Issue · February 2, 2027
Deadbolt day one: your email is the master key
Why scammers who get your email don't read it, the ten-minute Gmail lockdown, and what AI is actually good for this week.
- Item 1
Scammers who get into your email don't read it. They reset your bank.
- Item 2
Three things to ask an AI assistant this week (and one never to paste)
- Item 3
Item 1: the master key. Every account you own sends its password reset to your email. That is why someone who gets into Gmail does not read your messages; they reset your bank login, your Amazon, your Facebook, and set a forwarding rule so you never see the confirmations. Ten minutes closes every one of those doors: a unique password, two-step verification with a passkey or authenticator, recovery options you control, and a look at forwarding and filters. The Gmail lockdown, step by step. Outlook people, yours is here.
Item 2: AI, used well. Paste the confusing letter from the insurer and ask for the plain-English version and what it wants you to do. Draft the hard email to your sibling about Mom’s care. Prepare the questions for Thursday’s appointment. Three real uses, this week. The one rule: treat the chat box like a postcard. No account numbers, no Social Security numbers, nothing of your parent’s medical file. What it is good at, what it is bad at.
Item 3: still running. The FasTrak texts we flagged Monday are still arriving across California, now naming specific bridges. Delete, forward to 7726, and check your account only by typing the address yourself. The alert.
One action:Open your email's security settings and turn on two-step verification with an authenticator app or a passkey, not a text code. Ten minutes. Guide below.