Technology

Who came up with this crazy but cool electric monowheel?

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2024

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Who came up with this crazy but cool electric monowheel?

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One look at this circular contraption, and your first thought might be, “What is this wacky wheel?” Your next question could be, “Who came up with this crazy concept?”

Well, it’s called a monowheel, and Make It Extreme is behind the massive circular thingamajig with a rider perched inside like some futuristic hamster.

These folks have taken their gas-guzzling monowheel and given it an eco-friendly makeover. The result? A ground-up, all-electric redesign that’s pushing the envelope of personal transportation. Is it practical? Maybe not. Is it cool as heck? You betcha. So, let’s dive in and see what makes this electric oddity tick.

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Project 149 electric monowheel (Make It Extreme)

Out with the old, in with the new

As the world shifts toward a cleaner, greener future, even the most outlandish vehicles are getting an electric makeover. Make It Extreme’s latest creation, Project 149, isn’t just a rehash of their previous gas-powered monowheel. Oh no, this is a fresh take on the concept, with some pretty cool improvements to boot.

Project 149 electric monowheel (Make It Extreme)

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Building the beast

If you thought building a regular bike was tough, wait until you see what goes into making an electric monowheel. The Make It Extreme team started from scratch, crafting everything from the massive 57-inch outer wheel to the inner chassis. They even Frankensteined together a tire using parts from three different motorcycle tires. Talk about recycling.

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Project 149 electric monowheel being built (Make It Extreme)

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Power to the wheel

Here’s where things get interesting. The team “borrowed” two motors from a hoverboard and nestled them inside a go-kart tire. This clever setup sits right under the rider’s banana seat, providing some serious torque to get this beast moving.

Image showing motors of Project 149 electric monowheel (Make It Extreme)

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Comfort and control

Believe it or not, they’ve actually thought about rider comfort. Coil shocks help absorb some of the bumps, while a Shimano brake lever and twist throttle give you at least some illusion of control. And for those moments when you need to take a breather, there’s even a kickstand.

Project 149 electric monowheel (Make It Extreme)

But is it practical?

Let’s be real here. Despite the electric upgrade and some clever engineering, this monowheel is still far from practical. It’s still tough to control and about as safe as riding a unicycle on a tightrope. But you know what? That doesn’t make us want one any less. Not to mention that the folks at Make It Extreme are constantly looking at ways to evolve the monowheel to make it more practical and user-friendly so that everyone can ride it.

Project 149 electric monowheel (Make It Extreme)

Kurt’s key takeaways

The electric monowheel might not be revolutionizing transportation anytime soon, and while it may not be the most sensible way to get around town, it’s certainly one of the most eye-catching. So, has this fresh build changed our minds about the ridiculous nature of monowheels? Not really. But it has reminded us that sometimes, the most absurd ideas can lead to the most fascinating creations.

If you had the opportunity to test-ride this electric monowheel, what would be your biggest concern? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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Technology

Why a credit freeze isn’t the end of identity theft

Published

22 seconds ago

February 21, 2026

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Why a credit freeze isn’t the end of identity theft

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Most U.S. data breach disclosures explain what information was leaked and any protective steps available to consumers.

At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission advises that after a breach involving sensitive personal information, consumers may consider placing a credit freeze to help prevent new credit accounts from being opened in their name.

Many people place that credit freeze and assume they’re protected. But a credit freeze is not a comprehensive block against identity theft. It stops most new credit applications, but it doesn’t prevent the misuse of your Social Security number or account takeovers.

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A credit freeze limits access to your credit report, which can stop most new credit accounts from being opened in your name. (Felix Zahn/Photothek via Getty Images)

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What a credit freeze actually does

A credit freeze, also called a security freeze, limits access to your credit report at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Under federal law, placing a freeze is free. When a freeze is in place, most lenders can’t access your credit file to evaluate applications for new credit cards or lines of credit. If a creditor can’t see your credit report, the application will usually be denied.

You can manage your credit freeze with each bureau individually. With Experian, for example, you sign in to your free online account at Experian’s credit freeze page and then place, lift, or schedule a thaw; you can also call Experian’s toll-free number (888-397-3742). If you plan to apply for credit, you must lift the freeze beforehand.

A credit freeze blocks most new accounts that require a credit check. It does not extend beyond your credit file.

Some identity protection services offer a credit lock feature that allows you to restrict access to your credit file through a mobile app. Like a freeze, it can limit new credit checks. The main difference is convenience, as you can typically turn it on or off quickly without logging into a bureau’s website or calling by phone.

Credit freezes can’t stop every form of identity theft

A credit freeze blocks new credit accounts, but it does not stop many common forms of identity theft that do not require a credit check.

Account takeovers: If someone has access to an existing credit card or bank account, they don’t need to open a new line of credit. They can change the email address, phone number, or mailing address tied to the account and begin making charges.
Tax identity theft: A fraudulent federal tax return does not need a credit check. If someone files a return using your SSN before you do, the IRS may reject your legitimate filing.
Employment fraud: If your SSN is used for employment, it will not appear as a credit inquiry. Instead, the earnings may be recorded under your Social Security record.
Government benefits fraud: Unemployment insurance and other state-administered benefits do not require a traditional credit check.
Medical identity theft: A stolen identity can be used to get medical treatment. Bills may not appear until the provider sends the account to collections.

HOW TO SAFELY VIEW YOUR BANK AND RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS ONLINE

Identity theft like tax fraud, account takeovers and government benefits abuse does not require a credit check. (iStock)

What happens when the fraud doesn’t involve a credit inquiry?

When identity theft happens outside the credit approval process, there is no automatic reversal. Each category of fraud is handled by a different agency or company.

If a fraudulent tax return is filed, you must work directly with the IRS and submit Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. The IRS may require identity verification before releasing a refund.
If your SSN is used for employment, you must contact the Social Security Administration to correct your earnings record.
If government benefits are fraudulently claimed in your name, the state agency is involved. There is no federal clearinghouse.
If medical debt appears in collections, you must dispute it with both the provider and the collection agency, often in writing.

There is no single agency coordinating these corrections. You’re responsible for identifying the fraud, filing the appropriate reports, and tracking responses across agencies.

If a freeze isn’t the end, what is?

A credit freeze addresses risks tied to new credit applications. Identity theft often goes beyond that. Comprehensive identity protection typically includes credit monitoring across all three major bureaus, alerts for new inquiries or accounts, and monitoring for exposed personal information such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport details, email addresses, and passwords.

Some services also monitor public records, address changes, identity verification activity, and even suspicious financial transactions when accounts are linked. Early alerts can help you spot fraud before it spreads.

If identity theft does occur, recovery can be complicated. Some identity protection plans provide access to fraud resolution specialists who help contact creditors, place fraud alerts, dispute unauthorized accounts, and prepare required documentation. Many also include identity theft insurance to help cover eligible recovery expenses, such as lost wages or legal fees.

No service can prevent every form of identity theft. But layered monitoring, fast alerts, and guided recovery support can make the damage easier to contain and resolve.

See my tips and best picks on Best Identity Theft Protection at Cyberguy.com.

Kurt’s key takeaways

When fraud happens outside your credit file, you must work directly with each agency to correct the damage. (Leonie Asendorpf/picture alliance via Getty Images)

A credit freeze is a smart move after a data breach, but it is only one layer of protection. Many forms of identity theft do not involve a credit check, which means they can happen quietly and take time to fix. Real protection comes from understanding the gaps, monitoring your accounts, and acting quickly if something looks wrong. The more proactive you are, the easier recovery becomes.

Have you placed a credit freeze, and did you know it does not protect against every type of identity theft? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Stellantis is in a crisis of its own making

Published

12 hours ago

February 21, 2026

Press Room

Stellantis is in a crisis of its own making

Demand for EVs has gone glacial, and one automaker after another is running aground: General Motors threw $7.6 billion overboard. Ford washed $19.5 billion off its books. Leave it to Stellantis to face the most titanic charge yet, a $26.5 billion bill for its own misplaced bet on EVs.

The Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler parent company hasn’t said how much of that unfathomable sum is explicitly due to EV losses, as the write-down wiped away about 25 percent of the company’s stock value overnight. Every automaker faces the same cooling EV demand and whipsawing political climate, yet Stellantis appears the most exposed, due in part to longstanding failures to keep up with evolving tech or consumer tastes. Don’t forget quality. An additional $16.7 billion charge for warranty and recall claims, including a recall of 320,000 Jeep 4xe plug-in hybrids for battery-fire risks, adds insult to financial injury.

The names may change — Stellantis, Fiat Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, Chrysler Corp. — but the company stays frustratingly familiar. It’s the slightly off-key sister in the Motown trio. It’s an automaker enamored of the quick fix, the low-hanging fruit.

In America, that low-hanging fruit tends to come in bunches of eight, with Hemi V8s below the hood of a thirsty pickup, SUV, or muscle car. Now it’s déjà vu all over again. Stellantis plans to ship 100,000 Hemi engines from its Saltillo, Mexico, factory in 2026, tripling output to power Ram 1500 pickups, Jeep Wranglers, and other models. For now, the demand appears there, and executives intend to give the people what they want.

During an analysts’ call last year, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the so-called Big Beautiful Bill — making sure to give President Trump credit — allows the company “more flexibility in choosing… a mix between ICE and electric versions that we sell. And this will mean, to us, a lot of additional profit.”

A driver from Stellantis takes a journalist on a drive in a 2026 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon during the 2026 Chicago Auto Show Media Preview at McCormick Place in Chicago in February of 2026.

Photo by Joel Lerner/Xinhua via Getty Images

After a bad EV bet, automakers hope for an ICE winning streak

It’s hard to blame automakers for wanting to make back these brutal EV losses. Like GM, Ford, or Toyota, Stellantis is forecasting a financial windfall from the Trump administration’s blank check on pollution and mileage rules. But the pendulum will inevitably swing, and if this automaker doesn’t invest in affordable passenger cars and tech, it’s going to get its head lopped off.

Certainly, Stellantis’ EVs weren’t getting it done in America. The hunky Dodge Charger Daytona was a valiant-but-failed attempt at updating Mopar muscle for an electric age. Dodge was forced to add a gasoline version. A half-baked Jeep Wagoneer S EV, at more than $70,000 with options, fell flat in showrooms. The 2026 Jeep Recon is the company’s next shot at luring Tesla Model Y buyers, though the Mexico-built SUV will also start from $67,000, and with no $7,500 consumer tax credit to soften the blow.

The names may change — Stellantis, Fiat Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler, Chrysler Corp. — but the company stays frustratingly familiar

Those models aren’t what the Trump administration has in mind to “assist” the industry, as it locks fuel-economy and emissions rules into a time machine, seemingly bound for the Eisenhower administration. A yearlong spree against regulations culminated with last week’s killing of the “endangerment finding,” the historic ruling that required the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and safety.

Automakers will no longer face fines for failing to meet tailpipe pollution or fuel-economy standards. They will no longer be required to buy pricey climate credits from the likes of Tesla, or spend billions developing EVs that weren’t boosting the bottom line.

In the face of such regulatory monkey business, the Detroit Three are naturally tempted to play see no evil, hear no evil. Automakers are free to make whatever cars they like, at least until the next sheriff rides into Washington. “Choice” is their new mantra. Unsurprisingly, their choice is to make hay and haul it in fossil-fueled SUVs and pickup trucks that generate virtually all its profits.

Washington insists this is all about making cars more affordable. That includes a vindictive axing of fuel-saving stop/start technology, which the EPA calculated was trimming owners’ gasoline bills between 7.3 and 26.4 percent. (Wait, doesn’t gasoline cost money?) And it’s precisely those feature-stuffed trucks and SUVs that drove the price of the average new car past $50,000 in the first place. Today’s cheap gasoline also encourages automakers to party now and pay later. Longer memories will recall the old Chrysler getting caught with its pants down whenever fuel prices spiked, its showrooms overflowing with unsold, guzzling trucks. Churlish types may even recall Chrysler’s 2009 bankruptcy and subsequent federal bailout.

Still Top-Heavy with Trucks

Like its automaking peers, Stellantis insists it won’t walk away from EVs. But it remains more reliant on trucks and SUVs than any rival. Stellantis would at least try to own its area of expertise. Yet sales of its bread-and-butter Ram pickup, after briefly nosing past the mighty Ford F-150, have fallen off a cliff. Sure, some of that drop came from Ram’s controversial decision to drop a V-8 in favor of a more-efficient “Hurricane” inline V-6. But it’s more related to the botched rollout of a redesigned 2025 Ram, with production bottlenecks, quality glitches, and the elimination of an affordable “Classic” model in favor of moneymakers like the $87,000 Tungsten edition.

Try this for market malpractice: Prior to the launch of the 2026 Jeep Cherokee, a critical hybrid SUV that revives a storied Jeep nameplate, Stellantis didn’t even have a straight-up rival for the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, or other wildly popular compact SUVs. (The Jeep Compass is much smaller and not up for that fight).

“That’s really where the market is, and the Koreans and Japanese are all over those segments,” says Tom Libby, director of industry analysis for S&P Global Mobility.

Like its automaking peers, Stellantis insists it won’t walk away from EVs. But it remains more reliant on trucks and SUVs than any rival

Compact SUVs are one of 33 market segments, by S&P’s count, yet those models account for 21 percent of all US sales. Stellantis, in effect, “was only competing in four-fifths of the market,” Libby says.

A revolving door of management hasn’t helped. Filosa is the latest CEO following the abrupt resignation of Carlos Tavares in December 2024, with Tavares facing pressure from all sides. Dealers, suppliers, the UAW, key shareholders, and the managing board were in near-revolt over slumping sales and Tavares’ relentless cost-cutting. Like a perpetually rebuilding sports franchise, each new company chief arrives with high hopes and fresh strategies, then gets replaced before he or she can see it through.

“You can’t keep changing course and expect things to improve,” Libby says.

In Europe, Stellantis’ Peugeot and Citroen brands were doing solid EV sales. Now the EU is watering down an EV mandate for 2035. So Stellantis plans to resurrect diesel engines in at least seven European models. Some analysts see this as smart business, with Chinese automakers having no diesels to sell. But this is also Stellantis at its blast-from-the-past best. In Europe, diesels have fallen from more than half the market in 2015 to 7.7 percent today. EVs are at nearly 20 percent and rising fast, driven by the arrival of Chinese models from BYD and others.

Image: Stellantis

Too Many Brands, Not Enough Stars

Notoriously, Stellantis has too many underperforming brands, with 14 core outfits including a superfluous Lancia, Vauxhall, and DS in Europe. (I’ll leave Maserati off that list, hoping this once-glorious brand can survive). By this point, a boss-baby CEO would realize he has too many toys to play with. Yet each new chief has resisted making tough calls on which brands to cut loose. As brands such as Chrysler wither, executives publicly proclaim their love and commitment, only to neglect them.

Attempts to reestablish Fiat and Alfa Romeo in America were noble, especially for enthusiasts who crave some la dolce vita in their cars. But Alfa Romeo sold 5,600 cars here last year and a paltry 1,300 for Fiat. Sorry, but the experiment has failed. And despite having seven brands in America, none is the kind of mainstream anchor provided by GM’s Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, or Honda.

Yet for all that, Stellantis doesn’t have a mainstream domestic car brand to take on Toyota, Honda, or Hyundai. It doesn’t have a high-margin luxury brand akin to Cadillac, whose thriving EV sales (prior to the kibosh on consumer credits) saw it pass a stumbling Audi in the US luxury ranks.

“You can’t keep changing course and expect things to improve.”

— Tom Libby, director of industry analysis for S&P Global Mobility

Things hit bottom in August, when Stellantis’ share of the US retail market reached a record-low 5.4-percent, according to S&P Global. The company has begun to turn things around, with retail share rising to 6.3 percent in November. But after shedding market share to Toyota or Honda for decades, the company is now losing it to Hyundai and Kia, whose sales have exploded. Not coincidentally, those Korean brands have invested in full lineups that encompass affordable sedans, SUVs, and smartly designed EVs.

One ominous number illustrates the depth of the problem. Stellantis’ percentage of repeat customers, which S&P calls its manufacturer loyalty measure, sunk to around 41 percent in August, before recovering to 47 percent for the fourth quarter. In other words, fewer than half of current owners are buying another Stellantis model, and that’s with seven brands to choose from. Among automakers that offer at least two brands here, only Volkswagen was lower at 44 percent.

At GM, a healthy 66 percent of owners end up buying another GM model, followed by Toyota and Ford at a respective 64 and 61 percent. That loyalty has become a critical indicator of long-term success, as a growing number of automakers fight over a limited (or shrinking) pie of new-car buyers. The winners are those who can steal customers from rivals, win over younger generations, and ideally keep them for life.

Can Stellantis Turn Things Around?

The frustrating part is that Stellantis, when it’s on its game, can deliver compelling cars and trucks, full of charm and personality.

The plush-and-powerful Ram. The Jeep Wrangler, which experienced a massive sales renaissance as Americans rediscovered the joys of authentic off-roaders. The Dodge Challenger and its Hellcat and Demon offshoots. The overlooked Maserati GranTurismo Folgore, a sweet-driving, 202-mph electric indulgence that makes a Lucid look like a Hertz rental.

Stellantis has little choice but to lean into its traditional customer base for now. But Stellantis must keep investing in electrification and other advanced tech, before the winds change again. Chinese EVs already have a foothold in Europe and a coming toehold in Canada and will inevitably blow into America as well.

The Ram 1500 REV pickup, serially delayed, remains an intriguing tech play. This type of “extended range electric vehicle,” or EREV, uses an ICE engine solely to generate electricity for a battery, which then efficiently powers the wheels. With much longer electric ranges than today’s plug-in hybrids, and the ability to fill a gas tank when needed, EREVs could prove popular with Americans who are leery over EV range or long charging times. Ram says the REV can cover 145 miles on plug-in electricity alone, with 690 miles of total range.

Filosa intends to revitalize a near-dormant Chrysler brand, including an actual sedan (possibly electric) based on the Halcyon concept, and perhaps a sporty small car priced below $30,000. The company is also readying a demo fleet of Charger Daytonas, powered by semi-solid-state batteries — from the Massachusetts-based Factorial Energy — that helped a lightly modified Mercedes EQS sedan cover 749 miles from Stuttgart to Sweden, with 85 miles of range to spare.

If Stellantis can get in on the ground floor of crazy-ranging, rapid-charging solid-state batteries, it and other homegrown automakers could leapfrog the best lithium-ion technology in all of China. Stellantis would be viewed as a tech leader, not a follower. Show them 500 miles of range and a 15-minute charge, and EV fans might consider a Dodge, Chrysler, or Ram for the first time in their lives. Don’t laugh. Remember how Tesla was going to drive every legacy automaker out of business? The clock may be ticking on Stellantis, but it’s not too late to change.

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Lawrence Ulrich

Technology

YouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes

Published

12 hours ago

February 21, 2026

Press Room

YouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes

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An email arrived that looked like a routine billing alert for YouTube TV Premium. Near the top, it displayed “BILLING FAILED” in capital letters. Below that, the message claimed the payment was declined and urged immediate action to keep streaming. This email was sent to us by Jackie from New York, NY, who immediately knew something was wrong.

“I’m not a YouTube TV Premium subscriber so I knew right away this was a scam. So why am I receiving these emails?”
— Jackie from New York, NY

That question matters. If a billing alert references a service you do not use, it is almost always a scam. The email still appeared legitimate. Billing notices like this are common, and scammers rely on that familiarity to slip past quick checks.

Another warning sign appeared in the sender’s details. The message was routed through a domain with no connection to Google or YouTube. That mismatch confirmed what Jackie already suspected.

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Cybersecurity experts warn that billing emails from domains unrelated to Google or YouTube are a major red flag. (Photo by S3studio/Getty Images)

Why this scam feels so convincing

Scammers understand behavior. People skim emails. They react quickly when access to familiar services feels threatened. This message uses recognizable branding, clean formatting and simple language. It also assumes the recipient already subscribes. That assumption is intentional. These emails go out in bulk, knowing some recipients really do have YouTube TV and may act before verifying.

Urgency language is meant to push for quick action

Scam emails rely on pressure. This one uses several subtle cues.

‘BILLING FAILED’ draws immediate focus

Capital letters pull attention to the problem first. It feels like a system notice, even though no real account check took place.

‘Fix your payment now to keep streaming’ creates momentum

That line suggests access could stop at any moment. Scammers know interruptions feel urgent, so they push fast decisions.

‘Status: Payment declined’ sounds technical

The word status makes the message feel automated and official. In reality, scammers use vague labels because they cannot see real billing data.

‘Date: Today’ adds time pressure

Including today makes the issue feel current and unresolved. Legitimate companies rarely demand same-day action through email links alone.

When urgency replaces clarity, that pressure itself becomes the warning sign.

ROBINHOOD TEXT SCAM WARNING: DO NOT CALL THIS NUMBER

Scam emails mimicking YouTube TV billing notices use urgent language and fake support buttons to steal login and payment details. (Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Red flags hiding in plain sight

The layout of the email matters as much as the wording.

“Confirm billing” buttons are designed to prompt clicks

The red CONFIRM BILLING button encourages action before verification. Real companies usually direct users to sign in normally, not through a single email button.

“Contact support” links can be misleading

The black CONTACT SUPPORT button looks official and helpful. In scam emails, these links often lead to fake support pages or phishing forms.

Color and design influence behavior

Red suggests urgency. Dark colors suggest authority. Familiar branding builds comfort. Together, they encourage quick action.

If an email pushes any button to fix a problem, pause and verify first.

The biggest red flag most people miss

The message claims to be about YouTube TV. The sending infrastructure points somewhere else. Lifeheaters.com has no legitimate relationship with Google or YouTube. Billing emails should always come from official domains tied directly to the company.

We reached out to Google, YouTube’s parent company, and a spokesperson told us, “We can confirm that this is a phishing scam and not an official communication from YouTube.”

How to protect yourself from YouTube TV billing email scams

If you receive a billing alert like this, pause before acting. Scammers rely on speed and stress. These steps help you stay in control.

1) Go straight to the official website or app

Instead of clicking links in the email, open a new browser tab. Then go directly to the official YouTube TV website or app. Real billing issues always appear inside your account dashboard.

2) Check billing inside your account settings

Once you are logged in, review your payment status. If there is a real problem, you will see it there. If everything looks normal, the email is fake.

3) Inspect links before you click

Hover your cursor over any link in the email. Look closely at the destination. If the domain does not clearly match Google or YouTube, do not click it. That mismatch is a major warning sign. Also, installing strong antivirus software adds a critical layer of protection. It can block malicious links, flag phishing pages and stop malware before it installs. That matters if you accidentally click the wrong thing. The best way to protect yourself from malicious links that install malware and potentially access your private information is to have strong 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 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com.

4) Act fast if you already clicked

If you clicked the link or entered information, respond quickly. Change your Google password right away. Consider using a password manager to securely store and generate complex passwords, reducing the risk of password reuse. Then review recent account activity and payment methods for any suspicious activity.

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.

5) Remove your data from data broker sites

Scammers often target people using leaked personal data. A data removal service helps reduce how much of your information is floating around online. Less exposed data means fewer targeted scam attempts.

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

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.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

6) Watch for sender domains that do not match

Legitimate companies send billing emails from their own domains. A message about YouTube TV should never route through an unrelated site like lifeheaters.com. That disconnect alone is enough to walk away.

7) Never update payment info through email links

Scammers want your login details or credit card number. Avoid giving them either. Always update billing information directly inside your account, not through an email prompt.

HOW TO SAFELY VIEW YOUR BANK AND RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS ONLINE

Google confirmed a YouTube TV “billing failed” email routed through an unrelated domain was a phishing scam. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Kurt’s key takeaways

This email looked polished. The message felt urgent. The branding felt familiar. Yet one small detail gave it away. Billing emails should always come from official domains and verified accounts. When they do not, trust your instincts and verify independently. Pausing for ten seconds can save you weeks of cleanup.

Have you received a billing or subscription email that looked real but turned out to be fake? What tipped you off? Let us know your thoughts by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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