Hello from the bunker.
Last month a man sent an AI agent to argue with his internet provider's live chat, and the agent won. Robots haggling with robots is the future, apparently. The good news is that the useful part doesn't need a robot: a real competing offer and a polite script, which a chatbot will write for you in about a minute.
Also this weekend: five checks that catch a fake recruiter, a real FTC refund for customers of Cleo, an AI-powered budgeting and cash-advance app the FTC says misled its customers (and the fake version you shouldn't fall for), and how to use AI during Medicare open enrollment without letting it pick your plan.
The most useful things to try this weekend.
Armed with a $50-a-month offer from a rival fiber company, an engineer let an AI agent work his provider's live chat. His bill dropped from $94.99 to $69.99 a month, plus a $47.50 loyalty credit.
Scammers are cloning real employees' LinkedIn profiles to pose as recruiters. Reported job-scam losses in the U.S. went from $90 million in 2020 to $501 million in 2024. Five checks catch nearly all of them.
The FTC is returning more than $15.8 million to about 2.1 million customers of Cleo, an AI-powered budgeting and cash-advance app the FTC says misled its customers. Eligibility emails go out by October 26; PayPal payments start October 27 and must be redeemed within 30 days.
Medicare open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. A CPA warns against letting a chatbot pick your plan. Here's the job it can do: get your list and your questions ready for the official tools.
In a Greenhouse survey, 63% of job seekers said they'd been interviewed by an AI and 70% weren't clearly told beforehand. Its CEO's advice: ask each employer what AI use is allowed, because the rules often aren't written down.
It's happening. In Florida, the Osceola County sheriff says scammers cloned one of his real captains' voices and used his photo in voicemails claiming people had missed jury duty or had a warrant out. His office counts about 40 such cases this year. In June, a South Carolina sheriff's office warned that scammers using a real captain's name might be mimicking his voice with AI, after one person said the caller sounded very much like him.
The reassuring part: the voice is new, but the scam isn't. It's the old missed-jury-duty con, and it still needs you to pay or share personal details on the spot. Police in Florida and South Carolina both say the same thing: a real officer won't call you demanding money to clear a warrant.
What to actually do: If anyone with a badge calls about a warrant or jury duty and wants money, hang up. Look up the agency's number yourself, not the one in the voicemail or text, and call it. Then tell your family the rule.
A 2002 Walmart receipt next to a 2026 one, eggs jumping to $9.48. A beach-club bill in St. Tropez for €689,235.43. Both went viral. Both were made by AI.
Fact-checkers at Lead Stories found the Walmart store's address doesn't exist and the egg price was far above Walmart's own listing. The St. Tropez receipt's math didn't add up, its business ID matched no real company, and the restaurant said the items weren't on its menu. AI image tools are now very good at receipts, so a receipt is no longer proof of anything.
Copy this into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. Works on internet, phone, streaming and insurance bills. Bring a real competing offer.
I want to lower my [internet/phone/insurance] bill without losing what I have. I pay [current monthly price] to [provider] for [plan] and have been a customer for [years]. A competitor, [competitor], offers [offer details]. Write me a short, polite script for the provider's live chat or phone line: an opening message, what to ask for, two follow-up replies if they say no, and a calm line saying I'm prepared to switch. Remind me to ask for any loyalty credit and to get the final price confirmed in writing.