🛑 Stop clicking unsubscribe (it’s a trap)

Happy Wednesday, {{first_name | friend}}. You know the Wi-Fi at that cozy coffee shop, the one with the locally roasted beans and weirdly sluggish internet? It might not only be your latte getting steamed. Hackers love public Wi-Fi more than influencers love taking pictures of their food art.

⌚️ How long does it take someone on public Wi-Fi to snatch your logins, say for your bank or Amazon? A) About 10 minutes, B) Under two minutes, C) At least an hour or D) It happens only if you click a sketchy link. Stick around, the answer’s brewed and waiting at the end.  

🎯 You’re a huge target right now: Data brokers are scraping your name, address and phone number to sell to scammers. That’s why your phone keeps ringing. I use Incogni to force these companies to delete my personal info. It’s the only way to get off the lists and stop the harassment. Take back your privacy today and get 60% off with code KIM60. Check it out today. — Kim

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⚡ TL;DR (THE SHORT VERSION)

📖 Read time: 3 minutes

Your inbox is a disaster. I get it. You’re drowning in emails from companies you don’t remember signing up for, and that little unsubscribe link at the bottom looks like sweet instant relief. One click and you’re free!

Nope. That link might make things worse.

If an email is from a spammer, you waved a flag that says, “Hey, I’m here, and I’m clicking on things!” That makes your email address a bigger target for even more junk.

And that’s the best-case scenario.

The worst case? Scam emails imitate real companies. Your bank, a streaming service, a store you shop at. They include an unsubscribe link that takes you to a fake website designed to steal your login or personal info.

You think you’re opting out. You’re actually handing over your credentials on a silver platter.

Cybercriminals have gotten scary good at faking familiarity. They make an email look exactly like it’s from a brand you trust. Netflix, Amazon, your favorite shopping app. The logo, the colors, the sender name. It all feels right. You don’t think twice.

Here’s a number that should wake you up: 1 in every 644 clicks on an unsubscribe link in a promo or spam email leads to a malicious website. 

Think about how many times you hit unsubscribe in a month. Five? Ten? Across the country, that’s millions of clicks a day. At those odds, far too many Americans are getting burned every single day trying to stop the junk.

If you are 100% certain an email is legit (like it’s really from Netflix, Apple or Chase), it’s safe to use the unsubscribe link. Big companies play by the rules because they don’t want legal headaches.

But if something feels off, or you never signed up in the first place? Don’t touch it. Delete it and move on.

1. Use your email’s built-in unsubscribe button. Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook and others usually show an unsubscribe option near the top of the message, right under the sender’s name. This is safer because it’s managed by your email provider, not the sender.

2. Mark it as spam (but only if it’s actually spam). If you don’t recognize the sender or didn’t sign up, skip the unsubscribe link entirely. Hit “Report spam” or “Junk.” This trains your email to catch this garbage before it ever hits your inbox again.

One more thing. If you signed up for a newsletter and you’re done with it, click unsubscribe. Don’t hit the spam button. When you mark a legitimate email as spam, you’re gone for good. The system boots you permanently, and there’s no way back on the list. I see it happen all the time with my own newsletter. Someone marks it as spam, then emails me a week later asking why they stopped getting my tips. Argh.

3. Hover before you click. On a computer, hover your mouse over the unsubscribe link without clicking. Look at where it actually leads. If the URL looks strange, has random characters or doesn’t match the sender’s domain, that’s a red flag. Trust your gut.

The unsubscribe button was supposed to give you control. The bad guys figured out how to turn it against you. Now you know better.

🤝 You just learned which links to avoid. Here's one to click with confidence. Use the icons below to share The Current with someone who needs it.

General Motors wants to take over your dashboard screen. They will control the data and all that you’ll hear and see. Here’s the scoop.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or search “Komando” wherever you get your podcasts. I’m everywhere.

📈 Not so magnificent anymore: Remember the “Magnificent Seven” mega‑cap tech stars? The band might be breaking up (paywall link) into a Mag Five or even a Fab Four because the market’s biggest tech names are no longer moving in sync. Who’s getting cut out? Tesla and Apple are on the chopping block. One’s got slowing sales, the other’s late to AI. Meta’s still in the game but raising eyebrows. The Fab Four still thriving? Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Nvidia. If you don’t innovate, you evaporate.

Speaking of Wall Street: You know how stock trading takes the weekend off? The NYSE is building a 24/7 trading platform (paywall link) for blockchain-based crypto stocks. It’s not approved yet. But if this clears the SEC, expect around-the-clock, faster trading, fewer middlemen and less “let’s wait to see how markets react Monday” anxiety. It looks like finance is getting exactly what it needed: less sleep. 

🎰 Virtual high rollers: The business behind mobile gaming is so interesting. Get this, Zynga’s mobile games have raked in over $1 billion, kudos to a casino-style VIP program (paywall link) targeting top spenders. These players, often retirees, get account managers, luxury perks, even cash prizes, all to keep them tapping. One player won $15K and bought a Buick. Another spent $50K and hid it from his wife. It’s Candy Crush meets that Vegas hospitality that knows how to eventually part you from your money.  

Your head’s up: You ever feel a migraine coming but can’t prove it? Ultrahuman’s betting their smart ring can. They’ve added FDA-cleared treatment algorithms to flag the patterns most miss, like stress spikes, bad sleep and heart rate shifts, before the head-scrunching pain sets in. It’ll suggest small course corrections (hydration, sleep, stepping back), but let’s be real, it’s still early. Cool idea, real science behind it, but the proof will be in the fingers and the noggins.

Design over dosage: New pediatric guidelines say most digital content is engineered for addiction. No shocker really. Autoplay. Nonstop dings. Algorithmic rabbit holes. What helps? Real-life stuff away from screens. My 5-year-old nephew doesn’t have any screens. He likes to play trains, throw a baseball and ride his John Deere tractor. I love this for him.

🎓 Put on your thinking cap for this one: Our everyday pace feels speedy, until you compare it to the attosecond. That’s 1×10⁻¹⁸ seconds, shorter than light passing through an atom. Scientists can now make X‑ray flashes that let us watch moving electrons. Guess what they found? All the electrons are starting podcasts. Kidding, but this does open doors to new materials, better energy efficiency, cell imaging and smarter quantum devices. It’s a big moment for physics (paywall link), making stuff visible that used to be very “just trust the math” theory. What do you get if you add up all the seconds of your life? A lot of food you probably didn’t need to eat.

🎯 Start 2026 strong: If you want real clarity on your goals instead of vague resolutions, check out the 2026 Goal Setting Workbook from ImproveLife. It’s a free, guided workbook that helps you reflect on the year you just had, focus on what truly matters and map out clear, doable goals for the year ahead. Get your free copy now!**

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Next time a program isn’t responding, don’t wait on a never-ending loading screen. On Windows, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, Task Manager and hit End Task. On macOS, press Option + Cmd + Esc and Force Quit the app. You got this!

Big Microsoft PowerToys update: Those optional tools that make your Windows PC easier to use got an upgrade. Command Palette lets you choose which results show up first, preview files and folders, add a custom background and more. But the coolest new feature? CursorWrap. Move your mouse off the right side of your screen, and it appears on the left. Move it off the top, and it appears at the bottom. Download it here. 

🔋 Set a charge limit on iPhone: If you’re always leaving your phone plugged in for hours, this one’s for you. Open Settings > Battery > Charging and choose an 80% limit (or whatever percentage you prefer). Once your phone hits that level, it stops charging, which helps reduce battery wear. 

Faster than bookmarks: Visiting the same website over and over? Pin it to your Chrome home page instead. Open a new tab, tap Add shortcut under the search bar, enter the site name and hit Done. Hey, while you’re there, add komando.com, so the latest tech tips are always one click away.

Android quick actions: You don’t always need to fully open an app to access its main features. On certain apps like Gmail, press and hold to compose a message or switch accounts. On Facebook, you can jump straight to notifications, and YouTube lets you view your subscriptions.

You know what the fast-paced world of gaming was missing? Actually getting shot through the screen. 

This guy built a gaming PC that fires back. Yes, on purpose. Chinese engineer @ryc._1216 built a 4D DIY rig that syncs with shooters like Arena Breakout and fires real (nonlethal) pellets at him when he takes damage. Smoke, wind, rain, even heat effects included.

It basically turns your gaming room into an airsoft haunted house with a personal vendetta. Well, at least he has a helmet. 

Tomorrow: Your apps are snitching on you. They’re tracking your driving, hiking up your car insurance rates and selling your receipts. I’m exposing 5 very popular apps you need to delete from your phone right now. Be sure to read your email from me tomorrow.

☕️ The answer: B) Under two minutes. Yep, faster than it takes to spell macchiato without googling it. A cybersecurity researcher once set up a fake “Free Airport Wi-Fi” hotspot. Over 200 people logged on in the first hour. No password. No questions. They got bounced to a fake login page and handed over their email, bank and social passwords like they were sharing free mints at the gate. Classic airport-brain autopilot.

🛬 Speaking of, I’ll never forget a Southwest Airlines fight. As the plane was heading towards the gar, the flight attendant came on the speaker and said, “We apologize for that pretty rough landing. It wasn’t the captain’s fault. It certainly wasn’t my fault. It was the asphalt.”

⚡ Forget clicking those risky unsubscribe links: It’s too dangerous. The smarter move is to cut the spam off at the source. Incogni contacts the data brokers for you and demands they scrub your info. I use it, and the difference is night and day. No more risky clicks, only a cleaner inbox. Use code KIM60 to save 60% right now.

🛡️ Until next time, firewall the negativity. Let the good stuff through. — Kim

Kim Komando • Komando.com • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily

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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, Acer, @ryc._1216

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