Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers covering the broligarchs, the influencers, and the (potentially conscious) artificial intelligence models scrambling for power in Washington. If you’re not a subscriber yet, assert your humanity against the will of the machines by signing up here.
Technology
People are turning on Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s popularity with the American public is waning, according to the latest polling average from Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin. The billionaire CEO of multiple companies wears many hats, but the most visible one of late has been as the face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an organization that has been tearing through the US government administrative state.
Silver Bulletin’s average shows that 53.5 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Musk, and only 39.6 percent of Americans see him favorably. His unpopularity is way up since the beginning of 2024 when only 38 percent of people disliked him, according to the site’s tracker. Silver writes that his process for tracking Musk’s ratings is similar to how he tracks President Trump’s, but with “slightly more conservative settings as Musk is polled less often than Trump.”
According to Silver Bulletin, negative views of the billionaire have been especially trending upwards in the wake of his heavy support — in part by paying voters — for Trump’s second Presidential campaign and, not long after, the beginning of his work at DOGE. That work has seen widespread federal agency layoffs as DOGE’s operatives access, or attempt to gain access, to sensitive areas of the government, including IRS records, the US Treasury’s payments system, and the US Social Security Administration.
However accurate Silver Bulletin’s average is, the site is not alone in noting Musk’s unpopularity. Outlets like Fox News, Politico, and Axios have all recently pointed to polls showing a growing distaste for the billionaire.
That may have already had electoral consequences for Republicans in Wisconsin, where Musk’s attempt to bolster a conservative Supreme Court candidate this month — using the same voter-paying tactics he used during Trump’s campaign — appear to have backfired. More than half of voters in the state disapproved of his involvement, and about a third said it made them less likely to vote for the conservative justice, according to pollster information published by The Washington Post. In the end, Democrat-backed candidate Susan Crawford won by 10 points, preserving Wisconsin’s highest court’s 4-3 liberal majority.
Very important news: Do you want to tell me stuff and see it printed in Regulator? Well, now you can, because we have a new tip line! Send all commentary, cool information, and ~secrets~ to tina.nguyen+tips@theverge.com.
The Pentagon’s private-sector A-Team
This morning, in advance of a meeting between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, my colleague Hayden Field and I published a story about the Pentagon’s hardball contract renegotiations with Anthropic. The stakes are higher than it should reasonably be, with the Pentagon continuing to designate Anthropic a “supply-chain risk” if the company doesn’t comply with their demands about their acceptable use policy.
In a post-meeting readout, Axios reported that Hegseth brought several other senior Defense officials to the meeting in an attempt to show that the Pentagon was taking the dispute “seriously.” But in a post-DOGE Trump administration run by broligarchs, it’s always worthwhile to check the attendees’ bios. Some of them were normal senior officials who’d spent their careers in government and military work, but the others have somewhat unusual backgrounds:
- Pentagon CTO Emil Michael, who we reported has been spearheading negotiations with Anthropic. Michael may be familiar to longtime Verge readers and followers of Silicon Valley corporate drama as the former second-in-command at Uber when Travis Kalanick was CEO. Michael was pushed out in 2017 after an investigation found that he, and several other top executives that called themselves the “A-Team,” perpetuated a culture of sexual harassment at the company.
- For anyone curious about his history on surveillance: During a 2014 dinner with several journalists, Michael suggested that Uber hire opposition researchers to gather personal “dirt” on reporters publishing unfavorable news, suggesting that he’d wanted to target one female reporter who had recently criticized the company for its culture of misogyny. This was also around the time that Uber drew controversy for an internal tool known as “God Mode,” which employees used to track the movements of its users, including one BuzzFeed journalist who was writing about an Uber executive.
- Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg, the founder of the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, which manages roughly $65 billion in assets and specializes in “distressed properties.” Feinberg, who’s widely blamed for the death of the auto manufacturer Chrysler, was also an early supporter of Donald Trump, donating to his 2016 presidential campaign and serving on the president’s intelligence advisory board in 2018. During his 2025 Senate confirmation hearing, Feinberg touted Cerberus’ investments in several companies involved in national security, saying he had “significant experience with the Pentagon as a contractor and understand[s] how it functions and is organized.”
- At the time, Democrats raised concerns that Feinberg would have conflicts of interest due to Cerberus’ numerous investments in defense companies such as DynCorp. (That year, DynCorp settled a lawsuit with the Department of Justice over allegations that it had “knowingly inflated subcontractor charges under a State Department contract to train Iraqi police forces.”)
- In 2023, while Feinberg was still at Cerberus, the firm launched Cerberus Ventures, a venture capital arm that invests in early-stage companies that address national security issues in critical infrastructure.
- Hegseth’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, an Army veteran who, in 2021, attempted to run for an open Senate seat in Pennsylvania. While he won Trump’s endorsement in the heated Republican primary, he was forced to drop out in November after his ex-wife made several allegations of serious physical and psychological abuse during a custody hearing. She was afforded full legal custody. (Dr. Mehmet Oz, now serving in the Trump administration, subsequently won the nomination.)
Feinberg and Michael’s presence should draw eyeballs. Yes, they both have some amount of defense industry experience: Michael was a White House fellow during the Obama administration, and spent two years as a special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the Pentagon, which isn’t nothing. Feinberg has clearly spent time with defense contracts. But one must fully appreciate the rapacious business mindset that private sector types love to bring into the government — especially with high-stakes negotiations such as this. Parnell’s presence, meanwhile, makes sense within the context of “being the spokesman for Pete Hegseth.”
The single-supplier shuffle
One topic Hayden and I didn’t get to explore more was the “single-supplier vulnerability” issue, but it’s turning into a crucial factor in negotiations.
In 2024, the Biden administration released a national security memorandum on the use of artificial intelligence, which laid out several directives regarding the protection of the supply chain. Among them was a directive for the Department of Defense to maintain contracts with at least two frontier AI labs that were cleared to handle classified information, in order to prevent a scenario where one compromised vendor could take down an entire IT system. But as early as the summer of 2025, I’m told, the Trump administration was trying to address that vulnerability. While they had signed separate contracts with Anthropic, Google, xAI, and OpenAI, only Anthropic’s model was cleared for classified use when Hegseth published his memo outlining his new AI policy in January.
This has placed the Pentagon in a tight situation: Even if they successfully cut out Anthropic and go through the arduous process of making every defense contractor remove Claude from their workflows, they would risk being out of compliance with the Department’s own guidelines, to say nothing of common sense. (Avoiding single-supplier vulnerability is a very basic practice in the tech industry.)
It certainly provides more context to the Pentagon’s decision last night to suddenly grant xAI’s Grok access to classified systems, even though Grok is widely considered the least capable of the available models. While The New York Times reported that Google is also close to signing a deal allowing the Pentagon to use Gemini for classified work, defense insiders view Gemini as a quality rival to Claude, while xAi’s Grok “is not considered as advanced or as reliable as Anthropic’s.” OpenAI is not close to a deal, as the company reportedly believes that it must improve ChatGPT’s safety features before deploying it on classified networks.
So let’s do the math. You have four AI models, and you’re required to work with two of them. Your choices are:
1) A company with a pretty good AI model and increasingly flexible morals
2) A company with the best AI model, but which refuses to let you use it for autonomously killing people without human input
3) A company whose AI model isn’t secure enough to deploy yet
4) A company whose AI has racist hallucinations and generates child porn, and that you don’t consider “advanced [or] reliable”
If you can’t contract with companies 2 and 3, you’re stuck with companies 1 and 4, which even Defense officials admit is not optimal from a national security perspective. “The only reason we’re still talking to these people [Anthropic] is we need them and we need them now. The problem for these guys is they are that good,” a Defense official told Axios ahead of the meeting.
The latest Clarity Act negotiations between finance and crypto last week inadvertently turned into the latest episode of recurring segment I’m now calling: “Why is Laura Loomer tweeting about obscure deep-cut tech issues as if they are MAGA loyalty tests?”
Last Thursday, a small group of powerful crypto and finance players met at the White House to continue hashing out draft language over stablecoin yields. Coinbase, which sparked these negotiations after it withdrew support from Clarity over stablecoin yields, was in attendance. Prior to the meeting, however, Loomer tweeted a classic banger that demonstrated the tactics she uses to wield influence over Trump: Cast the target as someone who once supported Trump’s enemies and is therefore disloyal.
Ironically, Coinbase has turned into one of the biggest branded boosters of the Trump administration, donating money to his pet initiatives and even having their logo splashed all over last year’s military parade.
Though Loomer tweeted a similar sentiment about Coinbase last June, it seems to have had no impact on whether Coinbase has access to Trump, and likely won’t for a while: I’m told that CEO Brian Armstrong was at Mar-a-Lago the day before Loomer tweeted, attending a World Liberty Financial event.
A wild Trumpworld character has appeared!
If you followed the saga of Logan Paul auctioning off his Pokémon card collection, you may be aware that one of those cards sold for a record-setting $16.5 million last week. But who’s that Pokémon purchaser? It’s AJ Scaramucci, the son of the one and only Anthony Scaramucci, the New York financier and former Trump ally who famously served as Trump’s White House Communications Director in 2017 for 10 days.
AJ is the founder of Solari Capital, which invested $100 million in a Bitcoin mining platform run by Eric Trump. He also now owns the Pikachu Illustrator card, one of only 39 cards in existence and in Grade 10 condition, as well as the diamond chain and carrying case that Paul wore to display the card when he appeared at WrestleMania 38. Scaramucci told reporters that he purchased the card as part of his upcoming “planetary treasure hunt,” adding that he also hoped to purchase a T. rex skull and the Declaration of Independence. (He later posted on X that he hoped to place the card in the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto and cement it as “the ‘Mona Lisa’ of the Pokemon franchise.”)
We can’t believe that a court has to tell you this, much less the Southern District of New York: If you put correspondence between you and your lawyer into a publicly available AI platform, it is no longer protected by attorney-client privilege and becomes subject to discovery!!!!
In any case, have a pleasant State of the Union watch party (if anyone does that anymore) and see you next week.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
You open your inbox and see a subject line from Apple. It says an app-specific password was generated for your account. Then your stomach drops.
The email claims you authorized a $2,990.02 PayPal payment. It even includes a confirmation number. It urges you to call a support number right away. There is just one problem. You never did any of this.
If that sounds familiar, you are likely looking at a classic Apple impersonation scam.
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.
Scammers are using Apple branding and urgent language to trick victims into calling a fake support number. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
What the fake Apple email says
The message claims:
- An app-specific password was generated
- A large PayPal payment was approved
- You should call the listed phone number to report an unauthorized transaction
At first glance, it looks polished. It uses Apple branding. It mentions Apple Support. It includes a confirmation code. However, once you slow down and read it carefully, the red flags jump out.
Red flags in the Apple app-specific password scam email
Before you panic or pick up the phone, take a closer look at these warning signs that expose this Apple app-specific password scam email.
1) The ‘To’ address is not you
The “To” field shows an email address that is not the recipient’s actual address. That is a huge warning sign. Legitimate Apple security emails are sent directly to the Apple ID email on file. If the visible recipient address is different from yours, the message was likely mass-mailed or spoofed. Scammers blast these emails to thousands of addresses at once. They do not customize the recipient line properly. That mismatch alone is enough to treat the message as fraudulent.
2) The sudden $2,990 charge
Scammers love big numbers. A charge close to $3,000 is designed to trigger panic. When people feel fear, they act fast. That is exactly what the criminals want.
3) The ‘call this number now’ trick
The email pushes you to call a specific phone number. That number does not belong to Apple. Real Apple security emails tell you to visit your account directly. They do not pressure you to call a random support line.
If you call, the scammer may:
- Ask for your Apple ID password
- Request remote access to your computer
- Tell you to move money to “secure” your account
That is how the real damage begins.
4) Bold links that push you to click
The email includes bold links such as Apple Account and Apple Support. They are designed to look official and trustworthy. However, scammers often hide malicious URLs behind legitimate-looking text. When you hover over the link, the actual destination may be a completely different website. That is why you should never click links inside a suspicious email. Instead, open a new browser window and type the official website address yourself.
5) Mixed messages about passwords and payments
The subject mentions an app-specific password. The body suddenly talks about a PayPal transaction. That mismatch is a major warning sign. Scammers often combine multiple fears into one message to increase urgency.
6) Generic greeting
The email opens with “Dear Customer.” Apple typically addresses you by your name. Generic greetings are common in bulk phishing emails.
SPYWARE CAN HIGHJACK YOUR PHONE IN SECONDS
A fake Apple email claiming a $2,990 PayPal charge is targeting inboxes in a new impersonation scam. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
More subtle signs this is a scam
There are several additional details that help confirm this is not real.
The reply-to address may look legitimate at first glance
In this case, the Reply-To field shows appleid-usen@email.apple.com, which appears to be an official Apple domain. However, a familiar-looking domain does not automatically prove an email is legitimate. Scammers can spoof visible sender information. They can manipulate display names and certain header fields so a message appears to come from a trusted company. Most people never see the deeper technical authentication details, such as SPF, DKIM or DMARC validation. That means a legitimate-looking sender address can still appear in a fraudulent message. When evaluating a suspicious Apple app-specific password email, weigh all the red flags together, not just the reply-to address.
If the email also includes:
- A mismatched “To” field
- A large unexpected payment
- An urgent phone number
- Mixed messaging about passwords and PayPal
Those warning signs matter far more than a familiar-looking domain.
The payment language feels forced
The email says: “You authorized a USD 2,990.02 payment to apple.com using PayPal.” That wording feels stiff and unnatural. Apple receipts usually reference specific products, subscriptions or invoice details. They do not vaguely reference a large PayPal payment tied to a password notification. The mismatch between a password alert and a major payment should raise suspicion immediately.
The masked email formatting looks odd
The message shows a masked address with dots and an unusual domain, such as relay.quickinvoicesus.com. That is not standard Apple formatting. Apple typically references your Apple ID directly, not an unrelated invoice-style domain. That strange domain inclusion is another strong indicator that this email is fraudulent.
The pressure to act fast
The message urges you to call immediately to report an unauthorized transaction. High urgency is a hallmark of phishing. Legitimate companies encourage you to log in securely to your account. They do not rush you into calling a third-party phone number. When you feel rushed, pause. Scammers rely on speed and emotion.
What this scam is really trying to do
This is a refund scam disguised as a security alert.
The goal is simple. Get you to call the fake support number. Once you are on the phone, the scammer may:
- Ask for your Apple ID password
- Request remote access to your computer
- Guide you through fake refund steps
- Steal banking or PayPal information
In many cases, victims lose far more than the fake $2,990 charge mentioned in the email.
How to check your Apple account safely
If you receive this type of message, pause. Then take control. Instead of clicking links in the email:
- Open a new browser window
- Type appleid.apple.com directly into the address bar
- Log in and review your account activity
If you did not generate an app-specific password and you see no suspicious charges, you are safe. You can also check your PayPal account directly by typing paypal.com into your browser. Never rely on links or phone numbers inside a suspicious email.
Apple app-specific password scam email checklist
Use this simple checklist the next time you get a scary email:
- The “To” field does not match your email
- The greeting says Dear Customer
- There is a large unexpected charge
- You are told to call a number immediately
- The topic feels mismatched, such as password plus payment
If several of these appear together, you are almost certainly dealing with a scam.
Why Apple and PayPal impersonation scams keep working
Apple has billions of users. PayPal has hundreds of millions more. Both brands are trusted, widely used and connected to sensitive financial information. When criminals attach Apple’s name to a message, people pay attention. When they add PayPal and a large dollar amount, the fear intensifies. That combination is powerful. It blends account security concerns with financial panic. Many people react before they pause to verify the details. That split second of fear is exactly where scammers make their money.
“PayPal does not tolerate fraudulent activity, and we work hard to protect our customers from evolving phishing scams,” a PayPal spokesperson told CyberGuy. “We always encourage consumers to practice vigilance online and to learn how to spot the warning signs of common fraud. We recommend reviewing our best practice tips for avoiding phishing schemes on the PayPal Newsroom, and contacting Customer Support directly through the PayPal app or our Contact page for assistance if you believe you have been targeted by a scam.”
CyberGuy also reached out to Apple for comment.
TAX SEASON SCAMS 2026: FAKE IRS MESSAGES STEALING IDENTITIES
The fraudulent message combines an app-specific password alert with a PayPal charge to create panic. (Christian Charisius/picture alliance via Getty Images)
How to protect yourself from Apple phishing emails
You can reduce your risk from an Apple app-specific password scam email with a few smart habits. These steps protect more than just your Apple account. They protect your entire digital life.
1) Use two-factor authentication
Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your Apple ID, PayPal and email accounts. Even if someone guesses your password, they still cannot log in without the second verification step. That extra layer blocks most account takeover attempts.
2) Never click links or call numbers in suspicious emails
If an email tells you to call support or click a link, stop. Instead, open a new browser window and type the official website address yourself. Go directly to appleid.apple.com or paypal.com. Also, make sure you have strong antivirus software installed on your devices. Strong antivirus tools can detect malicious links, block phishing sites and warn you before you land on a fake login page. That protection matters because one click on the wrong link can expose login credentials or install hidden malware. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com
3) Watch for urgency and fear tactics
Scammers push urgency. They use large dollar amounts and phrases like unauthorized transaction to rush you. Pause when you feel panic. Review the details carefully. Legitimate companies do not pressure you into instant action.
4) Keep your devices updated
Install software updates on your phone and computer as soon as they become available. Security patches fix vulnerabilities that attackers exploit. Outdated software makes phishing and malware attacks easier to pull off.
5) Use a password manager and strong, unique passwords
Do not reuse passwords across accounts. If one site gets breached, reused passwords put everything else at risk. A password manager generates long, complex passwords and stores them securely. That way, even if scammers trick you into entering one password somewhere, it will not unlock your other accounts.
Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our No. 1 password manager pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials. Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2026 at Cyberguy.com.
6) Reduce your exposed personal information
Scammers often find your email address and personal details through data broker sites. Using a reputable data removal service can reduce how much of your personal information is publicly available online. When less of your data floats around the internet, criminals have fewer tools to target you with convincing phishing emails. Less exposure means fewer personalized scams landing in your inbox. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.
7) Report the phishing email
Forward suspicious Apple impersonation emails to reportphishing@apple.com. You can also mark the message as phishing in your email provider. Reporting scams helps improve filters and protect other people from falling victim.
8) Monitor your financial accounts
Even if you did not click anything or call the number, review your bank, PayPal and Apple accounts for unusual activity over the next few days. Early detection limits damage. The faster you spot fraud, the easier it is to reverse.
9) Consider freezing your credit if information was exposed
If you entered personal information or downloaded anything suspicious, consider placing a free credit freeze with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. A credit freeze prevents criminals from opening new accounts in your name. To learn more about how to do this, go to Cyberguy.com and search “How to freeze your credit.”
Kurt’s key takeaways
If you received an Apple app-specific password email with a $2,990 charge you did not authorize, trust your instincts. It is almost certainly a scam. Do not call the number. Do not click the links. Go directly to your official account pages and check for yourself. A few calm minutes can save you thousands of dollars and hours of stress.
When phishing scams use trusted brands like Apple so easily, is the tech industry truly staying ahead of cybercriminals? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report
Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.
Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Related Article
Claude Code is a developer tool for developers. And yet, over the last year and especially the last few months, the team at Anthropic has seen a huge number of people, across industries and disciplines, figure out how to access their terminal so that they could build new stuff too. Few AI products have found true product-market fit the way Claude Code has. But how did that happen? And are we ever going to get out of the terminal?
On this episode of The Vergecast, Anthropic’s Boris Cherny, the head of Claude Code, explains how the project has taken off over the last year. Cherny has made a lot of headlines recently by saying that Claude Code now writes 100 percent of his code, and he explains how his relationship to that code has changed. We also talk about Cowork, and Anthropic’s ongoing attempt to make Claude Code (and everything) a little more accessible to everyday users. It won’t just be chat windows, but nobody’s exactly sure what it will be yet.
After that, The Verge’s Hayden Field joins the show to continue our conversation from a few weeks ago about AI and privacy. These new agentic systems all ask for vast access to our data, our apps, even our devices themselves, in exchange for doing lots of useful things on our behalf. Hayden walks through the tradeoffs inherent in that access and how you should think about guarding your data going forward.
Finally, The Verge’s Allison Johnson helps David answer a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about how the RAM shortage will affect your gadget purchases this year. Depending on who you are, and how old your gadgets are, it’s either time to do some maintenance or do some upgrading.
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
Detroit, MI1 hour ago
Jalen Rose launches acting career in new Detroit-based TV show
San Francisco, CA2 hours ago
Crowd gathers at Manny’s in San Francisco to watch State of the Union address
Dallas, TX2 hours ago
Council should approve new agreement with Fair Park First
Miami, FL2 hours ago
Inside Miami’s billionaire bunker, a manmade island for the .01% where billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg shell out for total privacy | Fortune
Boston, MA2 hours ago
Editorial: Boston needs more housing ASAP, roll back requirements
Florida1 year ago
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Connecticut2 years ago
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
Oregon2 years ago
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Virginia2 years ago
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana1 year ago
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Videos8 hours ago
CNN’s first reactions to Trump’s State of the Union 2026
News9 hours ago
“Under Biden and his corrupt partners in Congress and beyond, it reached a breaking point with the green new scam, open borders for everyone. They poured in by the millions and millions from prisons, from mental institutions. There were murderers, 11,088 murderers.”
Politics10 hours ago
Al Green returns to House chamber for Trump SOTU after dramatic 2025 ejection
World11 hours ago
EU Commission urges MEPs to pass EU-US deal despite fresh tariffs
News12 hours ago
U.S. House rejects aviation safety bill after Pentagon abruptly withdraws support
-
Montana5 days ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Oklahoma1 week agoWildfires rage in Oklahoma as thousands urged to evacuate a small city
-
Education1 week agoVideo: Secret New York City Passage Linked to Underground Railroad
-
Technology4 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Louisiana2 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Politics1 week agoChicago-area teacher breaks silence after losing job over 2-word Facebook post supporting ICE: ‘Devastating’
-
Technology4 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics4 days agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT