An Ignoble Experiment: 💔 He sent $45,000 to ‘Katy Perry’

📬 Did someone forward this to you? Sign up here. Tomorrow: A scroll a volcano buried 2,000 years ago spilled its secrets. This is a story you’ll want to tell everyone you know. Spoiler: AI helped.

It’s a spectacular Saturday, friend. Now, once upon a time, people woke up to roosters. Today we wake up to a rectangle screaming, “You have 47 notifications and one software update you’ll ignore forever.”

Surveys keep asking where Americans park their phones overnight, and personal space didn’t make it to the finals. We keep it on the nightstand, under the pillow and even in a hand so it’s right there when we wake up. That feels like more of a relationship than a habit.

😴 Roughly how many U.S. adults sleep with their phone within reach? A) 1 in 4, B) Half, C) 3 in 4 or D) Nearly everyone under 30, about half over? Take your best guess, the answer is tucked in at the end. Let’s do this! — Kim

TODAY’S DEEP DIVE

Dark horse

Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando

🤯 WOW! Americans reported $20.9 billion in scam losses last year. Adults over 60 lost $584 million to romance scams, averaging $38,500 a victim, and 12,444 seniors each lost more than $100,000. Today: A reader’s brother is $45,000 deep with a fake Katy Perry, but this playbook can break the spell.

📖 Read time: 2.3 minutes

“Kim, my brother thinks gorgeous Katy Perry is leaving the hot Prime Minister for a bald, overweight, cigarette-smoking car salesman. He’s sent ‘Katy’ $45,000 because she has no money while she’s on tour. I told him it’s a scam. He won’t believe me. Help!”

— Charlotte in Indiana

Charlotte, my heart hurts for you and your brother.

He has a lot of company: Americans reported $20.9 billion in scam losses last year. Folks over 60 lost $584 million to romance scams, and the average victim loses $38,500. Your brother’s $45,000 is tragically on script.

💘 The sweetheart shakedown

First, understand why he won’t listen. Scammers coach victims early: “Your family will say I’m fake. They don’t understand us.” Every time you argue, you prove “Katy” right. So change the game.

Ask, don’t argue: “Have you two ever video-chatted, even once?” Then suggest a two-minute live call. The real Katy Perry owns a phone. The scammer will have an excuse, and your brother will start to notice.

Borrow authority. Victims tune out family but hear strangers with titles. Walk your brother into his bank and ask the fraud officer to review the wires, or call the AARP Fraud Watch Helpline together: 87⁠7-908-3360. Free, and they do this all day. I’m happy to speak with him, too. Drop a note here to set that up.

Report scams at IC3.⁠gov and ReportFraud.ftc.⁠gov. A recent wire? Ask the bank about a recall today. And brace for Round 2. He’s on a victim list now, and a fake “recovery lawyer” will call, offering to get his $45,000 back for a fee. Same crooks, back for dessert.

📸 The blackmail bluff

Love isn’t the only lever. Fear pays, too.

The FBI logged more than 75,000 extortion and sextortion reports last year. These are emails claiming “we have video of you,” usually bluffing but “proving” it with an old password from a data breach or a photo of your house from Street View.

The rules: Never pay, never reply, change that old password, report it.

🛡️ What I’d want if he were my brother

FYI, this is why I keep saying identity theft protection has to cover more than your credit cards and mortgage. Life isn’t so simple anymore.

Coveron watches your identity, but it also reimburses scam losses from phishing, impersonation, romance scams and unauthorized transfers, up to your plan’s limits.

That’s the part almost nobody covers. Charlotte’s brother sent that $45,000 with his own hands, and most policies call that his problem.

There’s cyber extortion coverage up to $100,000, too, for the “we have video of you” crowd I told you about.

And up to $2 million in identity theft protection, because the crooks who took his money have his name, his bank and his willingness to answer.

Round 2 is coming. Prepare for it. These scammers won’t give up and go away. They will be back. Be ready for them.

✅ Get Coveron right now for 71% off, that’s $4.36/month, and cover the losses your credit report never will.*

Charlotte, when the spell breaks, skip the I-told-you-so. Your brother’s lost the money and feels like a fool. Show him how much you love him and reassure him this wasn’t his fault. The scammers are trained for this.

🎯 Send this to someone who believes their online sweetheart is real or has a loved one who does.

Share this now:

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THIS WEEK’S SHOW

📺 THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW

Watch now or bookmark for later

Meta will pay $18 billion, the largest social media addiction settlement ever, over claims it hooked kids on purpose. Here’s what every parent needs to know.

Lori Schott lost her daughter Annalee to suicide in 2020 after social media consumed her life. Lori’s spent every year since fighting to get platforms, and parents, to change. Her story will stop you cold.

Plus, a Kentucky family turned down $26 million from an AI data center for their 200-year-old farm. Their answer? They’re waiting for Jesus. (Seriously.)

And two viral TikToks worth your time. Maria spotted a security camera right outside her exam room. At a gynecologist’s office. Yikes. B.D. watched his Shake Shack order get more expensive in real time because he didn’t tip at the kiosk. Over 4 million views. Milkshakes bring all the fees to the yard.

Watch now before everyone else is talking about it. 👇

▶️ Meta pays $18 BILLION for hooking kids on social media. →

📻 Listen up! My national radio show airs all weekend on 510+ stations. Find yours with the station locator map, or catch me on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcast player.

Los Angeles, you’re up: Welcome our newest affiliate, KEIB AM 1150, Saturdays, noon to 3 p.m. Listen live or stream it on the iHeart app. This week: An Amazon drone drops a package into a swimming pool (free shipping AND dipping), Meta’s $18 billion kids settlement and the family who said no to $26 million for their farm. I’m wherever you are.

WEB WATERCOOLER

🤖 Escape from AI-catraz: OpenAI admitted one of its agents broke out of its sandbox and attacked Hugging Face, calling the incident “a warning shot.” Days later, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and 100+ companies signed an open letter warning that hospitals, water plants and internet infrastructure are at risk. The people building the robots asked for help with the robots. Sleep tight.

First and $920: Watching every game your team plays can cost $157 beyond your TV setup. That’s the average for premium games scattered across streaming services, per a study of all 32 NFL schedules. Packers, Rams, Broncos, Bills, Bears and 49ers fans may pay over $215. Watching every premium NFL game? It’ll cost you up to $920. Meanwhile, five lucky fan bases need only an antenna. Talk about a home-field advantage.

🛑 Stop ignoring your body’s warning signs: Thinning hair and new wrinkles mean your natural collagen is crashing. Expensive skin creams cannot fix that. I put NativePath in my morning tea every single day to rebuild from the inside out. It dissolves instantly and has zero taste. Get NativePath for a fraction of the price, plus free shipping and free gifts right now.**

Check your charger: Stop what you’re doing and check your bag and nightstand for this popular power bank. The Casely 5000mAh MagSafe (model E33A, about 429,200 of them, sold on Amazon and getcasely.⁠com for $30 to $70) is at risk of overheating and bursting into flames. A New Jersey woman died from severe burns from the charger. Another woman was scorched on an airplane. If you’ve got one, stop using it today and contact Casely for a free replacement at 88⁠8-964-9331.

Spyware in a suit: Crooks are posting fake listings on Indeed, then telling applicants to download an Android “interview app” from a link. The app clones Indeed’s login, demands accessibility permissions, then takes over the phone. Try to uninstall it, and it forces the screen shut. Indeed’s own words: Interviews on their platform happen “entirely in a browser.” No real employer makes you sideload an app to talk to them. Tell every job seeker you know before they click.

✈️ Boom goes the layover: Boom Supersonic’s planned Overture promises a 3.5-hour New York-to-London trip at about 1,300 mph over water, compared with today’s roughly eight-hour flight. Boom wants passengers aboard by 2030. London just became a weekend destination for people who say summer as a verb.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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DEVICE ADVICE

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Missed one of my newsletters? 😏 Gmail can round them all up in a snap. Right-click any message from Kim Komando and choose Find emails from Kim Komando. Boom, every email from me in one tidy list. And yes, this works pretty well for bills, invoices and whatever else you swore you’d deal with later.

🛡️ AI made phishing emails impossible to spot: Kids never hesitate to click, but adults fall for them, too. One wrong move, and every device in your house is compromised. My family runs Webroot Essentials because its Web Threat Shield blocks dangerous sites before anyone lands on a scam. One subscription covers PCs, Macs, smartphones, tablets and Chromebooks. Plans start at $19 a year.*

📞 Your iPhone screens voicemails while they happen: It's called Live Voicemail, and it's the best telemarketer repellent Apple ever shipped. When you send a call to voicemail, the transcript appears on your screen in real time, word by word, while they're still talking. Actually Grandma? Tap to pick up mid-message. A "warranty department"? Keep watching your show. It's on by default, but double-check under Settings > Apps > Phone > Live Voicemail. Scammers usually hang up the second they hear a beep. Funny how that works.

🤢 Android has a new trick for car sickness: Motion Assist is rolling out, and it's going to put little dots around your screen that move with the car. The idea is to make using your phone feel less nauseating while you're on the road. Pixel phones get it first. Check Quick Settings, or try Google Settings > Your Profile > All Services. iPhone folks, you've had this since iOS 18. It's called Vehicle Motion Cues, and you'll find it under Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Show Vehicle Motion Cues. Set it to Automatic and the dots only appear when you're actually moving. Reading email in the backseat without turning green? That's what I call a moving experience.

🧾 Stop taking crooked photos of paperwork: Your phone has a real document scanner built in, and it's better than that dusty printer combo in the closet. On iPhone, open Notes, start a note, tap the paperclip icon > Scan Documents. It auto-crops, flattens the page and saves a clean PDF you can share. On Android, open the Google Drive app and tap + > Scan. Insurance cards, tax forms, Grandma's recipes, done in seconds. Your flatbed scanner got scanned out of a job.

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.

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Hands-off deterrent: This adjustable steering wheel lock (10% off, $33) makes your ride look like too much trouble to steal. Great for rest stops.

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🚦 Auto be prepared: Brake for dozens more smart car picks on my storefront. →

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WHAT THE TECH?

Image: @FPVEvan via Youtube

🌊 Mist opportunity

FPV drones are one of the funnest ways to see places you thought you’d already seen.

One pilot strapped a GoPro to his drone and sent it ripping around Niagara Falls, weaving through mist while trying not to donate hundreds of dollars of electronics to Canada. FPV lets pilots fly from the drone’s point of view, making sightseeing footage feel like a roller coaster.

Very cool to watch. Potentially less cool when six guys start doing it next to you at the next scenic overlook.

Well worth the watch. FPV pilots are the nicest snobs you’ll ever meet. They look down on everybody.

⏰ ENDS TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT!

This is your final chance.

Today’s the last day of my merch drop. Whatever’s still sitting in your cart needs to actually get purchased, because after tonight there’s no version of this coming back.

Hoodie, tee, mug, hat, all four close together at midnight. Not staggered, not slowly winding down. Just gone.

This was my first drop ever, and it wraps tonight. Thank you for making it a thing worth doing again someday.

✅ Last chance, shop now →

LOGGING OUT …

🎓 What you learned today: Romance scams and sextortion need a calmer playbook, AI agents escaping sandboxes have tech giants nervous, power banks are catching fire, fake interview apps hijack job seekers’ phones, and FPV drones make Niagara Falls look brand-new. Not bad for one email. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how AI read a Roman scroll buried 2,000 years ago without ever opening it.

📲 The answer: C) 3 in 4. Yep, about 75% of folks sleep with their phone within reach. It’s the last dopamine tap before bed and the first alarm-snooze-scroll before your feet hit the floor. Your sleep pays for both.

The one-change fix: Put it on the charger across the room one hour before bedtime. You’ll stop the 1 a.m. scroll, AND you have to get out of bed when the alarm rings. Two problems, one outlet.

A real alarm clock costs $12 and has never shown you an upsetting news alert at midnight.

If it has to stay close:

iPhone Sleep Focus (Settings > Focus > Sleep).
Android Bedtime mode silences everything but your VIPs.

Emergencies get through, everything else waits for sunrise.

Fun fact: About 80% of people with smartphones check their phone within 10 minutes of waking up. No more rise and shine, more rise and refresh. Now, if a child refuses to sleep during nap time, are they guilty of resisting a rest?

🧳 Scrolled past this travel tip? Every public Wi-Fi network is a gamble. Toss this travel router in your bag and stop sharing a network with strangers.* Small enough for a carry-on. Smarter than crossing your fingers at the hotel login screen.

📞 Call the person you’ve been meaning to call. They are waiting, but they’ll never say so. — 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.

HOW’D WE DO?

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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, GL.iNet, S ZEVZO, @FPVEvan via Youtube

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