The everyday tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
A fraud reporting group warns that scammers use cloned voices and fake celebrity videos to steal savings. A call that sounds real may not be.
Read more: Fake voices and videos are being used to steal savingsGoogle's Sidekick game overlay on Android phones now records video of your play, a feature players had asked for, and Google is also updating two Play Store tools.
Read more: Android's gaming overlay can now capture video of your playWhatsApp is reportedly testing an Organizations tool that could help admins of large Communities see all their members in one place.
Read more: WhatsApp Is Testing a Tool to Help Run Big CommunitiesSamsung Community, the company's user forum, will be offline for three days. Save what you rely on there before it goes dark.
Read more: Samsung's user forum is going offline for 3 daysThe Philippine Department of Health says scammers are using the health secretary's name to ask for money. Here is why a familiar name is not proof.
Read more: Scammers are posing as the Philippine health secretary to ask for moneyGoogle is preparing Find Hub changes meant to cut false tracker alerts on Android, so real warnings are easier to trust.
Read more: Google is working on fewer false alarms from item trackers on AndroidScammers are using AI to clone voices and write flawless messages, and older Americans are the main targets. Here is what experts say to change now.
Read more: AI makes scams harder to spot, and older Americans are top targetsAn entrepreneur says Grokbots let a small team run affiliate websites that usually need many more people. Small business owners may want to take note.
Read more: Grokbots help one entrepreneur run affiliate websites with a small teamA survey suggests Samsung's One UI 9 update is not as buggy as feared, which is good news if you own a Galaxy phone and have been dreading it.
Read more: Samsung's big phone software update is less buggy than fearedA leak says Apple's lower-priced iPhone 18e may again skip a high-refresh-rate screen, a feature many Android phones already offer, even some cheaper ones.
Read more: Leaked iPhone 18e specs suggest a smoother screen is still missingBanks are testing AI that spots fraud rings by how accounts and devices connect, but people still make the final call on cases. Here is what that means for you.
Read more: Banks Turn to AI That Spots Fraud Gangs by Their PatternsA new industry report says stolen logins and talked-into-it payments now drive about half of fraud dollars, even as banks adopt more detection tools.
Read more: Half of fraud losses now involve stolen logins or tricked customersA report says chatbots pointed people with locked accounts and broken phones to reporters. A Tom's Guide test found no sign of it, but the advice still needs checking.
Read more: ChatGPT told some users to email reporters for tech helpA local warning says fraudsters are posing as Bedford Christmas Market workers, so anyone contacted by a supposed staff member should check before acting.
Read more: Scammers are posing as Bedford Christmas Market workersA student's complaint about a ₹799 kurta led Delhi police to three shell companies and about ₹30 crore in suspected fraud. Her story shows the scam's pattern.
Read more: A $75 Online Shopping Scam Led Police to a Huge Fraud RingA man accused of helping steal nearly $37 million from 174 Americans in a fake crypto investment scam is now in a US court, a reminder of how these scams work.
Read more: Man extradited to US over crypto scam that took $37 millionAcer's handheld gaming device, built on Intel Arc graphics, now has a price and release date. It is pitched as a rival to Valve's Steam Deck.
Read more: Acer's Steam Deck rival now has a price and release dateChatGPT now has Pro plans at $100, $200 and $500 a month, while Claude's flagship model costs far less per use. A speed setting can also drain a plan.
Read more: ChatGPT's top plan costs $500 a month, while Claude's runs far cheaperApple's new iPad mini cover is made of woven fabric instead of polyurethane and costs $20 more than the last one, with no cheaper option announced.
Read more: Apple's new iPad mini cover swaps plastic-like finish for fabric, costs $79Tom's Guide picked five ChatGPT add-ons that can give a second opinion on a suspicious text, email or link before you click or pay.
Read more: Five ChatGPT add-ons can help you check a suspicious text or linkFraudsters are calling people as fake detectives, and the caller ID shows a real West Midlands Police number. Here is why a familiar number is not proof.
Read more: Scam callers pose as police using a real police phone numberOpenAI is selling ads in ChatGPT to reach Spanish speakers in the US and 16 Latin American markets. Free users will see them, and businesses can buy them.
Read more: ChatGPT now shows ads to Spanish speakers in the US and Latin AmericaOllama now runs Phonon, small text-to-speech models that read text aloud on a Mac with no subscription. The license differs by language.
Read more: Free app now reads text aloud in natural voices on your MacAbout 2,000 Hong Kong Airlines customers got scam calls after a data breach. Anyone who deals with the airline or two linked shops should be on guard.
Read more: Hong Kong Airlines data breach leads to scam calls for 2,000 customers
