Scammers send text messages pretending they reached you by accident, often claiming to be a delivery service or bank, and then try to trick you into clicking links or sharing personal information. These "wrong number" texts feel harmless at first, but they're designed to steal your money or identity, exploiting the natural human instinct to be helpful. Worth knowing: if you receive an unexpected text from an unknown number—especially one asking you to click a link or confirm details—it's safer to delete it or contact the company directly using a phone number from their official website rather than any number in the message itself.
Bank of America is warning customers not to share their banking passwords with AI assistants, because the bank won't take responsibility if something goes wrong with that access. If you give an AI tool your password and it makes mistakes or gets hacked, you could lose money and have no protection from the bank. Worth knowing: keep your passwords private and only log into your bank account yourself through official apps or websites, rather than letting any AI assistant handle it for you.
GMO Internet, a major Japanese company that manages websites and cloud services for many businesses, has had customer information stolen and posted online by hackers. If you use services run by GMO or do business with companies that do, your personal or financial details could potentially be at risk. Worth knowing: check your email for any official notices from companies you work with, and consider changing passwords for important accounts if you think you might be affected.
Criminals are using fake online listings and hacked accounts to trick trucking companies into handing over shipments of expensive computer equipment worth over $100 million since June. Once they gain access to a company's freight system, they can intercept real deliveries by posing as legitimate drivers or hiring unsuspecting truck drivers who don't know the cargo has been stolen. Worth knowing: if you or someone you know works in shipping or logistics, verify the sender's identity through a phone call to a known company number before clicking any links in freight-related emails, as these scams start with malicious links that lock thieves into company accounts.
Google has changed its privacy rules to allow it to use your personal emails, photos, and documents to show you targeted ads, reversing a long-standing promise to keep that information separate from advertising. This matters because your most private communications—things you've only shared with close friends or family through Gmail or Photos—could now influence which products Google tries to sell you. Worth knowing: Google's new "Personal Intelligence" feature lets you opt in to share your data across apps for better AI results, but carefully review any privacy settings if you use Gmail, Drive, or Photos, and consider whether sharing this data is worth the convenience you gain.
Quest Diagnostics, one of America's largest lab testing companies, has confirmed that hackers accessed millions of patients' personal and medical information during a security breach. If you've had blood work or lab tests done in the past several years, your information—including your name, address, and health details—could potentially be at risk. Worth knowing: check your credit reports regularly for suspicious activity, watch for any unusual medical bills, and consider signing up for free credit monitoring if Quest offers it to affected customers.
Rhode Island has become the first state to sue Meta (Facebook and Instagram's parent company) for knowingly allowing scam advertisements to run on its platforms that target older adults and steal their money. When someone loses thousands of dollars to a fake investment or romance scheme they saw on Facebook, Meta has made it very difficult for victims to get their money back or even report what happened. You can protect yourself by being extremely cautious about investment opportunities or romantic connections that start on social media, and by reporting suspicious ads directly to the platform rather than clicking on them.
A power problem at Google's data centre in London knocked out internet services used by UK courts and several major banks, leaving millions of people unable to access their money or conduct transactions. When big companies rely on a single company's servers to run their operations, problems there ripple outward fast—and this outage showed how vulnerable our financial system has become to technical failures. Worth knowing: if your bank suddenly stops working, it might not be their fault; checking the news or your bank's social media can help you figure out whether there's a wider outage affecting many people, not just you.
A hacker got into Florida's motor vehicle database in September 2026 using login information that a police department had stored insecurely, potentially stealing driver's license details and personal information from thousands of people. If your Florida driver's license information is from years ago—even if you've moved away—your data could be at risk since the state still has old records on file. You can check whether your information was compromised by emailing customerinquiry@flhsmv.gov, and if affected, you'll receive a letter offering free credit monitoring for a year.
Scammers are now using artificial intelligence to create convincing fake videos and websites that look almost identical to real companies, making it much harder to spot fraud than it used to be. This matters because criminals can now impersonate a trusted bank or business so well that even careful people might fall for it and hand over money or personal information. Worth knowing: if someone contacts you unexpectedly asking for money or passwords, hang up and call the official number on your bank statement or a company's official website to verify they really tried to reach you.
Romance scammers pose as celebrities or attractive strangers online, build fake relationships over weeks or months, and eventually ask victims to send thousands of dollars—often convincing people they're helping with a business emergency or travel crisis. These scams cost Americans about $1.5 billion yearly, and they work because scammers are skilled at creating emotional connections that cloud people's judgment about whether requests for money make sense. You can protect yourself by remembering that real celebrities and wealthy individuals never ask followers to send money via private message, and if someone you've only met online asks you to send cash, it's a red flag no matter how convincing their story sounds.
Hackers broke into refrigeration control systems at around 700 French supermarkets by exploiting weak security passwords, remotely turning on the defrosters and causing food to spoil and electrical fires. This kind of attack was entirely preventable—the equipment makers knew about these security weaknesses but hadn't fixed them properly, and many stores never updated their systems with available patches. Worth knowing: if you own a small business with internet-connected equipment (heating, security cameras, or anything remotely controlled), ask your IT person or supplier whether your devices have the latest security updates installed, because outdated systems are like leaving your front door unlocked.
