Did you get a weird “Hey, are you coming to the BBQ?” text this week? If you did, you and John from Huntsville, Alabama, have something in common—and trust me, BBQ is not on the menu. The real dish is a WEEX cryptocurrency scam dressed up as casual texts from a stranger. These scammers start off friendly, building rapport, but give it a week and suddenly you’ll be trading “digital gold” on what looks like WEEX, a legit crypto exchange, but surprise! The “exchange” is a fake setup designed to steal your cash and every drop of personal info it can siphon. Real exchanges get hijacked as cover, and the only one BBQ’ing is your bank account once you send money or crypto to someone you’ve only met by text. Always dig into “investment” claims, double-check platforms, and if the pitch gets dodgy or rushes you, run like you just saw a phishing link the size of a Great White.

Speaking of fishy moves, let’s click over to California—Santa Clara, to be exact—where authorities just busted six people in an organized retail and gift card scam that’s straight out of a cyber drama. Sheriff Robert Jonsen called it the biggest takedown they've had: Thanh Vo, Corey Guting, Erik Nguyen, Ye Zhang, De Lu, and Yan Wong allegedly raked in millions by coercing people—mostly seniors—into buying gift cards at places like Home Depot and Lowe’s. Victims handed over the codes to scammers, who then bought truckloads of merchandise, filling entire homes with stolen goods. The key lesson here: any call or text demanding gift card payments for “fees” or “urgent situations” is almost certainly a scam. Ignore, report, and remember: you don’t pay the police—or the IRS or the power company—in gift cards.

Now, hold onto your phones—because artificial intelligence has entered the chat. Scammers can now clone voices and faces with frightening accuracy. There’s a reported case where scammers used AI-generated videos of Jennifer Aniston to convince a guy she was in love with him—until, shocker, “Jennifer” asked for cash. The latest trend? The “phantom hacker” scam, powered by generative AI: step one, impersonate tech support and make you install malware; step two, fake your bank and convince you to “protect” your account; step three, pose as the government and drain your funds. If anyone ever urges you to move money “for your own safety,” especially using Apple, Google, or any unfamiliar tech tools, just hang up and walk away. It’s easier than explaining to your bank how Jennifer Aniston emptied your account.

For your cyber shield, never click links from texts or emails that seem off—even if they look official. Only download apps from the Google Play or Apple App Store. If you ever get a digital “arrest” threat, ignore it—no authority arrests people over WhatsApp. And if an offer sounds too good, like a $5 million job out of nowhere, it is.

Thanks for tuning in! Smash that subscribe button and stay one step ahead of the scammers out there. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI