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🚨 Stop, Pause, Verify: Three Words That Could Save You From a Scary Scam 🚨
Scammers are getting better at pretending to be banks, government officials, businesses, friends, and even family members.
Bank of America’s Scam Prevention guide warns that common red flags include emotional pressure, urgent demands, threats, promises of rewards, and requests for unusual payment methods such as gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers.
If someone unexpectedly asks for money or personal information, stop and don’t rush into responding.
Even when a request looks legitimate, verify it independently by contacting the organization through a trusted phone number, such as the one printed on your card or statement.
You can add another layer of protection by using strong passwords, multifactor authentication, and biometric security such as Face ID.
The best scam-fighting tool may simply be giving yourself a moment to stop, verify, and think before you act.
And in Other News...
- 🎃 Google’s 2026 Halloween Doodle Has a Spooky Twist
Need a little Halloween fun between emails and errands?
Google’s Halloween 2026 Doodle celebrates the holiday with artwork inspired by the classic art of shadow puppets.
The Doodle gives Google’s familiar homepage logo a playful, spooky makeover.
Halloween is celebrated around the world with traditions such as spooky movies, costumes, and trick-or-treating for sweets.
It’s also a good excuse to explore Google’s Doodle archive, where you can discover past creations and even search for the Doodle that appeared on your birthday.
Take a quick break today and check out the Halloween 2026 Doodle before the ghosts and goblins disappear for another year.
- 🎃 AI Prompt: Create Your Own Halloween Pumpkin Stencil
Create a printable, black-and-white pumpkin-carving stencil featuring [INSERT YOUR DESIGN IDEA HERE].
Use a bold, high-contrast, stencil-style design with solid black shapes and clean white areas.
The white areas represent the sections to cut out of the pumpkin, while the black areas represent the pumpkin skin that stays intact.
Keep the design simple enough to carve with basic pumpkin-carving tools.
Avoid tiny details, thin lines, complicated shading, gradients, and intricate patterns.
Important: Make sure all black areas remain connected to the main pumpkin surface so no unsupported pieces fall out when carved. Add connecting bridges wherever necessary.
Center the design on a plain white background, with generous margins. Make it suitable for printing on standard 8.5-by-11-inch paper.
Produce a clean, professional, easy-to-follow stencil with no colors, text, decorations, or background elements.
The final image should be ready to print, tape onto a pumpkin, and use as a carving guide.
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