1. Delays in getting broadband to the people. Some states are on the 1 yard line. A bunch are on the 5 yard line. More will be getting there every week. These more-sweeping changes will only cause delays. The administration could fix the problems with the program via waiver and avoid slowdowns. Shovels could already be in the ground in three states, and they could be in the ground in half the country by the summer without the proposed changes to project selection.

2. More people will get Starlink/Kuiper, and fewer people will get fiber connection. This could be dramatic, or it could be measured, depending on where the admin sets the threshold limit, and whether states are permitted to award projects above the new threshold on the basis of value per dollar, or if they’re forced to take the cheapest proposal, even if it provides poorer service.

3. The 3 states with approved Final Proposals remain in limbo. They are currently held in NIST review regarding their proposed FPFRs (the budgets accompanying their approved final proposals).

This makes no sense – these states are ready to go, and they got the job done on time, on budget, and have plans that achieve universal coverage. If the administration cares about getting shovels in the ground, states with approved Final Proposals should move forward, ASAP.

4. West Virginia (and soon additional states) who have completed their work, but don’t have approved Final Proposals also remain in limbo. They have a final proposal ready to go that gets exceptional service to all West Virginia homes and businesses. Like the three states with approved Final Proposals, only the current administration stands between them and getting shovels in the ground. If the administration cares about getting things done, they should allow any state that comes forward with a Final Proposal under the old rules in the next couple of months move forward with that plan.

5. No decision has been made about how much of the existing progress the 30 states who are already performing subgrantee selection should be allowed to keep. The administration simply cannot say whether the time, taxpayer funds, and private capital that were spent on those processes will be wasted and how much states will have to re-do.

6. The wireless industry will be, effectively, shut out of the BEAD program. There will be few, if any, locations that are above any new cost limit that will be able to be more cheaply served by fixed wireless than low earth satellites.

There’s a future where we don’t need roads and regular folks like you and me can jump into a boat-sized electric pod and just fly anywhere on a whim. While we’ve been perfecting the miracle of human flight for more than a century, instant air transportation has long been relegated to science fiction.

But in the last decade, many companies have stepped up to help get flying cars and air taxis out of the Hollywood movie magic bubble. Startups like Joby Aviation and Archer are building electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can taxi several people around in the sky without burning nasty fuel. The air taxi dream is already passing some regulatory milestones: the FAA has now established rules.

Although these vehicles aren’t exactly the “flying cars” we’ve imagined, this is a rapidly growing new field with big established automakers like Toyota, Hyundai, Stellantis, and others either bankrolling their own ventures or one of the dozens of startups. And there’s a whole lot of drama and unpredictability in this new industry, from fighting over “stolen” patents to the companies that’ve failed to survive, like Lilium and the Larry Page-funded Kitty Hawk. Scroll down to read the latest on air taxis.

Smishing is a type of phishing scam that works through text messages. 

The name comes from a mix of “SMS” and “phishing,” since scammers use fake messages to trick people into giving away personal information. It’s been around for a while, but lately, it’s gotten so bad that even the FBI and several U.S. cities have started warning people. 

Hackers have set up over 10,000 fake websites to keep these scams going, targeting both iPhone and Android users with texts designed to steal their personal and financial information.

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What you need to know

Cities across the United States are warning residents about an ongoing mobile phishing campaign in which scammers impersonate parking violation departments. The fraudulent text messages claim recipients have unpaid parking invoices and threaten a $35 daily fine if left unpaid. As reported by cybersecurity publication BleepingComputer, the latest wave of phishing texts has prompted alerts from multiple cities, including Annapolis, Boston, Greenwich, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, San Diego and San Francisco. 

The campaign, which began in December, remains active. The smishing texts claim to be from a government authority and instruct recipients to click a link to pay an alleged overdue fine. 

“This is a final reminder from the City of New York regarding the unpaid parking invoice. A $35 daily overdue fee will be charged if payment is not made today,” one fraudulent message says. 

Smishing scam text  (BleepingComputer)

The same phishing template has been observed in similar scams targeting residents of other cities. The FBI has also raised concerns about a broader smishing campaign affecting U.S. residents. In a recent alert, the agency warned that scammers have expanded beyond parking fines and are now impersonating road toll collection services. 

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

“Since early March 2024, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received over 2,000 complaints reporting smishing texts representing road toll collection services from at least three states,” the agency stated. “IC3 complaint information indicates the scam may be moving from state to state.”

Smishing scam text    (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

IS THE FTC CALLING YOU? PROBABLY NOT. HERE’S HOW TO AVOID A NEW PHONE SCAM TARGETING YOU

Smishing scams are evolving

A new report from cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42, the company’s cybersecurity division specializing in threat intelligence and incident response, has uncovered that these scams are designed to steal sensitive information, including credit card and bank account details.

What started as a scheme involving fraudulent toll payment notifications has now expanded to include fake delivery service alerts, tricking users into clicking malicious links.

The scam appears to be operated by local cybercriminals using a toolkit developed by Chinese hacking groups. Notably, research from Unit 42 shows that many of the scam’s root domains and fully qualified domain names use the Chinese .XIN top-level domain (TLD).

THE DARK WORLD OF FACEBOOK ADS WHERE SCAMMERS ARE TRYING TO STEAL YOUR MONEY  

6 ways you can protect yourself from smishing scams

1. Verify before you trust: Treat unsolicited texts with caution. If a message claims to be from a government agency or company, don’t click any links or act immediately. Instead, verify the claim by contacting the organization directly using an official phone number or checking their verified website.

2. Avoid clicking suspicious links and use strong antivirus software: Scammers use links to direct you to fake websites that can steal your personal or financial information. Instead of clicking on any link in an unexpected text, manually type the known URL into your browser or search for the organization’s official website.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

3. Keep your devices secure: Regularly update your devices’ operating systems and apps to ensure you have the latest security patches. Consider installing reputable security software that can help detect phishing attempts and warn you about potentially dangerous websites or messages.

4. Use a password manager: A trusted password manager can help protect your sensitive information by automatically filling in credentials only on verified sites. This minimizes the risk of entering details on fraudulent websites and can alert you if a site doesn’t match what’s expected. Get more details about my best expert-reviewed Password Managers of 2025 here.

5. Report suspicious activity: If you receive a text that seems off, report it immediately to your mobile carrier, local law enforcement or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Reporting helps authorities track down scammers and prevent further attacks.

6. Consider using a personal data removal service: Personal data removal services can help reduce your exposure to smishing attacks by removing your sensitive information — like phone numbers, addresses and email details — from data broker websites. Scammers often rely on these publicly available databases to target victims with personalized phishing texts. These services aren’t foolproof, but they can make it harder for cybercriminals to find and exploit your information. 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. 

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Kurt’s key takeaways

I’ve been tracking these smishing scams, and it’s clear they’re evolving fast, from fake parking fines to bogus toll notifications. With the FBI and cities like New York, San Francisco and others sounding the alarm, I’m stepping up my own security game. As a general rule, if you receive a text from an unknown number or email address that’s an out-of-the-blue greeting, asks you to click a link, pay a bill or respond in any way, just block it and report the number. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to protecting your personal information.

Do you feel that mobile phone providers and tech companies are doing enough to protect users from these types of scams?  Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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