Grok just saved me from getting my identity stolen. Here’s how…

An Unexpected E-mail

I recently got an e-mail that appeared to be from X. It claimed to be a receipt for X Premium, a service I don’t have because I’m too cheap to pay for it. 🙂

“Why would I get a receipt for that? Did I sign up on accident?” I thought.

I clicked on the e-mail, and it looked legit. But then I thought to myself, “Could this be a phishing attempt?”

Grok Saves the Day

I wasn’t sure how to find out. So I took a screenshot of the message and pasted it into Grok.

Grok nailed it right away. It found suspicious details I didn’t notice, like a date sent that was a year in the future!

And that stripe.com URL that looked so legit to me? Grok flagged that as well. It contained a bunch of random characters, which it turns out is atypical for such a URL.

Grok advised me to ignore the e-mail and go to X.com myself to find out what’s what.

When I went to X.com, it turned out that I had the same El Cheapo subscription I’ve always had. No issue.

The e-mail was fake.

Had I given them the info they requested, they might be buying jewelry in Moscow on my dime by now. But Grok saved the day!

Preventing Identity Theft

If you get any suspicious e-mails, texts, or phone calls, I highly recommend you confer with Grok.

Don’t click anything or give anybody any info. Ask Grok or another AI model first.

The safest way to figure out these issues is to do what Grok told me: go straight to the company website. That way, you know you’re dealing with the actual company, not some scammer. Then, once you’re there, you can find out what’s what.

Wrap-Up

Scams are getting more sophisticated every day. And thanks to AI, they no longer come with funny English to help you spot them.

Don’t click anything. Don’t give any info.

Ask Grok or another AI model if the message seems legit. And if the message claims there’s an issue with Company A’s service, go straight to Company A’s actual website, rather than clicking any links.

There’s no foolproof way to avoid getting scammed. But following these rules and using AI to advise you can help a lot!

There will be no blog on Monday. Happy Memorial Day!

More on tech:

Why Airbnb Will Never Be a Superapp

Using Grok as My Personal Trainer

YC’s New Request for Startups

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