Primary Topic
This episode of the Kim Komando Show explores the alarming cyber threats facing America's water systems, highlighting potential dangers and discussing cybersecurity measures.
Episode Summary
Main Takeaways
- Foreign Cyber Threats: Countries like China, Russia, and Iran are actively trying to compromise U.S. water systems.
- Impact on Public Health: Successful attacks could alter water chemical levels, posing severe health risks.
- Ethical Tech Usage: Discussion on the ethics of using technology like VPNs to bypass regional pricing.
- Cybersecurity Measures: Importance of robust cybersecurity practices to protect infrastructure.
- Community Preparedness: The necessity for communities to have contingency plans like emergency water supplies.
Episode Chapters
1: Cyber Threats Overview
This chapter outlines the growing cyber threats from foreign nations aimed at disrupting U.S. water systems, with specific examples from states like Kansas and Texas.
Kim Komando: "Cyber attacks are now happening big time on our country's water systems."
2: Ethical Technology Use
Discussion on the ethical implications of using VPNs and other technologies to manipulate digital services and prices.
Kim Komando: "Using a VPN to get lower prices might be clever, but is it ethical?"
3: Individual Cybersecurity
Kim discusses personal cybersecurity measures and stories illustrating the risks of poor security practices, including a notable anecdote involving Mark Cuban.
Kim Komando: "Google's not going to call you and ask for your passwords."
4: Nationwide Preparedness
The importance of nationwide preparedness against cyber threats and the role of individuals in maintaining cybersecurity is highlighted.
Kim Komando: "Ensure you have a case of water from Costco, just in case."
Actionable Advice
- Update Security Software: Regularly update your home network's security software to protect against cyber threats.
- Educate Yourself: Stay informed about potential cyber threats and how they can affect community infrastructure.
- Use Strong Passwords: Employ strong, unique passwords for all your accounts, especially those related to home utilities.
- Emergency Preparedness: Keep an emergency water supply and a plan in place in case of contamination.
- Ethical Online Practices: Be mindful of ethical considerations when using technology to manipulate services or prices.
About This Episode
Water systems in Kansas, Texas and Pennsylvania have already been hit by hackers in China, Russia and Iran. Plus, clothes that block 5G waves, AI coming to Alexa, and Walmart's new digital pricing. We also chat with Joseph Cox about his book "Dark Wire," which is about Anom, the FBI's secret app used by criminals.
People
Kim Komando
Companies
T-Mobile
Books
None
Guest Name(s):
None
Content Warnings:
None
Transcript
Kim Commando
We really need new phones.
Speaker B
T Mobile will cover the cost of four amazing new iPhone fifteen s and each line is only $25 a month.
Kim Commando
New iPhone 15s.
Speaker C
You spent our own only at T Mobile. Get four iPhone 15s on us and four lines for $25 per line per month with eligible trade in when you switch.
Speaker B
Minimum of four lines for $25 per line per month with auto pay discount using debit or bank account. $5 more per line without auto pay plus taxes and fees, phone fee and 24 monthly bill credits for all qualified customers. Contact us before canceling accounts and continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on required finance agreement due dollar 35 per line connection charge applies. Ctmobile.com dot.
Kim Commando
Hey, it's Kim Commando today, your daily podcast to keep you up to date with all things digital and beyond. And I'd love to have you be a part of our podcast. You can make an appointment to speak with me. Just head over to commando.com. and on the top right, there's a button that says email. Kim, fill that out and that's it. We're going to start with an ethics question. Okay. I want you to pay attention.
Speaker D
Is this a moral conundrum?
Kim Commando
Yes, because I wrote about it in the newsletter and then I got a piece of feedback and I thought it was kind of a weird one. But a friend of mine is renting a car in the UK to drive all around the UK, and she was complaining about how much it cost. $922 for about three days.
Speaker D
That's a lot.
Kim Commando
Yeah. So I said, you know what you need to do? Instead of booking it and saying that you are in the United States, why don't you try using a VPN saying that you're in London and you want to book the car for those three days, and then what happens? So she does that and it comes back for $322.
Speaker D
Nice.
Kim Commando
Okay. So I wrote about, like, if. So if you're trying to book a car out of the country, that maybe what you want to do is to use a VPN to fake your location.
Speaker D
Fake. So you just used the word fake, by the way.
Kim Commando
Yes.
Speaker D
In this moral conundrum, to fake your location. Knowingly doing this?
Kim Commando
Yes. So I don't know who it is because they didn't leave a note, but they said, when you advise someone to fake their place of residence to get a cheaper rate on a rental car, that is unethical at best.
Speaker D
Yeah, it is.
Kim Commando
Do you think it's unethical?
Speaker D
Oh, absolutely. What if I used a VPN? Like, there was a soccer game I wanted to watch. A couple of weeks ago, it was streaming live on the Internet. But when I logged in, when I went to the website, I was blocked because I was in the US. It was free. For the rest of the world, if I use a VPN, knowingly tricking them into thinking to giving me their programming for free, that's unethical. That's stealing.
Kim Commando
But why is it ethical for the rental car company to say, if you're in the United States, we're going to charge you three times more than if you say that you're in London?
Speaker D
Well, there are.
Kim Commando
I mean, it's the same car.
Speaker D
Is it their business model that if you have an american driver who drives on the opposite side of the road, who does things differently than a local driver?
Kim Commando
No, she's an american driver. But she just said she was. She was booking it. She did everything the same. Lived in Phoenix, Arizona.
Speaker D
Right.
Kim Commando
And used the same credit card, home address, driver's license, everything. But because she was booking it in.
Speaker D
London through a London computer, right.
Kim Commando
That it was three times cheaper, I.
Speaker D
Would say it's unethical. I don't have a problem with it. I mean, this is coming from the guy who. Have I told you my SiriusXM story?
Kim Commando
No.
Speaker D
Okay. SiriusXM, it's a radio company. They have satellite radio. Probably have it in your rent a car or your car when you buy it new. They offer, used to offer one month for free. All you had to do is provide your email address.
Kim Commando
Okay.
Speaker D
I was a fan of a radio show on Sirius, but I didn't want to pay. The show's called Ron and Fez now called Benny Bennett.
Kim Commando
I thought you were gonna say it was my show.
Speaker D
No. And so what I did was I signed up for a free month so I can listen to it. And I created the email address. Ron and Fez fan zero one mail.com dot. I got up to Ron and Fezfan. 76. No@gmail.com. before they shut me down. You did 76 straight months.
Kim Commando
That was unethical, right?
Speaker D
It absolutely was. But I did it. I worked around it. I found a way to work around the system. And that's what she's doing. She just has to own up to the fact that it's unethical or I'm.
Kim Commando
Unethical for passing along the check.
Speaker D
Right. I mean, but Sirius offered it. They offer it. They offer the option. They offer the ability for you to do it. You just have to work the system. And I love working the system, but it still means it's unethical.
Kim Commando
Well, what if I tell you that you should buy your airplane tickets on Sunday because it's the cheapest?
Speaker D
But that's different. That's like going and buying something when it's on sale opposed to waiting two weeks when it's going to be off of sale. That is the company offering you something. You are working around. The company's offering to get the discount. Unethical. Yes. Great idea. Absolutely.
Kim Commando
Okay. Well, that's why you should subscribe to the newsletter@getthecurrent.com. or getchim, wherever you want to go. We got all these different addresses.
Speaker D
Get thecurrent.com. that's the first one I've ever heard. Is that new?
Kim Commando
Yes, it is.
Speaker D
Oh, okay.
Kim Commando
Yes, because get Kim.com. we have win from Kim.com. get the current.com dot.
Speaker D
Are you trying to separate yourself from the newsletter?
Kim Commando
But not really. Is that I have now Walter Sterling. Do you know him? He's on about 60, I think, 65 radio stations.
Speaker D
Oh, the guy you had the interview with? Yeah.
Kim Commando
And then also Joe Pax, he's gonna start talking about the newsletter.
Speaker D
Oh, okay.
Kim Commando
And they all have their unique referral links.
Speaker D
So you want it to be generic for marketing outside of you.
Kim Commando
Yes. And so if Walter or pags or whoever the talk show host is, is that if they refer readers and subscribers to my newsletter, then I'm going to pay them per person that they give us per person? Yes.
Speaker D
Okay.
Kim Commando
Which, you know, you could do that if you wanted to, but, you know, you could actually sign up for the newsletter.
Speaker D
I haven't done that yet. It's on my to do list.
Kim Commando
Okay. And then at the bottom of the link, at the bottom of the newsletter, you have a unique referral link. And for everybody that you're sending me right now is I'm giving a dollar per person.
Speaker D
Okay.
Kim Commando
Okay. So if you give me a thousand people, you could get $1,000.
Speaker D
Is that on par with most referral companies or. Cause I've never heard about this. It's high. As I was gonna say, you would think it would be pennies instead of a whole dollar.
Kim Commando
No, no, it's high.
Speaker D
Okay.
Kim Commando
But because I want to build the list, I want to get to 2 million people.
Speaker D
Do you have a goal? I know. Well, let me rephrase that. I know you have a goal date. When's your goal date? For 2 million?
Kim Commando
Well, about a year from now.
Speaker D
That's old.
Kim Commando
Yeah. I think I can do it, though.
Speaker D
Good.
Kim Commando
I think I can do it.
Speaker D
Pay people. Let's go.
Kim Commando
Right now, we're doing the podcast. Let's talk about the podcast. Sorry.
Speaker D
Sorry.
Kim Commando
Kip commando. Today, Jafar podcast, where we talk about all things digital, including whether or not you should use a VPN to get lower prices. You should.
Speaker D
It's just unethical.
Kim Commando
Just face up. Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. My last confession was a month ago, and I used a VPN to save $600.
Speaker D
Own it.
Kim Commando
Did I ever tell you when I went to confession, I was a kid.
Speaker D
Yes, but you can tell the story again. It's a good one.
Kim Commando
It was a good one. I went to confession, couldn't figure out what I did wrong. So I said, no, not you. And I'm standing in line. I'm thinking to myself, all right, what did I do? And I saw a Bible. There's got to be something there that I did wrong. I'm only, like, eight years old. Go to confession. Forgive me, Father, for I sinned. My last confession was a week ago because we had to go every week. I went to catholic school, and I said I committed adultery. The screen went like that. This guy's head pops at me. I'm like, whoa, I never saw that before.
Speaker D
Well, now you did commit a sin. Cause you lied. So now you have something to actually.
Kim Commando
Exactly what he told me. And go home and ask your mother what that means.
Speaker D
Of all the ones to pick.
Kim Commando
I didn't do anything else.
Speaker D
No. You didn't do adultery either. Well, maybe.
Kim Commando
No, I was only eight.
Speaker D
Yeah, we were married at that time. You were free to do whatever you wanted.
Kim Commando
So what do you got coming up?
Speaker D
We have the prison of the future. Instead of serving ten years in jail in the prison of future, serve one day.
Kim Commando
That's it.
Speaker D
That's it.
Kim Commando
Just one day.
Speaker D
One day.
Kim Commando
One day. We need to tell people to, like.
Speaker D
Comment, comment, and share. If you're watching this live on YouTube right now, first of all, thank you. If you're watching the replay of it on demand whenever you want to, again, thank you. If you could just follow us on YouTube, like the podcast, share it with someone and drop a comment. It helps the algorithm, helps grow the show. So we can keep doing this every single Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which we love that. Yes.
Kim Commando
And so. And if you are getting the audio version of the podcast, this is actually exciting news. I think I. Did I tell you we were number four.
Speaker D
Number four. Where?
Kim Commando
In the United States of America. And tech news podcasts.
Speaker D
This podcast right here.
Kim Commando
Yes. You know who we beat?
Speaker D
Who? Do your own podcast.
Kim Commando
No. Oh, no. We beat the Wall Street Journal.
Speaker D
No way.
Kim Commando
Yeah, I was pretty excited about that.
Speaker D
That's very exciting. So wait a minute, this podcast is number four in tech in the United States. That other one you do, the one you call the big show, that's number three in tech in Rwanda. Maybe we gotta start calling this one the big show.
Kim Commando
Maybe.
Speaker D
All I'm saying.
Kim Commando
Just saying. We're still looking for sponsors, so don't get too excited.
Speaker D
Five words. Don't worry.
Kim Commando
Let's get started with the top five things you need to know about tech. It's happening right now. Do you have a case of water in your house?
Speaker D
Yeah, of course.
Kim Commando
How about two?
Speaker D
I have one case of water and then I have a new addiction that I don't want to talk about because I'm embarrassed. Go ahead.
Kim Commando
What is it?
Speaker D
I don't want to talk about it.
Kim Commando
You have to.
Speaker D
Now, have you ever heard of this water? It is called liquid death.
Kim Commando
Yes, it's delicious.
Speaker D
And now I'm buying it instead of buying like Costco water bottles. And it is so expensive.
Kim Commando
Now, why do you. Why are you doing this?
Speaker D
Well, first of all, I want to drink more water and I like things out of a can because it's really cold. When it's an aluminum can, it's really cold. But I did the math and I am going to spend $2,000 a year on canned water.
Kim Commando
Okay, that's stupid.
Speaker D
It's so stupid.
Kim Commando
It's dumb, but it's delicious.
Speaker D
It's so good.
Kim Commando
Well, you might be spending more than 5000 or 6000 on canned water if you keep it up. Because cyber attacks are now happening big time on our country's water systems. They're saying that China, Russia and Iran are behind all the cyber attacks. They want to disrupt and alter chemical levels and they want to contaminate our public drinking water supply.
Speaker D
Why do they want to do that? If they poison us all, they can't call us and make us leave gold in an unmarked car in the middle of a safeway parking lot.
Kim Commando
That was the stupidest thing. They've already attacked water utilities in Kansas, Texas and Pennsylvania.
Speaker D
Now they've attacked. It means they've bridged it. Have they caused any issues with the.
Kim Commando
Not that we know of.
Speaker D
Okay, we'll find out about them in three, four months.
Kim Commando
Of course, and we'll come up and go. And everybody in Kansas and Texas, Pennsylvania. I don't feel good.
Speaker D
Right. You know, my third eye looks shinier than normal.
Kim Commando
Do you remember I had the runs for a week?
Speaker D
Do you remember what it's all the hackers.
Kim Commando
So make sure that you do have a case of Costco water.
Speaker D
I have a case of Costco.
Kim Commando
Just in case. Just in case. Four cases of liquid now on shark tank coming in at number two. There are a lot of really smart people, including Mark Cuban. Okay, okay. I wouldn't say that Mark Cuban and I are friends, but we have corresponded via email in the past. I've asked him to carry some programming when he had the cable channels. And he wrote me back and he said, do you actually know what's on my channel, Kim? Because I don't think you want to be part of it.
Speaker D
You just blindly were writing people, can you carry my show?
Kim Commando
Exactly. Exactly.
Speaker D
Way to go.
Kim Commando
And I looked it up.
Speaker D
Dear Playboy tv, quick question.
Kim Commando
Exactly. But I always thought, you know, guy wrote me back. Yeah, very nice. Brought me back in like a couple of minutes. Well, he's a smart person. She's a billionaire, right? Last week, he was sitting there and he noticed some notifications in his Gmail account. And then he gets a phone call from somebody saying, hi, are you having trouble accessing your Gmail account? And he's like, no, I'm all in there. I'm fine. They said, oh, let us help you. Let us help you. And we're going to do a whole factory reset, and we're going to make sure that you get in there really, you know, quickly. Don't worry, because it looks like that your privacy has been breached and somebody has been trying to hack your account. And so Mark Cuban turned over his Gmail account to hackers.
Speaker D
No, he fell for it.
Kim Commando
Yes.
Speaker D
What?
Kim Commando
I know.
Speaker D
Are you kidding me?
Kim Commando
He did. He fell for it.
Speaker D
We hear these stories, like these little old ladies that don't know any better. He's a tech billionaire. It's not like he made a billion dollars selling strawberry preserves. He's a tech billionaire.
Kim Commando
Yeah, he fell for it. So, just a reminder to everybody that Google's not going to call you up.
Speaker D
No.
Kim Commando
And they're not going to ask for your passwords or your verification codes over the phone or email or messages.
Speaker D
Well, at least he admitted it. He could have kept it secret.
Kim Commando
Well, I think he wanted to show, like, even I can fall for these things.
Speaker D
Right? Which is crazy.
Kim Commando
Moving on to our next tech billionaire, Elon Musk. Elon Musk.
Speaker D
Another best friend.
Kim Commando
Another best friend.
Speaker D
I'm sure you correspond with him all the time.
Kim Commando
I do.
Speaker D
Yes, I do.
Kim Commando
I love him. If you see Elon hawking crypto on YouTube, it's a scam. Yeah, it's deep faked. What's going to happen is that you're going to transfer your crypto into his new trading platform, and you ain't got no crypto, because, remember, the first three letters in crypto is cry.
Speaker D
That's true. Mark Cuban, too. He's another one that they put AI videos of, hawking every single thing on the planet.
Kim Commando
Exactly. So just be aware that if it sounds like a scam, feels like a scam, it really is.
Speaker D
The only advertising you can trust is the one on Kim Commando's shows, which is true.
Kim Commando
Yes, absolutely. 100%. So, Alexa, do you have her at home?
Speaker D
No, I got Google.
Kim Commando
Okay. Alexa is now going to have Alexa intelligence. Okay, so instead of just saying, like, alexa, you know, play the Kim commando show, which, if somebody has their echo speaker, just kind of played the Kim commando show. Sorry about that. You can sign up.
Speaker D
You're not sorry about that.
Kim Commando
I was gonna say you can sign up for the paid version too. Is that Alexa is now gonna get Alexa intelligence.
Speaker D
Okay.
Kim Commando
And so you could say, alexa, get me an Uber. You know, just send me from Whole Foods everything that I need to make a chicken piccata dish with, I don't know, ricotta or whatever it may be.
Speaker D
Right.
Kim Commando
And then just go ahead and send that off to me.
Speaker D
It's just gonna be more conversational than you had with your home speaker before.
Kim Commando
Yes. Which is just a one way gig.
Speaker D
Right?
Kim Commando
They're going to charge for this anywhere between five and $10 a month.
Speaker D
If it works, it would be worth it. But there's a lot of this AI. I mean, look at McDonald's. McDonald's just took their entire plan to do AI in their drive thrus and scrapped the whole thing because people were ordering and it was putting bacon on top of ice cream and charging people dollar 222 for chicken nuggets. So if it works, $5 is not bad, but it's got to work.
Kim Commando
It's got to work really, really well, right?
Speaker D
Like a real assistant, because don't forget.
Kim Commando
That you're going to have chat built into your new iPhone. Google just announced their pixel event. That's going to happen in August, which means don't buy a new iPhone. Do not buy a new Pixel phone right now because you just bought a Samsung. Are you still liking that?
Speaker D
I am, yeah. I found. I found a new feature today. You want me to tell you about it?
Kim Commando
Yes.
Speaker D
So I play this game, like, 15 minutes every single morning. It's this stupid, like, city building game, and you have to join these alliances so you can be more powerful? Whatever. It's what I do when I wake up and I'm drinking my coffee and I joined this new powerful alliance. Everyone's Arabic. There is 500 people in the alliance. It's me and 499 people that speak Arabic.
Kim Commando
Okay.
Speaker D
So I just pull out my s pen. When someone posts a message, I just pull out my pen, put a square around it, hit translate. Boom, right there. In seconds. It's so cool.
Kim Commando
So, is the game Arabic, or did you just pick an arabic city?
Speaker D
I was asked to join because of the power of my city, to join the alliance.
Kim Commando
Oh, God.
Speaker D
With these powers combined, and I don't know why they thought I was Arabic, but literally everybody else is. But it's okay. I'm working around it.
Kim Commando
So do you feel like a really big man when you're playing this?
Speaker D
No, it just is a way to get my mind moving when I wake up, you got to do some strategy stuff, and it just gets me going. Then I play wordle and then connect. Can we talk about your wordle faux pas, by the way, we haven't talked about that on the podcast.
Kim Commando
Okay, go ahead, Ril.
Speaker D
Last week, get a text message from Kim bragging that she got wordle in two.
Kim Commando
Yes.
Speaker D
Great accomplishment. You're the digital goddess. Why didn't you hit the share button? So that when you sent me your great accomplishment of getting it in two prior, it would block out the letters and I wouldn't see the word.
Kim Commando
I did that on purpose.
Speaker D
Well, then you're a jerk. And then I hadn't done it yet, so I just took the word, which was the solution, put it in my wordle, solved it in one, and sent it back to her and said, beat ya.
Kim Commando
That was funny. I figured, you know what? I was just busting your chops by sending you that.
Speaker D
What a spoiler.
Kim Commando
I know. Sorry.
Speaker D
You ruined it.
Kim Commando
All right, finally, this. I saw this online that a lot of people are concerned about EMF, the electromagnetic frequencies and how it's affecting our bodies. And somebody did a whole bunch of research about new products. So, for example, they're calling it a tinfoil hat that you can buy. It doesn't really look like a tinfoil.
Speaker D
Hat, but it's the theory of you can block everything getting to your head by wearing it.
Kim Commando
It's kind of a bucket hat. Stylish bucket hat. If you're watching the podcast on YouTube, we're going to be showing you some of the products that are there. They also have a reversible armor t shirt.
Speaker D
This stuff is expensive.
Kim Commando
Yes. The tinfoil has $100. The data protection bag, which is a Faraday bag, is $200. The reversible armor t shirt is $200. Is it a t shirt? They say that inside all this stuff, they're quoting the original Silver street shield.
Speaker D
Okay.
Kim Commando
Each is made with pure copper nickel shielding fabric.
Speaker D
Can I wash it?
Kim Commando
Which supposedly, I'm going to read this exact quote from them, offers exceptional electrical connectivity, deflecting electromagnetic waves, such as Wi Fi and 5G, with up to 99.999% shielding effectiveness.
Speaker D
That's a heck of a claim right there.
Kim Commando
It's not 100%.
Speaker D
No, no. It's. Obviously something's gonna get through.
Kim Commando
Okay? So, you know. So I did. I've done research about this before, okay. Because, you know, I've been on. I've been on. In front of a screen. I figured out, like, over 40 years, right? Because this is just. I mean, I was just a kid. So you have to remember that both five G and Wi Fi, they emit nonionizing radiation, which is totally different than an x ray, so safe, it's not known to cause any damage to DNA or cells. The World Health Organization, and I've never heard of this. This one. The International Commission on Non Ionizing radiation protection.
Speaker D
You've never heard of them?
Kim Commando
No.
Speaker D
I get their newsletter. I don't get yours, but I get their newsletter. It's very informative.
Kim Commando
I bet you it's really interesting.
Speaker D
That's five followers. Not as much as you.
Kim Commando
Look at this mouse. Look at this mouse on five g. And the FCC, they all say that there's no conclusive evidence for exposure to low level electromagnetic fields on phones. Wi fi cause adverse health effects.
Speaker D
So if someone doesn't believe all of that stuff, they wanna go get a tin foil out, they can.
Kim Commando
$100. So then I started thinking, like, you know, let's see, really who is behind this whole website, and let's see who's behind this whole idea that we're going to sell copper shielding t shirts and shorts and underwear and pants and bras. They also have, like, you remember, like, the Pippi long stocking cap. It's like the little cap.
Speaker D
Oh, yeah, that covers the ears. Yeah. It goes down.
Kim Commando
They sell one of those for, like, $175.
Speaker D
Cheap.
Kim Commando
No, this is expensive stuff. So I decided, like, you know, so let's figure out who's really, really behind this.
Speaker D
Okay.
Kim Commando
So I traced it back to the UK. Traced it back to the UK.
Speaker D
Did you use another VPN so you could get it cheaper?
Kim Commando
Well, if I was going to buy anything. Absolutely.
Speaker D
So unethical.
Kim Commando
So, I mean, I'd probably, like, go to, like, retail me not. And get a promo code that doesn't belong to me either.
Speaker D
Right.
Kim Commando
I mean, just saying. And it's a 48 year old woman. Okay, whose primary business is this?
Speaker D
That's Mia.
Kim Commando
Yes.
Speaker D
Who picked the song? I mean, if you're gonna pick Mia, you gotta pick paper planes, but that's fine. It's Mia. Of course.
Kim Commando
The first one that popped up on YouTube.
Speaker D
You gotta go with paper planes. That's her hit. That's her banger.
Kim Commando
Okay. We'll see if we can find paper.
Speaker D
Let's change it in post.
Kim Commando
Yeah, no, we'll not do that. So are you ready to go by?
Speaker D
No, I'm good. I'm gonna pass.
Kim Commando
No.
Speaker D
Yeah.
Kim Commando
Why?
Speaker D
First of all, the cost. Second of all, I'm not worried about it. So those two things combined, I think I'm pretty safe from my wifi and 5g.
Kim Commando
You know what? Maybe this is why you're bald.
Speaker D
Nah, that's why. Yeah, I went bald when I was 20. There's not as much 5g hanging around back then.
Kim Commando
We really need new phones.
Speaker B
T Mobile will cover the cost of four amazing new iPhone fifteen s, and each line is only $25 a month.
Kim Commando
New iPhone 15s only at T Mobile.
Speaker C
Get four iPhone 15s on us and four lines for $25 per line per month with eligible. Trade in when you switch.
Speaker B
Minimum of four lines for 25. $25 per line per month with auto pay discount using debit or bank account. $5 more per line without auto pay, plus taxes and fees. Phone fee 24 monthly bill credits for all qualified customers. Contact us before canceling accounts. Continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on required finance agreement due. Dollar 35 per line connection charge applies. Ct mobile.com dot.
Kim Commando
Hey, it's Kim Commando. Today it's your fun podcast about all things digital. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 11:30 a.m. pacific time. That's when you can actually come and see us do the show. And we always love that because you know what? The more followers, the more listeners, the more people so that we can help to become. What would you say? Tech aware. Sure.
Speaker D
That's good. You should put that on a t shirt or something and then make it out of tinfoil and block all the 5g. You can charge, like, $150 for that.
Kim Commando
See, I think I'm just jealous of.
Speaker D
Mia that she came up with this idea to make a ton of money and you didn't.
Kim Commando
Yeah. Yeah, that's probably that's probably it. All right. Joseph Cox is a friend of our shows. He's one of the best cybersecurity journalists out there. He's one of the co founders of 404 Media, which, if you haven't checked out that website, they do incredible reporting. You know, there aren't too many news organizations anymore that they actually do report.
Speaker D
There's a lot of copy and paste news organizations.
Kim Commando
Yes, but, I mean, we're talking about somebody who goes in, they get the story, they investigate it, they do a whole bunch of. I mean, basically, you have to live, breathe, eat a story.
Speaker D
Right.
Kim Commando
For months.
Speaker D
True journalism.
Kim Commando
Yes, exactly. He just published a book called the Incredible True Story of the largest sting operation ever. There was a powerful app for secure and encrypted communications called anom. Anom. And it wasn't something that you would use? No, something I would use.
Speaker D
The phones that had it on it were like two grand apiece. And, yeah, I would never think to go buy one.
Kim Commando
Well, it was really being used by criminals and drug dealers mainly. So Joseph's here to talk to us more about it.
Joseph Cox
Hi. Thank you for having me.
Kim Commando
So, Joseph, who was behind this?
Joseph Cox
Well, initially it was some criminals who were selling the phones, and they thought they were just selling it to one another and using it for their drug trafficking enterprises. But what later turned out was that it was secretly the FBI the entire time, essentially for its entire existence in that the FBI had a backdoor into this phone, and they could read every single message that was sent across this entire communications platform, which is obviously not great if you're a drug trafficker who's trying to stay out of the hands of the FBI. And I was just blown away when the FBI did that. I never thought they would go this far.
Kim Commando
So the FBI set it up as it's. As a bona fide true cell phone company and cell phone maker.
Joseph Cox
Yeah, I mean, the FBI became a tech startup for organized crime. They handled everything from sourcing the mobile phones. It was sort of just like Google pixels, you know, normal Android phones, to then sorting out putting this special app that you mentioned on there, anomaly on there as well, and then shipping those phones, logistics as well, stopping hackers getting in, introducing new features. Everything that a tech company would need to do, the FBI was doing it as well. It was just doing it for drug traffickers.
Speaker D
Now, it's one thing to come up with the idea, like, wouldn't it be great if we could watch and maintain everything these bad guys are doing? But how do you get it out there and you get all the drug dealers to convince that it is secure. It's something to use.
Joseph Cox
Yeah, exactly. Even the FBI agents who I've spoken to and heard from, at the start, they were like, this is crazy. Like, we cannot do this. No one has done this before. As for how to actually get the phones out there, they needed these, what they called influencers, or I sometimes call ambassadors in the book as well. And these were top tier drug traffickers. The main one was a guy called Hakan AK. He was the most wanted man in Australia. He makes billions of dollars trafficking drugs, and he already had a connection to the person who came up with the original idea for the phone. So he started selling them. He started promoting them. And what better marketing could Anam have or the FBI have than Hakan Ayit supporting, using and selling your phone? It's like getting a really, really incredible, I don't know, celebrity.
Speaker D
He's like the Kardashian, the Kardashians of drug dealers. He puts it up on his Instagram, is like, oh, my, to have that.
Kim Commando
So did it have its own website or did you have to go to the dark web to buy this thing or what?
Joseph Cox
So it did have a website, but you had to have a certain code given to you by a reseller, somebody who's already distributing these devices. And that has a couple of good benefits. First of all, the FBI. That means that civilians are less likely to get in. I did confirm that some ordinary people got hold of the phones a relatively small amount, but it lowers the barrier. But it also creates this sort of viral marketing mystique about the phones. I remember when Google came out years and years ago, and you had to know somebody on the platform to get an invite. I remember asking at house parties, you on Google, can I get in? Very, very embarrassing to look back at that.
Kim Commando
You know what? I wouldn't.
Joseph Cox
It's basically the same thing.
Kim Commando
I wouldn't tell too many people that story. Joseph, your credibility just, like, went right down the toilet.
Speaker D
You'd be better off just telling people, an australian drug dealer than that.
Kim Commando
And I wear bowling shoes.
Speaker D
How much did it cost? How much did this entire program cost the FBI?
Joseph Cox
So that's basically the one question they would not tell me. They would not answer to me. And I got to ask basically everything once they granted me access. But from what I can tell, it would have been a lot. They had to, as I say, source the hardware. Also these unlimited data sims. They have to be very reliable. They have to be on all of the time. You have to have very fast infrastructure because just like an ordinary tech company, if your product goes down, you're losing money potentially. Your customers are obviously losing uptime and they can be very, very mad and they might then go to another platform which if you were even an ordinary phone company, that would be bad. If you're the FBI trying to run a honey pot, that's the last thing you want. So to answer your question, I would say they invested significant resources into this operation. They just wouldn't put a figure on it because I imagine they may want to do it again and maybe they need to get the budget again. So maybe it's best they don't tell me.
Kim Commando
So how many phones did they sell in all?
Joseph Cox
It was 12,000, which does not sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things. But when you think about that, basically all of those, the vast, vast majority of those are serious organized criminals. Thats 12,000 people who the FBI and its partners are ultimately going to want to hunt. And it started very small. It didnt jump to 12,000 immediately. At the start it was five phones given out in Australia for free. Then it gets more popular in Europe. So it ships over there, South America, Southeast Asia. And what the FBI did, they actually shuttered another encrypted phone company that criminals were using. So criminals from that then moved over to the honey pie and that's when they had this like triple growth overnight. There were all these new countries appearing and it would be great if, you know, I'm sure Mark Zuckerberg would love it if he could just go shut down Twitter and take all of those users and go over to him. That's what the FBI did here with sky and anon.
Kim Commando
Wow.
Speaker D
So did they learn anything about the activity of what criminals do with technology? Obviously communication. Do they play Angry Birds a lot? No, I'm just kidding. Did they learn anything that they didn't know about how criminals use technology?
Joseph Cox
Well, it's funny you mentioned angry birds, like they weren't doing that, but they are using tons of emojis. Like literally when they're planning assassinations, they are sending the sunglasses emoji. Yeah, which I think, I mean, obviously it's quite funny when I say it, but I think it just shows how palace some of these people are that they can literally order assassinations as casually as you might order like a taxi or food or whatever. Right. And as for what they learned, I mean, theres tons of drug trafficking techniques and all of that, but when it comes specifically to the technology, I think the most important thing is that you can no longer think of organized crime groups like an albanian gang or maybe a chinese triad or a biker gang in Australia. What they found is that they all work together. Now even groups who would ordinarily murder each other are in cahoots because they want to make more money. And these phones is what provide the technological backbone for that. You couldnt do this 20 years ago, maybe even ten years ago. Now they can communicate very securely, or at least they think so very, very quickly and from any country to any other country anywhere in the world.
Kim Commando
What year was this?
Joseph Cox
This was in 2018, is when they started. It was just after they shut down phantom secure, which was another encrypted phone company. And then from there, they kept on going and kept on growing until the FBI came out in mid 2021 and announced they ran the operation. So obviously, as soon as the FBI announced it, I went and started investigating the company. It turned out some of my older sources actually worked for them and sold the phones. They just didn't want to tell me at the time because they thought they had a very good side gig going on, a very good hustle. And then it turned out they were getting arrested by the FBI. So that all fell pass around them.
Speaker D
Why did it come to an end? Why, if it's working so well, if they're reading every single text message, why stop it? Why announce it?
Joseph Cox
Yeah, exactly. The european partners that the FBI teamed up with, they did not want it to stop. They were seizing shipments. They were stopping murders. It was incredible. But there were two main reasons that it stopped. The first is that the sort of court authorization that held it all legally together was running out. Maybe they could have extended that they didn't want to. And I think the most important thing is, sort of what I hinted at earlier, is that it was starting to get out of control. They were getting more and more criminals on there every single day. It got to the point where they were getting 1 million messages a day that all had to be read, sometimes of AI, sometimes manually. But if even a single one of those messages fell through the cracks, there's obviously a chance that somebody could be murdered. And I proved that at least one person was killed because of an assassination planned on the app. And the FBI failed to warn the relevant authorities in time.
Kim Commando
Wow, that is something.
Speaker D
Now it's safe to assume, you know, using logic, something's happening right now, of course, that they're doing behind the scenes, that in five or six years, we'll find out about. That's got to be multiple time better than what they had with this.
Joseph Cox
Yeah, I 100% agree. I'm almost certain as much as I can be, that they are planning something else. But even if I dont know the specifics, what I would say is that this operation was just like a warning shot. It shows the extreme resources and extreme measures the FBI and other law enforcement will go to to get around end to end encryption, which for us is a very, very important privacy tool for the authorities. It annoys them a great deal. And what im mostly worried about is what if that next thing is they try to undermine signal or they try to undermine telegram or one of these other apps that not just criminals use? And I dont know whether theyre going to do that, but I absolutely think this operation shows that they could do that.
Kim Commando
It makes you think what other type of backdoors might exist, doesnt it?
Speaker D
What are the thing that youre buying on a daily basis? Its actually run by the government and theyre using it to spy on you?
Kim Commando
Or are there backdoors already built into an iPhone or under the premise of we're trying to catch criminals, that it might be okay?
Joseph Cox
Yeah. I mean, in Europe right now, they are discussing this legislation or proposals, and the idea is that they're going to scan all encrypted chat content just in general, because it's a big sweeping argument for child sexual abuse imagery. A lot of people would say that'd be a very, very good thing. We already do that for email, for Dropbox, that sort of thing. This would sort of just extend it to encrypted messaging. But I think there's a real threat there that that could easily be expanded to other sorts of crimes. You know, like, oh, now we want to expand it to protests, now we want to expand it to financial crime. And hey, maybe as a society we want to do that. But there absolutely needs to be a discussion because at least in this case and then some other investigations the Europeans have done, the cops kind of just, they went and did it. You know, obviously, we're only finding about this now because I wrote a book about it and there was no debate. They just went ahead and they did this audacious operation.
Kim Commando
So how many arrests did they make?
Joseph Cox
So on the day, it was something like 800 nearly simultaneously starts in Australia. They do some arrests there, moves over to Europe, they do more there. And then in America, they dont actually do any arrests there for legal reasons because it would be illegal in America. But police, the world is fine. Just dont do it inside the United States. And then the FBI announced it there. So they have 800 on that day, and since then its gone up to more than 1000. But what I tried to do in the book is that I zoom out. And there were those other investigations I mentioned, the one in to sky, this other encrypted phone company. There was another one called encroachat that the french police hacked. When you take all of those together, they arrested more than 10,000 criminals. So it's basically like they arrested the entire user base.
Kim Commando
I was gonna say because of the company. Yeah.
Joseph Cox
Yes, exactly. It just like, in the end, it ended up being like three different investigations altogether. But 10,000 arrests is a crazy number. It would already be good if they arrested, you know, one sizeable organized crime gang on a nom. There was something like 300 distinct crime gangs all using this app at the same time.
Kim Commando
Wow.
Speaker D
So cool.
Kim Commando
You know, Joseph, what a great job that you've done. I mean, this is, you know, I'm so glad that you. How many hours do you think that you've spent on this?
Joseph Cox
Oh, my God. I literally cannot estimate that. It would be countless. There were points where I would wake up before work advice, or as you kindly said, four or four media now, and I would just read these hundreds of thousands of anon messages that I've obtained, and I would translate them from swedish or whatever. Then I would go to work, and then I would come back in the evening and I would do it all again until I fell asleep. Basically, it was a ton of work. Talking to sources, getting people to talk, going into the FBI as well. I literally couldn't put a figure on it. But I hope that gives you an idea of the amount of work that went into here, because I really wanted to talk to the people were the agents who ran the company and who investigated it. But I've also spoken to the people who coded the phones, who had no idea they were actually working for the FBI. I spoke to the people who sold them to organize criminals, and I spoke to drug traffickers as well. So, you know, some hairy situations, I would say, but you've got to do that because you need to tell the full story. You can't just tell the FBI side. You can't just tell the criminal side. You have to tell everybody's perspective so we get a better understanding of what actually happened.
Speaker D
It should be a movie.
Kim Commando
I was just gonna say that.
Speaker D
Absolutely should be a movie.
Kim Commando
This would be a great movie. Great movie. So if you're listening to the show, you're watching the show. I am now Joseph's agent.
Joseph Cox
I mean, that would be great. I think more people should know about it. And I did try to tell it like a movie as well in the book, you know, because it's important. But as I can tell from both of your reactions, it's just a crazy story.
Speaker D
It's great.
Kim Commando
I actually do know a movie producer, Joseph, because I did a movie once. I didn't do the movie. Barry did the movie.
Speaker D
Yes. It was a western, right?
Kim Commando
Oh, no. It was about. Oh, the border. Yeah, the border. We don't need to go into it.
Speaker D
Even Lingorial was in it. That's a big name.
Kim Commando
Was.
Joseph Cox
There you go.
Kim Commando
And yes, some other people.
Speaker D
She'll tell you about how much money she lost on it later.
Kim Commando
Then he wanted to do another movie. I'm like, no, we're not getting the. We're out of the movie.
Speaker D
This is a movie. This is a winner.
Kim Commando
Joseph, again, the title of the book, dark Wire, available everywhere.
Joseph Cox
Yep, that's right. And this is kind of what it looks like. There you go. There you go.
Kim Commando
There you go. Amazing, Joseph. Congratulations. That's going to be a home run, I'm sure.
Joseph Cox
Thank you. I really, really appreciate your time.
Kim Commando
Thanks for being here. Wow. Isn't that something?
Speaker D
So cool. I read the story multiple times just because there's so many pieces of what was happening and the fact that. I'm glad he answered the question because why would you ever stop it? I mean, you're just getting fed all this information directly from the criminals. Why would you ever stop that program? But now we know.
Kim Commando
You know what? I normally don't read books.
Speaker D
Mm hmm.
Kim Commando
But I think I might read this book. How about you?
Speaker D
I'm not a big reader. Maybe I'll do well once he does that, especially with his voice in this accident. I'll do the audiobook.
Speaker C
After investing billions to light up our network, T Mobile is America's largest 5G network. Plus, right now you can switch. Keep your phone, and we'll pay it off up to $800. See how you can save on every plan versus Verizon and at and t@tmobile.com.
Speaker B
Acrossamerica, up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying. Unlock device credit service ported, 90 plus days with device ineligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.
Kim Commando
Hey, it's Kim Kamado. Today. We're glad that you're here with us. By the way, that movie with Ava Longeria was called Frontera.
Speaker D
Frontera. That's right.
Kim Commando
Frontera, 2014.
Speaker D
I remember that. Barry was so excited. He was a movie producer.
Kim Commando
I know. His name's in it at the end.
Speaker D
That's all he wanted, really. Right? It's a bucket list thing, I guess. Can we talk about the prison of the future?
Kim Commando
Yes.
Speaker D
There's a group of scientists, and what they want to do is they want to take criminals. And after they've gone through the legal process, and this is way in the future, this is not happening next week. Once they've gone through the legal process, they get a choice. Let's say you were. I don't want to be gross, but let's say you can. You rape someone, okay, and you're going to go to jail for 25 years. They'll give you the option. Instead of going to prison, you can go to a facility, they will do a scan of your brain, and then they will implant in your head the memories. The fake memories, but the memories of the victim.
Kim Commando
Of the victim. Okay, all right.
Speaker D
I get that. It won't be the specific victim. It will be a digitally AI enhanced version of the crime that you committed. Your face is not.
Kim Commando
This is horrible.
Speaker D
Yes, but the point is to build remorse inside of the criminal so that they will then correct their actions and be able to return to society, instead of sitting in a cell for 25 years and be able to go out there and function again and not commit these crimes.
Kim Commando
What if the guy is a psychopath and he would get pleasure out of.
Speaker D
Oh, then he's going to be back. Obviously, I don't think it's a great idea. It's interesting, but I don't. The whole, if you pull back and look, we're putting memories in people's heads that are not real. That technology is terrifying. So terrifying, it's actually the plot of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie called total recall. And that didn't work out for anybody.
Kim Commando
No, that was bad.
Speaker D
Do you think a this is something we should even step into, this science?
Kim Commando
No, not at all.
Speaker D
Okay, now, look at Neuralink. We're looking at Elon Musk's company in Neuralink.
Kim Commando
Okay, well, we're not. We're not altering somebody's memory.
Speaker D
Correct. That's a different step. But that is logically the next step, right?
Kim Commando
Yeah.
Speaker D
You could think of the positive side. Again, referring to movies. In the movie the Matrix, they do the same thing. You go sit in a booth, they plug something into your head, and within seconds, you know Spanish, you know how to do taekwondo, you know how to cook a five course meal. Just like Gordon Ramsay. What about those memories? Are those okay to be implanted?
Kim Commando
No.
Speaker D
Okay, I agree with you. I absolutely agree with you.
Kim Commando
I think. I think, no, this is, this is.
Speaker D
The, the overwhelming of. You're messing with. It is what it is to be human. Also, if it's an artificial memory, it's not a memory. I mean, a memory is something you experience, that you recall. But again, this is just the plot of total recall. These scientists are just ripping off Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, but it's a weird approach at how to handle the prison system that we're dealing with right now.
Kim Commando
Well, maybe if I got implanted, that frontera actually was a great movie and Magnolia Pictures did a phenomenal job.
Speaker D
Right. And it made so much money. 15 oscars.
Kim Commando
And then in frontera two, I was able, they had a talk show host to how to part.
Speaker D
But that, is that the future? Is that the future we're heading at?
Kim Commando
I hope not.
Speaker D
I think it's too far. I think it's way too far. Implanting thoughts and memories in people's heads. But they're not gonna stop, especially if they can make money on it. They can develop to make the technology. They'll start pushing it forward.
Kim Commando
We really need new phones.
Speaker B
T Mobile will cover the cost of four amazing new iPhone fifteen S and each line is only $25 a month.
Kim Commando
New iPhone 15s only at T Mobile.
Speaker C
Get four iPhone 15s on us and four lines for $25 per line per month with eligible trade in when you switch.
Speaker B
Minimum of four lines for $25 per line per month with auto pay discount using debit or bank account $5 more per line without auto pay plus taxes and fees. Phone fee 24 monthly bill credits for well qualified customers contact before canceling accounts to continue bill credits or credit stop and balance on required finance agreement due $35 per line connection charge applies CT.
Kim Commando
Mobile.Com dot it's chemical today. What that means is that you need to, like follow comment share did I miss anything? Subscribe yeah, subscribe. Subscribe. That's the important one.
Speaker D
Yeah, this one. I like looking at that one.
Kim Commando
Yeah. Cause, subscribe. What that means is that you get all this transference of intellect and fun delivered to you automatically, right?
Speaker D
It reminds you, hey, Kim Commando today is live right now on YouTube if you want to go watch it.
Kim Commando
Yes, exactly. Or if you're just walking around. We actually had a comment from somebody that said they were listening to the podcast and they were in the grocery store and she busted out laughing and then everybody turned around and looked at.
Speaker D
Her like what's your problem, lady?
Kim Commando
She's in. Who's this nutcase in ILB.
Speaker D
Well, I'm glad we're making her laugh.
Kim Commando
So what's going on with Walmart?
Speaker D
Walmart. They're going to use technology and they're going to get rid of. When's the last time you were at a Walmart? Let's be honest.
Kim Commando
Me?
Speaker D
Yeah.
Kim Commando
At a Walmart?
Speaker D
Yeah.
Kim Commando
Okay. I did have to go to a Walmart. It was Christmas Day. My mother was really sick.
Speaker D
Okay.
Kim Commando
And it was the only pharmacy that I could go get a prescription.
Speaker D
So you're saying years.
Kim Commando
Years.
Speaker D
So when you go into a Walmart, they have these big signs that the prices are on. And with the big advertisements, the numbers can. That's why they get the rollback. That's.
Kim Commando
Oh, that's for the rollback? Yeah.
Speaker D
They can change the price by just rolling it back.
Kim Commando
I never saw that.
Speaker D
The shelves, the little price tags are just little stickers. Theyre little pieces of paper and plastic tabs. Theyre getting rid of all of that, and theyre all going to have electronic price tags. So when you go to look at how much this shirt is, youll look up, youll look at a screen and see that its $9.99. And the minute that they announced they were doing this, the Internet said, well, here we go. Walmart surge pricing. You want to buy a rotisserie chicken at dinnertime, its going to be $2 more than if you wanted to buy it 4 hours later outside. Yeah, exactly.
Kim Commando
Ice goes up, right?
Speaker D
Sunscreens three times the price. Walgreen. Walmart responded with, we absolutely promise you we will not use this for surge pricing until we decide that we're gonna. But it's our own dang fault. We all accepted uber surge pricing as just a thing. Well, obviously it's more expensive now because it's more in demand and we all just accept it and we pay it it. And now everybody's going to do it, including Walmart. We don't believe you.
Kim Commando
Which is. Every other retailer is going to pick up on it, too.
Speaker D
Absolutely. Remember when Wendy's, Wendy's floated it out there? They had to cancel it within 24 hours because of the backlash that came down. It's going to happen. It's going to be a reality of our future.
Kim Commando
It is. It's just the bottom line, you know? And speaking of Walmart.
Speaker D
Natural transition.
Kim Commando
My God, I hate you. I just hate you.
Speaker D
Oh, go ahead. Speaking of Walmart. Yes.
Kim Commando
You know, now I can't. Now I, now you. I don't want to do it now.
Speaker D
Can I ruin it?
Kim Commando
They ruined my joke.
Speaker D
Okay. I won't make eye time contact. Just do your joke. I won't even make. I won't even look at you.
Kim Commando
This is a funny joke.
Speaker D
I bet it is.
Kim Commando
You're gonna laugh.
Speaker D
They all are.
Kim Commando
Okay. Where does Walmart keep the Terminator toys?
Speaker D
Terminator toys. In the back.
Kim Commando
I'll be back.
Speaker D
I'll be back.
Kim Commando
Like, I'll be in the back was better. No, in the back. No, I'll be.
Speaker D
Yeah, I understand.
Kim Commando
Back.
Speaker D
Yeah, I got it.
Kim Commando
I'll be back.
Speaker D
I understand, kid.
Kim Commando
You're not. How come you're not laughing?
Speaker D
Because it lacks humor.
Kim Commando
It does not. You know, people love my jokes.
Speaker D
I don't know why.
Kim Commando
They tell me every day. They stop me on the streets. They say, your jokes are so funny.
Speaker D
See? You're funnier when you're winging it. He's pre prepared. I'll be back. When sometimes fall flat.
Kim Commando
They do not.
Speaker D
This program is a copyrighted production of.
Kim Commando
Westar multimedia entertainment and protected by the copyright laws. Any rebroadcast or use of this program for commercial, business, economic or financial purposes without the written permission of Westar multimedia entertainment is strictly prohibited.
Speaker C
After investing billions to light up our network, T Mobile is America's largest 5g network. Plus, right now you can switch. Keep your phone and we'll pay it off up to $800. See how you can save on every plan versus Verizon and at and t@tmobile.com.
Speaker B
Acrossamerica up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlocked device credit service ported 90 plus days with device ineligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.
Speaker D
Start your summer road trip at midas and get up to $30 off your next repair service. Plus get a free closer look. Vehicle check to make sure your road trip ready. If you need brake service, an alignment check or tune up, hit up midas for up to dollar 30 off. For more details, request your appointment@midas.com. dot.