️ Minecraft mansion block party: Show this to any kid who plays Minecraft. In 2009, a Swedish programmer named Markus “Notch” Persson built a little block game by himself. It became the best-selling video game ever, and Microsoft bought it for $2.5 billion. Notch spent $70 million of that on a Beverly Hills mega-mansion with 15 bathrooms, a private nightclub and a candy room. (Yes, a whole room.) Now he’s selling it for the same $70 million. Take the video tour here. Why do kids love Minecraft? Because they’re minors.
KIM’S DAILY DEALS
As an Amazon Associate, some links pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Keeps this newsletter free. Thank you.
💼 Cure your case of the Mondays
Boost your workspace, not your stress.
👩💻 Rise to the occasion: Standing desk (14% off, $86)
4.5 ⭐ 2,500+ reviews
Sitting all day? Give your back a break. Tap a button, and this desk goes from sitting to standing height. It holds up to 176 pounds and is just 32 inches wide. Perfect if space is tight but your to-do list isn’t.
Image: HUANUO
🎦 Keep meetings private: Get a computer webcam (29% off, $29) with a built-in privacy cover that snaps shut when you’re off camera.
Canned air runs out: This cordless air duster (36% off, $32) lasts up to four hours on a charge. It’s gentle on keys but tough on crumbs.
😌 Kick back and relax: Tuck an adjustable footrest (33% off, $40) under your desk. The memory foam takes pressure off your back and hips.
Jot this down: These gel pens (33% off, $8, six-pack) are great for gift tags, quick notes or that million-dollar idea you scribble on a napkin.
🎁 Computer shopping? Don’t wrap up the wrong machine. See my top 20 picks for yourself or someone else.
Prices and deals were accurate at the time of publication.
🎤 PODCAST: DIGITAL LIFE HACK
Three secret car key fob tricks
Can’t find your car? There are three key fob hacks that sound fake but work. Plus, we talk about Google’s top emojis and Gen Alpha slang.
Click your favorite podcast player below to listen now or later:
🎧 Or search “Komando” wherever you get your podcasts. I’m everywhere.
DEVICE ADVICE
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Fix a photo in ChatGPT without typing a whole paragraph. Upload your picture, then type /newbg and where you want to be, like /newbg beach or /newbg white wall for a clean headshot. You stay put, and the background changes. Bad crop? Type /reframe plus what you want, like /reframe close-up. It’s shorthand ChatGPT understands. Nailed it.
🖨️ Your printer isn't broken, it's dramatic: Before you rage-buy a replacement, try this. On Windows, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, click your printer, then hit Open print queue and cancel everything stuck in line. Then right-click the printer and choose Remove, unplug the USB or forget it on Wi-Fi, restart your computer and re-add it fresh. On Mac, go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners, delete the printer and add it back. Nine times out of ten? Fixed. Drama over.
🗄️ Your Mac is hiding a junk drawer: That "storage almost full" warning loves to show up at the worst moment. Find the culprits fast. Click the Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info, then scroll down and click Storage Settings. Hit Storage and wait a few seconds for it to map your drive. See a giant mystery blob? Click the category to drill down. Old iPhone backups and "Other" files are usually the biggest offenders. Delete what you don't recognize. Breathe.
🖼️ Windows Photos app is bad: If you’ve used it, you know it can be slow and bloated. ImageGlass is a free, lightweight alternative that supports over 90 formats and opens pictures fast. No clutter, just a simple interface with cropping and resizing tools right at the top. Less waiting, fewer crashouts (literally). Download it here.
🚫 Stop feeding the spam machine: Replying "STOP" to a spam text feels polite. It's the worst thing you can do. It confirms your number is real and active, and you'll get more. On iPhone, open the message, tap the sender's number at the top, then hit Block this Caller. Also go to Settings > Messages and turn on Filter Unknown Senders. On Android, open the message, tap the three-dot menu, and select Block & report spam. The texts don't stop overnight, but you simply made yourself a much harder target.
Be on the show! Before the holiday shopping frenzy hits, do you have a tip that saves money, time or sanity? Send it here. One of my producers may come calling.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
🔌 Movie night needs more plugs
4.7 ⭐ 16,600+ reviews
You finally pick the movie, settle into the couch, then someone needs to charge their phone. Now you’re playing musical outlets behind the TV stand.
The POWRUI 6-outlet wall extender plugs straight into your wall and gives you six spaced-out AC outlets plus three USB ports (including USB-C) on three sides. No power strip snaking across the floor. No choosing between the lamp and the laptop.
It’s got 1,680 joules of surge protection keeping your devices safe, and a built-in dusk-to-dawn night-light so nobody trips over the dog on the way to get more popcorn. Right now, it’s 23% off at $10. That’s less than a large popcorn at the theater, and it lasts a lot longer.
I’d grab a couple, one for the living room, one for the bedroom. You’ll wonder how you managed with merely two outlets.*
WHAT THE TECH?
Image: @N01ennn via X
🏎️ Fast and curious
Apparently, the secret to driving like a Formula 1 racer is a pair of sunglasses and a little AI.
One developer reportedly hacked his Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses into a personal racing coach. The glasses watch the track, draw the fastest route onto the road and tell him exactly when to brake, turn and accelerate.
He claims it shaved 5.3 seconds off his lap time in one session. Meanwhile, I still need Google Maps to find Costco.
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LOGGING OUT …
🎓 What you learned today: Fake Black Friday stores are already open, and a credit card is your best refund button if a package never shows. SpaceX’s president is giving kids about $270 million in stock, people are speaking real truck parts into existence with AI, and only 11% of gas-car drivers want an EV next. Tomorrow, what happened when teens used Snapchat’s speed filter.
📍 The answer: C) Everyday volunteers, plus paid editors from Big Tech. The map is OpenStreetMap, a free, editable map of the world that works a lot like Wikipedia, if Wikipedia had more roundabouts and fewer arguments about semicolons.
It has more than 10 million registered users, and over 2 million people have made at least one edit. Apple, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft have all contributed to it, and some hire teams to update roads, buildings, addresses and more on a global scale. You can explore it or fix your own street at OpenStreetMap.org.
I met the man who invented the part of a map that explains what each symbol means. What a legend.
🔌 Quick question: How many outlets does your living room have? Two? Maybe three? I found the fix for $10. Check it out.*
💛 Millions built a better map, one honest edit at a time. Most good things get made that way. — Kim
Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily
🏆 THE KIM CHALLENGE: Forward this to ONE person who needs to hear it today. Pick the person who popped into your head while reading. You know who it is.
Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, HUANUO, POWRUI, @N01ennn via X
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