💰 You got robbed on FB

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📬 Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Tomorrow: A free AI trick that will keep the kids or you busy for an hour. Twenty seconds to set up, costs nothing.

🔑 Psst. Come closer. You’re hearing this first. I’m opening a door I’ve never opened before. For years, the real work happened out of sight. The questions people were embarrassed to ask out loud. The “show me exactly how you did that” moments. I’m about to let you all the way in. New shows. Exclusive content. Live classes. And a room full of people who get it and want to be tech ahead. Can’t say more yet. But you knew first. And that’s on purpose. Stay tuned for the full reveal in a few weeks.

Happy Friday, {{first_name | friend}}. Remember when your phone was accused of everything? Bad sleep, bad posture, bad dates and apparently turning gas stations into action movie finales. Kaboom. For years, those “turn off your cell phone” signs had folks treating a text message like it was a tiny fire demon in their pocket.

But researchers tried to make phones ignite gas fumes. On purpose, in labs, but no boom. 

⛽ So, what really causes those rare gas station fires? A) A radio signal igniting fuel vapor, B) Static electricity built up from sliding in and out of your car seat, C) A short circuit inside the gas pump or D) Someone lighting a candle to celebrate today’s gas prices? Keep reading, the answer’s waiting at the finish line.

⚡ Quick speed check: If you’re still using heavy antivirus software, you are slowing yourself down. Webroot gives you better protection that uses a fraction of the space. It works on PCs, Macs and phones. Grab my exclusive 62% off deal before it is gone.* — Kim

⚡ TL;DR

📖 Read time: 2 minutes

So I’m at a backyard BBQ this past weekend, and a guy sidles up next to me. Voice down. Eyes darting across the yard to make sure his wife’s out of earshot. 

He saw an ad for a power saw on Facebook. Same one that’s $200 at Home Depot, marked down 75%. He grabbed it. Card went through. Confirmation email said, “Shipping from China.” That was two months ago. He’s messaged customer service. Same reply every time: “We’re working on it. Will arrive soon.”

And now? Strange charges are showing up on that card. He asks the question he’s clearly been sitting on for weeks. “Kim, did I get scammed?”

Buddy. Yes. The mystery charges? That’s your cash walking out the door, one swipe at a time.

New FTC numbers confirm it. Americans reported losing $2.1 billion to scams that started on social media last year. That’s eight times more than in 2020, and it beats every other way scammers reach you. 

Nearly 1 in 3 people who lost money to any scam last year said it began with a post, an ad or a message in their feed. Don’t be that 1.

People lost more money to scams that started on Facebook than on any other platform. WhatsApp and Instagram came in a distant second and third. 

Losses started on Facebook alone topped all text message scams. They topped all email scams, too. Every age group now loses more money through social media than any other way scammers make contact.

Why? Because scammers use the exact same ad tools legitimate businesses use. They pay Facebook to target you by age, interests and shopping habits. They buy your data to learn what you’ll fall for. And they hijack your friends’ accounts, so the pitch comes from a face you trust.

The damage breaks down like this: 

Give scammers less to work with. I checked these steps below, but yours may be different, depending on your device, OS, mobile vs. desktop, etc. Poke around, you’ll find it. 

One more thing. The man who got burned on the saw was hiding this from his wife out of embarrassment. Don’t. These scams are engineered by pros to fool smart people. And yes, I told him to dispute all the charges, cancel that credit card and stop being a dope. And yes, I said that.

That deal wasn’t a steal. It was a straight-up rip. (Saw that one coming.)

📩 Send this to someone who scrolls Facebook with their morning coffee.

Share this now:

Disney parks’ new servers don’t need tips or lunch breaks. Star Wars bots deliver food right to you. May the snacks be with you.

Hit the link below, so you’re in the know. 👇

▶️ Star Wars droids join Disney’s staff →

🧟 Zombie TV army: Your smart TV may have been moonlighting for crooks, and I’m looking at mine like it’s been stealing the silverware. The FBI and Google dismantled a botnet that infected more than 2 million smart TVs and home gadgets, laundering internet traffic through normal home connections so criminals could blend in. The crazy part? Owners saw nothing. So update your TV’s software and reboot your TV once a week. 

DMV data buffet: If you’ve ever had auto or rental insurance through AssuranceAmerica, bad news. The company disclosed a breach hitting roughly 6.99 million people, exposing names, contact info, driver’s license numbers, policy details, vehicle data and claims. Hackers got in back in March after targeting an employee’s login, and notification letters started going out this week. Driver’s license numbers are gold for identity thieves. Watch for that letter, freeze your credit and hang up on any insurance call that smells off. A break-in this clean, with no fingerprints? That’s a stainless steal.

🔊 Still saying “Huh?” at dinner? The TV’s up full blast. You’re smiling and nodding like you caught the punch line. You ducked out of the last get-together early because keeping up was too much work. Sound familiar? David tried the Horizon IX hearing device and told me, “I hear things like never before!” This tiny device locks onto voices, filters out background noise and tucks comfortably in or behind your ear. No bulk. No fuss. Just the conversation you’ve been missing. Try Horizon IX risk-free for 45 days!*

Interruptible little buddy: ChatGPT learned basic phone manners. OpenAI put out GPT-Live-1 and GPT-Live-1 mini, voice models built so AI chats feel less like talking to a microwave. They can listen while speaking, let you interrupt, translate live conversations and keep a 30- to 40-minute back-and-forth going. The mini model replaces Advanced Voice Mode. Over 150 million people use ChatGPT’s voice, and now it’s going to sound a bit more like a friend who lets you get a word in.

🪂 Garmin SOS, then adios: You’re not gonna believe this. A 31-year-old BASE jumper leaped off a cliff near Telluride, and his parachute didn’t open. He fell 200 feet, hit his Garmin SOS button and told rescuers his leg was broken. A team and a chopper scrambled, found him and he said, “Nah, I’m fine.” He waved them off and hiked down himself. The sheriff was not amused. This guy shrugged off a 200-foot fall like a hangnail. Gravity really does bring people down.

Two free apps turn your phone into a star guide. Plus, a fake bail bondsman called Krista demanding $5,000 over her grandson’s arrest. Only problem? Her grandson was upstairs the whole time. Hear how she turned the tables.

Listen on Komando.com →

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

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Instagram shows that little typing animation so you sit there and waste more time on the app. Turn it off. Open any chat, hit the person’s name, then Privacy & safety. Toggle off Typing indicator. Four taps, and like that, you’re not emotionally invested in three bouncing dots.

🍏 iOS 27 is coming: The public beta could drop any day, with a smarter Siri, AI photo editing tools, new child safety features and performance boosts that should help older iPhones feel faster. Want in? Sign up at beta.apple.com, then go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates. Remember to back up first. Seriously. 😅 Someday we'll be able to upload our thoughts straight to our iPhones. Let that sync in.

Who’s in your Google account? Someone could be snooping, or maybe you left it logged in on an old phone. Go to myaccount.google.com > Home > Devices. You’ll see recent sign-ins, device names and their locations. If you spot something weird, click it, sign out and change your password. FYI, duplicates are normal. A guy asked his wife for her password so he could fix her account. She said, "Grumpy Happy Bashful SnowWhite Charming Simba Pumba Mickey Albany." He said, "Why so long?" She said, "It needs at least eight characters and one capital."

📧 Unsend that email: Nothing humbles you faster than spotting a typo right after hitting Send. Gmail has a built-in oopsie button. Just click Undo at the bottom left after sending. In Outlook, you need to turn it on first. Go to Settings > Mail > Compose > Undo send, then set the slider to 10 seconds. You’re welcome. 

Be on the show! Have a tech tip that changed your life? A gadget spying on you? Tell me all about it here. A producer might reach out to put you on air with me.

At last, a robot that isn’t here to replace your job, harvest your data or try to convince your aunt it’s Brad Pitt and to send it $200 via Cash App. 

Beni is Mondo Robotics’ little camera dog, a $600-to-$800 Kickstarter bot that follows you around, shoots 4K video and jumps like it never misses its morning espresso. 

It’s got swappable batteries, obstacle avoidance and enough personality to make you feel bad after crashing it into walls. Every house needs a guard dog. This one’s basically an iChihuahua with a lot of byte.

I want one of these so bad. Check it out.

What you learned today: Facebook is the No. 1 place Americans lose money to scammers, $2.1 billion of it sucked up on social media, while your smart TV might be moonlighting for a criminal botnet. One insurance breach exposed 7 million driver’s license numbers, and your Google account keeps a device list worth checking before someone else does. A robot dog, meanwhile, is out there stealing hearts. Not bad for one email. Tomorrow, I’ll show you a free AI trick that turns your photos into printable coloring pages in seconds.

The answer: B) Static electricity from getting in and out of your car. Yep, the real danger isn’t your cell phone plotting a Fast & Furious sequel. It’s you doing the little seat-scoot shuffle while the tank fills. 

⚡️ Sliding in and out of your seat mid-fill builds up thousands of volts. Touch the nozzle, and that spark lands right where the fumes are. Rubber-soled shoes showed up in 94% of the cases.  

The Petroleum Equipment Institute logged refueling fires for decades and never pinned a single one on a phone. MythBusters even tried to torch fuel vapor with a cell phone and failed. The fix is free: Stay outside while you pump. If you do climb back in, touch a metal part of the car away from the nozzle before grabbing the handle again.

With prices this high, Van Diesel had to change his name to Van Electric. (Ba dum tss. I know it’s Vin Diesel, but my line is funnier. I hope you agree!)

🛡️ Free antivirus is a gamble: It only catches about 60% of threats. That means nearly half of today’s malware gets right through. Not good odds. Webroot blocks 99% of threats. That’s why I use and recommend it. Get the antivirus I trust for 62% off.*

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

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🎉 Keep it going! You got this! — Kim

Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, Kingston, Mondo Robotics

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