⚠️ Gmail scam is fooling smart people

Welcome to your Sunday, {{first_name | friend}}. If Gmail tossed me in Promotions, drag me back. I’m not a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon. Now then, have you ever looked at your inbox, seen 47 fake Amazon rewards and yelled, “This totally reminds me of canned processed meat?” Me neither, but someone did, and it stuck. 

🍖 Take a wild guess what everyday food item inspired the nickname for junk email? Was it … A) Bologna, B) Hot dogs, C) Canned ham or D) Salami? You won’t look at your inbox or your pantry the same way again. Answer’s at the end!

🛡️ Here’s something you should do today: Protect your online accounts, money and family. I want you to have the same security I rely on, NordPass. It stores all my passwords, works on all of my devices and can give access to my loved ones in an emergency. It’s awesome! — Kim

📬 Was this forwarded to you? Be the first to know, not the last to hear. Sign up now. It’s free!

“Hey, Kim, This isn’t tech. I’m the one keeping the peace, at work, at home, with friends. I smooth things over and manage everyone’s moods. It’s exhausting, but if I stop, I’m scared everything unravels. What should I do?” — Megan from Cincinnati 

Welcome to the unpaid role of feelings manager, Megan. It comes with built-in burnout, festering resentment and the creeping illusion that if you stop functioning, everything (and everyone) will fall apart. You’re the glue. Except where’s your support?

AI can help you stop running your nervous system like a 24/7 conflict resolution hotline and get some space back by automating the hard part, i.e., how to have your say. Here are ideas for you to use with ChatGPT or your favorite chatbot.

Generate de-escalation scripts, responses that untangle defensiveness without defaulting to apology theater.

“Write me a text that acknowledges their frustration but doesn’t end with me groveling.”

“Give me three responses that don’t sound like I’m rolling over.”

Build conversation openers that don’t snowball into 40-minute emotional triage sessions.

“Suggest a way to check in that won’t lead to me fixing their problems.”

“Give me a neutral opener that keeps the conversation light, not loaded.”

Help people feel heard: Summarize their thoughts, so you properly touch base on what they feel.

“Rewrite their long rant into three clear points I can respond to.”

“How do I mirror what they’re saying without making promises I can’t keep?”

AI isn’t a hall pass to shirk personal responsibility, but it does help carry the mental parts of the emotional labor load. Think of it as an infinitely patient rehearsal partner for your least favorite dynamic.

I used ChatGPT to write a text to my son explaining why even though he works for me, it’s important to get to work on time. I forgot we share a paid ChatGPT account. Well, a few minutes after I sent it, my son called. “Mom, I can’t believe you used Chat for that text.” I told him, “Sometimes I come across too hard, so I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen.” It worked.

Have you ever used AI to calm down an emotional situation? Tell me about it here!

💁‍♀️ Use the icons below to help others use a chatbot in a way they may have never thought of before.

It’s recording at night. Files are deleted. It operates by itself! Caller Lilly from Indianapolis says a ton of strange stuff is happening to her phone. Plus, the dark side of Amazon Prime, AI celeb boyfriends and digital shoplifting. Don’t miss this.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Subscribe on your favorite platform:

🚨 Gmail scam spreading: This is frightening. Watch out for fake Gmail account recovery request notifications that look like the real deal. Hackers try to convince you to sign in through a phony login page, where they can then capture your password. Ignore or decline the request, and they’ll follow up with an AI-generated Google support call in which the caller claims someone has accessed your account and stolen your data. Ignore that, too. Pass this on, so everyone knows this is happening.

Windows in your hands: Microsoft and Asus opened preorders for the new Xbox Ally handhelds, but don’t expect a budget price. These things run full Windows, not just Xbox games. Plug it into a monitor, pair a keyboard, or game straight from the couch. Starts at $599, but if you can swing it, the $1,299 Ally X is pure muscle and the one you want. 

😨 Massive data breach: 18 million records tied to Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge customers were stolen. No credit cards, but names, emails and phone numbers are now powering super-targeted phishing scams. You might get a call that sounds real, until it isn’t. Keep your guard up.

A switch that makes sense! Check this out. Consumer Cellular gives me the same great coverage as the big carriers for a fraction of the cost! You can keep your phone and number or get new ones. I’m getting two unlimited lines for just $60. Use code KIM25 at ConsumerCellular.com/KIM for $25 in savings, and make the smart switch today. You can save more if you’re an AARP member.*

Kentucky kids rediscover paper: Jefferson County Public Schools just saw a 67% spike in book library checkouts after Kentucky banned phones in class. At Ballard High, students borrowed nearly 900 books in August, up from 533 last year. Librarians say whodunits are a hot commodity. Apparently, when TikTok disappears, Agatha Christie eats.

🧽 AI’s dirty dishes: AI was supposed to save time. Instead? You’re cleaning up its mess. A new Stanford study says 41% of workers are busier with “workslop” since tools like ChatGPT and Copilot showed up, thanks to sloppy drafts, useless decks and bad edits. The bots aren’t just taking your job, they’re trying to give you theirs. 

⚡ Smaller, faster, richer: The Ferrari 296 and Lamborghini Temerario run on a motor that started as a college project. Oxford grad Tim Woolmer invented YASA’s “axial-flux” motor. Lighter, 45% smaller and up to four times more power-dense than the usual stuff. YASA made just 1,000 five years ago. Next year? 25,000. Super cars are about to be more super.

These gift ideas will make everyone say, “Where’d you find that?”

🖼️ Digital picture frame (31% off): Send vacation photos from your phone straight to the grandparents’ living room.

Heated throw blanket (20% off): Ten heat settings, machine washable and safely turns off automatically.

😌 Shower steamers (18% off, 15-pack): Drop one in and enjoy up to 20 minutes of fizzling essential oils.

Dog puzzle toy (33% off): Fill it with treats and watch your pup burn energy while brain-training. Works for any size dog.

🪐 Gskyer telescope (40% off): A perfect starter scope. Hook up your phone, snap some stellar pics and flex on Instagram.

📦 Ditch the e-card: When in doubt, an Amazon physical gift card wrapped in a box feels special, not just another email.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: You can bold text without clicking the icon. On Windows, press Ctrl + B. On Mac, use Cmd + B. It works in Docs, Gmail, Word and most text editors.

Chromebook slow? Press Search + Escape to open Task Manager to see apps and tabs eating up memory or CPU. Click one and hit End Process to close it. Next, in Chrome browser, tap the Extensions icon (top right) > Manage Extensions and Remove any you don’t use anymore.

🔎 Fine-tune your Mac: Spotlight in macOS 26 can get too broad. Go to System Settings > Spotlight > Results from Apps. Anything here could appear. For example, search “contract,” and it might pull documents and dictionary definitions. Uncheck the apps you know you won’t need.

Future-proof: AI is transforming business faster than ever. That’s why over 43,000 companies trust NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 AI cloud ERP. Stay ahead by downloading your FREE CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning today.*

🖨️ Print for free at public libraries: Many local libraries offer free printing, sometimes up to 10–20 pages per day. Great for boarding passes, forms or return labels.

👻 Boo-tiful viral pages: Love creepy but adorable things? Then check out Spooky Cutie. It’s a viral coloring book perfect for both teens and adults. With 40 single-sided pages, you can keep it simple or go all out with shading and personal designs. Plus, it makes a … fang-tastic gift. (lol)

😳 Stop spam in its tracks: Don’t just delete junk emails, report them. In Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail or whatever you use, mark suspicious stuff as Spam or Junk. This trains your filters, so fewer shady messages sneak through. It’s one of the simplest ways to cut down phishing scams before they reach you. PSA: If you mark my newsletter as spam, you will never get another issue and you won’t be able to sign up again. That’s just the way it works.

🎯 Question of the Day: Guess which day Americans stream the most TV shows for a shot at a $50 Amazon gift card! Click here to enter to win with your name, email address and your guess. It takes less than a minute, and you’ll be in the running to win a $50 Amazon gift card just for playing! Hurry, winners will be picked tomorrow morning!

✈️ Plan that trip for the holidays: Now is the sweet spot to save money, and Sundays are the new best day to book a flight to save money.

✍️ Conduct a pixel war: Draw pixels with others on gigantic canvases in real time.

💯 See you in data: Dig up a whole bunch of random life stats tailored for the rare human that is you. 

🛰️ Broadcasting brilliance: Click to hear what you missed on my show.
📱 Listen on Apple Podcasts. 🎧 Stream on Spotify. 🌐 Play full episodes on Komando.com. 📻 Find your local radio station.

🐷 The answer: C) Canned ham (Spam), of course! Monty Python’s iconic “Spam” sketch flooded a fake menu with so much of the meat, it became an internet metaphor for the inbox overload we all love to hate. So the next time 37 “Sexy Singles Near You” pop up? Blame British comedy.

Fun fact: In World War II, the U.S. military consumed over 150 million pounds of Spam. I got an e-mail saying, “At Google Earth, we can even read maps backward,” and I thought, “That’s just spam.” 🌎

We hate to think about it, but the truth is our digital lives won’t always be just ours. NordPass lets you lock every password safely but can give trusted family members Emergency Access when it’s needed most. Don’t put this off.

This is the #1 free tech newsletter in the U.S. kindly reminding you to mark it as “Not Spam” so I can keep bringing you the good stuff. Tomorrow’s great tech secret, I’m talking about ghosting scammers, dodging creepy Craigslist buyers and giving your phone the secret identity it deserves. Spoiler: It involves a free second number.

✌️ You don’t need to know everything. Just be brave enough to keep learning. — Kim

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This newsletter and its content are intended for informational purposes only. They are provided without warranty of any kind. You shouldn’t construe anything provided here as legal, health, medical, technical, tax, investment, financial or any other kind of advice.

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