President Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods imported from Mexico, Canada, and China are in effect, but Big Tech companies have remained mostly silent despite the potential impact tariffs could have on their businesses.

I’ve written about this twice already: once shortly after Trump announced them in February, and again a week later after the initial 10 percent tariff on China went into effect and the Mexico and Canada tariffs had been paused. In both articles, The Verge reached out to many companies in Big Tech and adjacent industries, and the vast majority of them declined to comment or didn’t reply at all. The ones that did reply usually gave generic statements.

We’ve done another round of outreach, and while there are a few new comments, things are mostly the same. Here’s what’s new:

Otherwise, the situation is similar to the last time I wrote about it, with very minor changes:

But as I wrote previously, the Trump administration is chaotic, so the nature of the tariffs could change at any moment. The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a one-month exemption on the automotive tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico, according to Politico. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had signaled yesterday that the administration could announce some sort of compromise on the Mexico and Canada tariffs as early as today.

We may not see the real lasting effects of these tariffs on tech companies until their next major product launches. Could the iPhone 17 have a higher price? Will you have to pay more for the next generation of Ray-Ban Meta glasses? We just don’t know yet.

Update, March 17th: Added expanded statement from Arm, which mentions tarriffs.

Update, March 14th: Added Arm statement.

Updates, March 6th: Added Framework statement. Acer, Asus, Canon USA, and LG declined to comment.

Update, March 5th: Sony Digital Imaging declined to comment.

Additional reporting by Antonio Di Benedetto.

We want to warn you about a potential issue that could occur after refinancing your home: an unexpected surge in spam messages. “Morgan” from Yuma, Arizona, reached out to share that she experienced this. 

“We had to refinance our house and tried through XYZ. We now get a lot of spam that I have to continually block. I know it is them because we’ve used Rocket Mortgage for years and never had an issue, and XYZ was the only new organization we had been communicating with using that email. How do you prevent that?”

The good news is there are ways to avoid spam and prevent it from coming back. Here’s what you need to know.

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Tips to help combat spam 

If you get a spam message, avoid replying or clicking on any links in the message. Follow the steps below to prevent future spam texts.

How to stop spam text messages on iPhone

• Open the Settings app
• Scroll down and tap Apps 
• Scroll down to the Messages app and open it
• Scroll down until you see Filter Unknown Senders and toggle it on
• Open the Messages app and tap on Filters in the upper right-hand corner. Then, you will see that your text messages have been filtered into five categories: All Messages, Known Senders, Unknown Senders, Unread Messages and Recently Deleted

Now, messages from senders not in your contact list will be directed to the “Unknown Senders” folder, and you won’t receive a notification for them.

CONTROL SPAM; HOW TO CREATE A QUICK ALIAS EMAIL ADDRESS

How to stop spam text messages on Android

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.

• Open the Messages app
• Tap the three-dots icon in the top-right corner
• In Settings, scroll down and tap Spam Protection
• Turn on Enable spam protection

Illustration of securing your data (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

BEST ANTIVIRUS FOR MAC, PC, IPHONES AND ANDROIDS – CYBERGUY PICKS

How to attempt to minimize these annoying robocalls

Along with spam messages, those annoying robocalls after searching for a lender to refinance can be a serious nuisance. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to minimize these interruptions as well and protect your privacy.

1) Don’t answer calls or texts from unfamiliar numbers 

Not answering unfamiliar calls is one of the best ways to avoid a potential scam. Most phone carriers now label robocalls as “Spam Risk” or something similar. Scammers often use your local area code or even parts of your phone number to make you think the call is legitimate. That’s why it’s crucial to carefully check the number before picking up. If you don’t recognize the number, it’s safest to ignore the call or text in case it’s spam.

2) Block the number

If you get a spam call and want to prevent future calls from the same number, you can easily block it. Find out how to block unknown callers on both iPhones and Android devices here. 

3) Use your carrier’s spam and robocall blocking service

Major carriers like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile offer free services to block spam and robocalls. These include AT&T Call Protect, Sprint/T-Mobile Scam Shield and Verizon Call Filter. Reach out to your provider for more details.

4) Try third-party spam-blocking apps

iPhones and Androids have apps available for users to download to detect spam calls before they reach you. Get our top recommendations here.

5) Invest in personal data removal services 

Unfortunately, there’s a high chance that your phone number is readily available on many lists that data brokers sell to numerous search websites. However, removing your number from these sites can help lower the chances of spammers getting a hold of it and reaching out to you. With a data removal service, your personal information is removed from the web so data brokers and scammers never get their hands on your personal phone number, home address or email address. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.

Illustration of the delete icon (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

HOW TO AVOID BEING DUPED BY ROBOCALLS NOW AND FOREVER

Kurt’s key takeaways

As frustrating as spam may be, there are steps you can take to minimize these unwanted messages, including blocking numbers, using carrier spam-blocking services and enabling built-in spam filters on your phone. These tips will help you reduce spam and protect your personal information. 

What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to spam calls and texts? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

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Netflix and other streaming platforms are stepping up efforts to sign YouTubers, which could mean big streaming deals for sports channel Dude Perfect or former NASA engineer Mark Rober, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Journal writes that streaming platforms’ creator-signing ambitions have “shifted into overdrive” in response to the success of MrBeast’s Beast Games. Amazon has made “at least $100 million” in profit from the show and is apparently already working out deals for two more seasons. Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, is apparently asking over $150 million per season to renew.

Rober and Dude Perfect have each been approached by Netflix, writes the Journal. But Netflix “doesn’t usually allow for sales promotions in shows that it pays to make” — something that has apparently “been a sticking point” in its talks with Rober, who sells robotics kit subscriptions through his channel. That sort of thing is more in line with Amazon’s business, making it a “particularly attractive” option for creators like Rober, the article says.