✈️ TSA says stop! The airport trap you didn’t see coming

Midweek already? Welcome to your Wednesday, {{first_name | friend}}. In 1995, a real-life banking PIN, as in serious, use-at-an-ATM PIN, got inserted into a movie scene.

🎬 So which blockbuster slipped? Was it A) Jurassic Park, B) GoldenEye, C) Heat or D) Toy Story? Give it a think, and maybe brush up on your cybersecurity while you’re at it. Answer’s at the end! 

⭐ Now you can take The Current on the go! George is hosting our brand-new AI-powered podcast, serving up some of my best stories in a quick, fun listen. Perfect for your commute, dog walk or while you’re pretending to fold laundry. Click here to check it out now! You can also let it run in your browser. — Kim

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You know the drill: You hit the airport, find a seat near your gate, and your first thought is, Where’s the free Wi-Fi? You see a network called “Free Airport Wi-Fi” or “Airport_Guest” and think, Perfect.

The TSA says: Stop right there. Their latest warning is the digital equivalent of “Don’t take candy from strangers.” Public Wi-Fi, especially in airports, is a hacker’s playground.

Cybercriminals love high-traffic spots like airports. They’ll set up a “rogue hot spot,” a network that looks official but isn’t. They’ll copy the airport’s naming style, right down to the capitalization, so “Airport_Guest” and “AirPort_Guest” look the same at a glance.

Signs it’s fake:

Once you connect, every password, message and email you send can be intercepted and stolen. You’ll never know it’s happening.

The TSA’s warning isn’t just about Wi-Fi. Those free USB charging ports in terminals can be just as dangerous. Juice jacking happens when a hacker loads malware onto a public charging station. Plug in your phone or laptop, and in seconds they can:

If you must use airport charging, always pack a USB data blocker ($9.89 for two) or bring your own wall adapter.

With summer travel numbers at record highs, the timing is no accident. 

More people flying means more potential victims. And the bad guys? They’re counting on you to think, Eh, it won’t happen to me.

If I’m connecting to any public Wi-Fi, I’m running a VPN. Period. A VPN encrypts your connection, so even if you land on a hacker’s fake network, your data looks gibberish. 

No one can read your messages, grab your banking logins or spy on your browsing.

My pick? ExpressVPN. It’s fast (even on hotel Wi-Fi), dead-simple to use and has servers in nearly 100 countries. I’ve tested it while traveling, and it’s the difference between leaving your front door wide open or locking it with a deadbolt. 

Before your next trip, whether it’s a quick hop or a big vacation, install it. The TSA can warn you all day, but it’s on you to make sure your digital life stays yours.

✅ Click here to get 4 months free on a one-year plan. Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, too.

Everyone’s a Zillow stalker now. I’ll tell you why. Then, Julie from California wants to know if the $300 in her Cash App is real or a scam. Plus, what makes your house a burglar’s target and the missing Jeffery Epstein footage. Don’t miss it!

Listen on Komando.com →

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👩‍🍳 Big flavor doesn’t need a big footprint, just these handy tools.

😋 Stir up some more: Hit this secret link for more extra-hot deals. Then, browse my Amazon shop for a full buffet of clever kitchen gear.

📬 First-class felony: Here’s your daily dose of “oof!” news. In 2022, Paychex sent Dylan Handy’s $114K 401(k) rollover via mailed checks. Thieves intercepted them, cashed them, and now he might owe taxes on stolen funds. Forty-three percent of rollovers still use paper checks. Skip the delays and fraud risk. Choose direct transfers.

Streaming’s newest power couple: Fox One ($19.99) and ESPN’s new DTC ($29.99) launch Aug. 21, but on Oct. 2, there’s a $39.99/month bundle. You get the NFL, NBA, Big Ten and 47,000 live events a year, aka the “you’re not leaving the couch” sports fan package. Pay less than cable, yell at your TV just as much.

📍 AirTag to the rescue: A missing 71-year-old Pennsylvania man with dementia was found thanks to the Apple tracker. His family had attached one to his clothes. Pro tip: They’re under $25 and could save you a lot of panic.

Ctrl + Alt + Goodbye: If you’re using Windows 11 Home or Pro (version 23H2), you get no more security patches or bug fixes on Nov. 11, 2025. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates to upgrade. FYI: Enterprise and Education editions get support until Nov. 10, 2026.

🔥 Labubust: The BBB is warning shoppers to beware fake Labubu products flooding online stores. These $60 toys are the “must-have” item of summer, so of course, swindlers are crawling out of the woodwork. Look for misspellings, busted websites and prices that are too good. Oh, the humanity! Not the Labubus, anything but the Labubus! 

Earhart on Google Earth? British pilot Justin Myers says he’s “99% sure” he’s found Amelia Earhart’s missing plane off Nikumaroro Island, using only Google Earth images. The shapes match her Lockheed Electra’s dimensions. Nobody’s funding his dive yet, but a rival November expedition might beat him to it. Historic aviation meets the “zoom in and squint” method.

📅 Hookups now have time stamps: College students at schools like Cornell, USC, Duke and UC Berkeley are scheduling everything via Google Calendar. I mean every single thing such as crying, dates, teeth-brushing, you name it. Seriously. GCal is a second brain, and spontaneity is dead. Imagine missing your scheduled breakdown because of a time zone error.

Boomers, step aside. The avocado-loving crowd is losing the most money now. Listen to find out what schemes target them!

Listen on Komando.com →

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⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Need an emoji fast? On Windows, press Windows key + . (period) to open the emoji keyboard. On Mac, it’s Command + Control + Space. No excuse for dry replies. 😉

📺 Calibrate your TV: Most TVs come way too bright out of the box. Go to Settings > Picture (or Display) and switch to Movie or Cinema mode instead. Then adjust the Brightness, Contrast and Sharpness to match your room’s lighting. Warmer color tones are easier on your eyes.

💸 Buy cheaper tech: Big brands sell open-box, pre-owned or refurbished gadgets through Amazon Renewed. You can score iPhones, laptops, printers and even power tools at major discounts. Everything’s tested, inspected and should look almost new. Bonus: There’s a 90-day guarantee, so you can return the item if it doesn’t work.

🎮 Check your kid’s gaming console: You can save electricity (and money) by changing the power-saving settings. On PS5, go to Settings > System > Power Saving. On Xbox Series X/S or One, go to Profile & system > Settings > General > Power options and select Shutdown (energy saver).

🚑 Add emergency contacts to your lock screen: This lets first responders call important numbers without unlocking your phone. On iPhone, go to Health > Medical ID, add your emergency contacts, and enable Show When Locked. On Android, go to Settings > Safety & Emergency > Emergency Contacts and add them there.

$14.5 billion
Biggest crypto theft ever. In 2020, a hacker cracked one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pools using a laughably weak 32-bit security system you could brute-force with a gaming PC. They drained 127,000 Bitcoins (worth $3.5B then, $14.5B now) from over 5,000 wallets and then just left the stash untouched for five years. 

110 million to 115 million years old
Dinosaur tracks were uncovered in Travis County, Texas, after July’s horrific floods. A volunteer helping clear debris found 15 three-clawed footprints in a crisscross pattern, each 18 to 20 inches long. So what was it? Experts think they belonged to a meat-eating dino like the 35-foot Acrocanthosaurus. Imagine that thing chasing you.

$34.5 billion
How much Perplexity just offered Google to buy Chrome. Just for comparison’s sake: Perplexity is worth $18 billion, and Google is worth $2.5 trillion. Chrome isn’t exactly on the clearance aisle, especially not for couch cushion change (paywall link) from a competitor. Either way, looks like a bad deal. I got Chrome for free! 

🛸 Closet Encounters of the AI Kind

I may be a digital goddess, but when I’m staring at a tan suede skirt, my brain freezes harder than Windows 95.

Enter AI styling help. Your snarky, fashion-savvy best friend who will not only tell you what to wear but also stage an intervention before you grab that “emergency concert tee” from 2009.

For the outfit above, I gave ChatGPT this prompt: “Give me 10 outfit ideas for a tan suede skirt in Santa Barbara today.” Boom, instant inspo, no panic.

You can even snap pics of your actual closet and let the AI go full Cher-from-Clueless, mixing and matching pieces you forgot you owned.

I did it before my last vacation, and for the first time ever … I didn’t overpack. Not even a little. Case closed.

🎬 The answer: B) GoldenEye. Yep, definitely not 00Heaven. In an early scene, eagle-eyed viewers spotted a four-digit PIN on the villain’s computer screen. It was the real ATM code of a production crew member. The code was changed faster than a Bond car shifts gears, but not before a few bold wannabe hackers tried testing it at local ATMs.

Here’s a twofer for you: What sound does James Bond’s doorbell make? Dong. Ding-Dong. What do you call James Bond having a bath? Bubble 07. Rate the newsletter, and let me know which one made you laugh more! 

🧠 You’re tech ahead because you get the #1 free newsletter in the U.S. Tomorrow, how your phone is still tracking every single place you go. So annoying. We’ll make it stop.

✌️ That’s it for today. Go make the rest of your day as smart as you are. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT

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