After a disclaimer that nothing we’d hear tonight is financial or legal advice, followed by a 40-minute interview with former President Donald Trump — which touched on the apparent attempt on his life at a Florida golf course, the border, the “evil forces” conspiring against him, and his granddaughter’s foreign language skills — and subsequent conversations with Trump’s sons and associates, the X Space dedicated to announcing Trump’s “crypto platform” more or less got to the point.
Technology
Trump is hawking tokens for a crypto project he still hasn’t explained
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25531782/STK175_Trump_Crowd_Lines_Glitches_shooting.jpg?ssl=1 "Trump is hawking tokens for a crypto project he still hasn’t explained")
The goal of World Liberty Financial, Trump’s new decentralized finance project, is to drive “the mass adoption of stablecoins and decentralized finance,” according to a statement posted on its X account earlier this month. But over the course of the lengthy “announcement” on Monday night, neither Trump nor any of his business partners explained how exactly that would work.
Finally, more than two hours into the stream, Corey Caplan — the co-founder of the decentralized lending platform Dolomite, who is working as an adviser for Trump’s project — said World Liberty Financial would “sell and otherwise distribute governance tokens called WLFI.” The token sales will be limited to “certain persons who would be eligible to participate in transactions that are exempt from registration under US federal securities law,” meaning only accredited investors under Regulation D and Regulation S can buy the token. Three people with knowledge of the project told the New York Times that World Liberty Financial has been pitched as a borrowing and lending platform.
Earlier in the stream, a bevy of Trump relatives and associates described World Liberty Financial as a way of helping the “huge, approachable class of people who have either been debanked … or they just don’t have a bank that they can go to, and they don’t have a bank that will listen to them.”
The details started to emerge a little over an hour and a half into the announcement, when two of Trump’s other business partners — Chase Herro and Zak Folkman — revealed some details of the “crypto platform” Trump and his sons have been teasing for over a month. World Liberty Financial will “onboard as many people through simple products where they can actually start to earn yield on their assets,” said Folkman, the co-founder of Dough Finance, a crypto platform that was hacked earlier this year.
“I think crypto is one of those things we have to do whether we like it or not”
Trump first announced the project in August. “For too long, the average American has been squeezed by the big banks and financial elites. It’s time we take a stand—together. #BeDefiant,” he posted on Truth Social. Aside from a link to a Telegram channel, the post included no other details about the platform or what it entailed. The uncertainty around the announcement has let opportunists — and hackers — take advantage of Trump’s fans. Earlier this month, hackers breached the X accounts of Tiffany Trump and Lara Trump, on which they posted links to a fake World Liberty Financial website announcing that the venture had launched.
Donald Trump Jr. and real estate developer and landlord Steve Witkoff, both of whom are also involved in World Liberty Financial, framed the project as a way of helping underserved and unbanked communities.
“If you want to borrow money today, you have to be almost anointed. You have to be a member of the privileged class,” said Witkoff, who in 2017 purchased the Fontainebleau Resort Las Vegas for $600 million.
Don Jr., who described himself as “still a neophyte” in the crypto space, said decentralized finance can help people who have been excluded from traditional financial markets. The announcement played up a popular fear among the crypto crowd: being debanked, potentially as punishment for political dissent.
“There was a time period where the Trumps, we could’ve picked up the phone and called and CEO of any bank,” Don Jr. said. “We went from being people who would have been the elite in that world to just being, like, totally canceled.” It’s possible that cancellation has more to do with Trump’s history of lying about his wealth or running a scammy for-profit college than it does with his political views.
Despite claims that World Liberty Financial will put “the power of finance back in the hands of the people,” initial reports suggested that its founding token would mostly be distributed to people involved in the project. A white paper obtained by CoinDesk said 70 percent of WLFI would be held by the founding members, team, and service providers.
During the stream, however, Caplan chastised the “fake news media” reports of how the token would be distributed and said approximately 63 percent of the tokens will be sold to the public, while 20 percent would be “reserved for team compensation.”
World Liberty Financial appears to be part of a broader Trump outreach campaign to the crypto community. Trump headlined this year’s Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where he said he’d never sell the US’s Bitcoin holdings but stopped short of promising to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve. He’s also released four NFT collections, which netted him at least $7.2 million, according to August financial disclosure forms.
It’s evident that Trump, who disappeared from the stream after the first 40 minutes, is the face of a product he knows almost nothing about. He had little to say about cryptocurrency aside from some vague comments about the “very hostile environment” the Securities and Exchange Commission has created for the crypto community — and an admission that politicians know that embracing crypto could help them win voters.
“You’re going to be happy, and you’re going to love your crypto, and as long as you have crypto, you’re happy,” Trump said early in the stream. “I think crypto is one of those things we have to do whether we like it or not.”
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OpenAI announced yet another reorganization Friday, consolidating certain areas and making company president Greg Brockman the official lead of all things product.
In a memo viewed by The Verge, Brockman wrote that since OpenAI’s product strategy for this year is to go all-in on AI agents, the company is combining its products to “invest in a single agentic platform and to merge ChatGPT and Codex into one unified agentic experience for all.”
To do this, the company is making a suite of org chart changes, although it’s still operating under some of the same ones from last month. That’s when AGI boss Fidji Simo went on medical leave and OpenAI announced that Brockman would be in charge of product strategy and CSO Jason Kwon, CFO Sarah Friar, and CRO Denise Dresser would take control of business operations.
It’s all part of OpenAI’s recent strategic shift to focus on key revenue drivers like coding and enterprise and stop pouring resources into “side quests” ahead of its potential IPO later this year and amid investor pressure to turn a profit.
In Simo’s continued absence, Brockman’s role leading product strategy is now official, as well as the company’s “scaling” arm. Under Brockman will be four different pillars. The first is core product and platform, led by Thibault Sottiaux, who has been OpenAI’s engineering lead for Codex, and the second is critical enterprise industries, led by ChatGPT head Nick Turley. Third is the consumer pillar, such as health, commerce, and personal finance, which will be led by Ashley Alexander, who has been its healthcare products VP. The fourth pillar — core infrastructure, ads, data science, and growth — will be led by Vijaye Raji, who has been OpenAI’s CTO of applications.
Brockman wrote in the memo that OpenAI’s goal is now to “bring agents to ChatGPT scale, in order to give individuals and organizations significantly more value and utility from our products.”
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You’re going about your day when your phone buzzes. A text hits your phone. It looks official. It sounds urgent. And suddenly, you are being told you owe money for a traffic violation. That is exactly what Todd from Texas experienced. He emailed us and said:
“I received this text message today. It was so baffling because I haven’t lived in California for nearly a decade. I didn’t click on anything or respond. How can I tell if this is for real or if this is a scam?”
If you’ve gotten a message like this, you are not alone. This type of scam is spreading fast, and it is designed to pressure you into acting before you think. Let’s break down what is really going on.
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FAKE AGENT PHONE SCAMS ARE SPREADING FAST ACROSS THE US
This message may look official, but several red flags show it is likely a scam designed to pressure you into paying quickly. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
What the traffic ticket scam text looks like
At first, the message seems convincing. It claims to be a “final reminder” from the California DMV, and it warns of penalties like license suspension and added fees. It even includes a link that appears somewhat official. However, once you slow down and take a closer look, the red flags quickly start to pile up.
The biggest red flags in this message
Here are the key warning signs to watch for in messages like this.
9 WAYS SCAMMERS CAN USE YOUR PHONE NUMBER TO TRY TO TRICK YOU
1) The phone number makes no sense
The message comes from a number with a +63 country code. That is the Philippines, not California. Government agencies in the U.S. do not send official legal notices from international numbers. That alone is a major warning sign.
2) No name, just “Dear Driver”
Legitimate notices from a DMV or court almost always include your full name or at least some identifying information. “Dear Driver” is vague on purpose. It allows scammers to send the same message to thousands of people.
3) The link isn’t a real DMV website
The message includes this link:
ca.mnvtl.life/dmv
That isn’t a government domain. Official DMV websites in California use “.ca.gov” or similar trusted domains. Scammers often create lookalike links to trick you into clicking.
4) Urgency and threats
The message pushes you to act quickly with a deadline. It lists consequences like license suspension and extra charges. Scammers rely on fear. When you feel rushed, you are more likely to click without thinking.
FBI WARNS OF DANGEROUS NEW ‘SMISHING’ SCAM TARGETING YOUR PHONE
5) Asking you to reply to proceed
The text says to reply with “Y” to get instructions. That is another trap. Responding confirms your number is active, which can lead to more scam messages.
6) Generic language and odd phrasing
Parts of the message feel slightly off. The tone is formal but not quite right. That subtle awkwardness is common in scam messages sent to large groups of people.
7) Overloaded threats designed to scare you
The message piles on consequences like license suspension, added fees, court action and even credit damage. In this case, it even mentions a license suspension and a $160 late payment charge. That combination is meant to overwhelm you and push you to act fast. Real agencies usually provide clear, specific notices, not a long list of escalating threats in a single text.
INSIDE A SCAMMER’S DAY AND HOW THEY TARGET YOU
Scam texts like this often arrive out of nowhere and try to create urgency before you have time to question them. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
What this means for you
Even if you have never driven in California, you could still receive this message. Scammers cast a wide net and hope someone takes the bait. If you click the link, you could be taken to a fake payment page. That page may ask for your credit card details, personal information or login credentials. In some cases, it can also install malware on your device or redirect you to credential-stealing pages. This isn’t about a ticket. It is about getting your data. State DMVs typically do not send final legal notices or payment demands by text message.
Why these scams keep working
These messages work because they tap into something most people fear. Legal trouble, fines and losing driving privileges. They also look just real enough to pass a quick glance. That is all scammers need. As more services move online, these scams will continue to evolve.
Unlike typical DMV scams, this message impersonates a court and escalates the threats to make the situation feel more serious (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Ways to stay safe from traffic ticket text scams
Start with a simple rule. Never trust a payment request that shows up out of nowhere. Here are practical steps you can take:
1) Do not click the link
If you are unsure, do not tap anything in the message. That includes links and reply options.
2) Use strong antivirus software
If you accidentally click a link, strong antivirus software can help detect malware and protect your data. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com
3) Verify directly with the DMV
Go to your state’s official DMV website by typing it yourself into your browser. Do not use the link in the text.
4) Check the sender carefully
Look at the phone number. International numbers or random strings are a clear warning sign.
5) Ignore generic greetings
Real notices will usually include your name or case details. Vague language is a red flag.
6) Consider a data removal service
Scammers often get your number from data broker sites. Removing your personal info from those databases with a data removal service can reduce these messages. 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) Block and report the number
On your phone, block the sender and report it as spam. This helps reduce future attempts.
8) Turn on spam filtering
Enable spam filtering on your phone or through your carrier to catch more of these messages before they reach you.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Todd did the right thing. He paused, questioned the message and did not click. That one decision likely saved him from handing over personal information. When it comes to messages like this, skepticism is your best defense. If something feels off, trust that instinct.
Should phone carriers and tech companies be doing more to block scams like this before you ever see them? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Honda revealed prototypes of two new hybrid models, an Accord sedan and the Acura RDX SUV, during its annual business briefing this week, built on a platform that it says will begin launching next year. The RDX was announced earlier this year as Honda’s first SUV to feature the next-gen version of its two-motor hybrid system.
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