The Annual Phishing Flood: A Public Service Announcement

Thanksgiving always kicks off the annual flood of promo emails, shipping alerts, loyalty offers, holiday coupons, and "exclusive VIP deals." This year, the volume feels higher and the quality feels sharper because AI tools now generate phishing emails that look exactly like what Amazon, Walmart, Wayfair, UPS, FedEx, or any major brand would send. The old visual tells are gone. The scams and their associated scam websites are practically indistinguishable from legitimate ones. Continue Reading →

OpenAI Wants to Own Your Shopping Cart

OpenAI launched "shopping research" in ChatGPT yesterday, a feature that generates personalized buyer's guides by synthesizing product information from across the web. The timing (Black Friday week) is deliberate; OpenAI is betting it can become the starting point for purchase decisions. Continue Reading →

Top Tips to Avoid Holiday Shopping Scams

Shelly Palmer, tech expert and Professor of Advanced Media at Syracuse University, shares essential tips to avoid holiday shopping scams and highlights the best tech deals of the season. From avoiding AI-generated phishing sites to scoring big savings on Apple Watches, Meta Quest 3 headsets, Google Nest cameras, and even a high-quality pizza oven, this episode has you covered for safe and smart shopping during the busiest time of the year. Continue Reading →

How to Spot and Avoid Donation Scams

In this holiday season, when generosity is at its peak, tech expert Shelly Palmer, Professor of Advanced Media at Syracuse University's Newhouse School, discusses the proliferation of donation scams in 55 cities and shares essential tips on how to avoid falling victim to them. Original Airdate: November 28, 2023 Continue Reading →