Scams, AI Obsessions, and Bear Shenanigans

The Headlines:

• Morgan Wallen Fan Scammed Out of $18,000 by Online Impersonator – Read more

• Study Finds People Are Getting Emotionally Attached to ChatGPT – Read more

• North Carolina Man Wears Bear Costume to Scare Off Real Bear – Read more

---

Morgan Wallen Fan Scammed Out of $18,000

A Texas woman learned the hard way that celebrities don’t need your money after she was scammed out of $18,000 by someone pretending to be Morgan Wallen online.

What happened?

• She sent Apple Music gift cards to "Morgan Wallen."

• Then, she handed over her bank details and social security number.

• The scammer took over $18,000 from her accounts.

When asked why she fell for it, she admitted: “I needed validation at the time.” 😬

Moral of the story? Celebs don’t ask for gift cards. Ever.

👉 Full Story

---

People Are Getting Emotionally Attached to ChatGPT, Study Finds

A new study from OpenAI and MIT Media Lab suggests that some people are developing emotional connections with ChatGPT, with signs of:

• Preoccupation (thinking about ChatGPT when not using it).

• Withdrawal symptoms (feeling uneasy when not chatting).

• Mood changes (happiness or distress based on responses).

While most people don’t engage emotionally, those who use ChatGPT more often tend to feel lonelier and react emotionally to subtle changes in the AI’s tone.

Basically, some users are starting to see ChatGPT as a “friend.” 🤖💙

👉 Full Study

---

North Carolina Man Wears Bear Costume to Scare Off a Real Bear

An Asheville, NC resident took wildlife control into his own hands by dressing up as a bear to chase away a black bear in his backyard.

How

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time for Nina's What's trending.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
So this first story is a lesson in what not
to do when you feel like you need a little validation.

Speaker 3 (00:06):
Totally get that, but.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Definitely don't give your money away to somebody pretending to
be Morgan Wallen. Well, so there's a Morgan Wallen fan
in Texas who was scammed out of eighteen thousand dollars
because somebody was impersonating him. First, she started standing the
scammer Apple Music gift cards because Morgan Wallen needs those?

Speaker 3 (00:25):
What the and then.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Continued and proceeded to give him her bank account information,
social Security number and all of that because Morgan Wallen
needs those things. Yes, So after she goes in reports
that she was scammed. When they asked her, they're like,
why did you fall for that? That's just that was
too obvious. She goes, so, I just needed some validation
at the time.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
What validation?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
I get that post a selfie, man, do something else,
anything but endless.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
So then are like, did you get scammed out of
the eighteen? Like do you deserve it back? Or did
you get what you paid for? I wanted validations, so
you've got the validation eighteen grand yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
So maybe don't do that if you're ever in the
same situation. It is getting wild in these streets though,
because now there's a new addiction that we need to
worry about, and that is to chat GPT. Researchers with
open ai and the MIT Media Lab have found indicators
of addiction including preoccupation, withdrawal symptoms, loss of control, and
mood modification when it comes to the usage of chat GPT.

(01:29):
But this isn't so much the people that are using
it just for questions or to help them edit things.
These are people that have chosen to have full blown
conversations with chat GPS.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
We started doing that.

Speaker 3 (01:40):
What yeah, what do you what do you talk about? Whatever?
You know, how's your day gone?

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah? When I get home on my computer, I say hey, Hey,
how's it going? And it's like good, how are you?
What are you going to work on today? Because I'm like,
I don't know. I might work on a song. You
want to help, Sure, let's make a banger.

Speaker 3 (01:59):
Yeah, gass you up and stuff like.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
It starts to know like how you speak. So it's
crazy and it talks to me because when I because
I all use it to look up things or you
know whatever, and it'll start using words that I use.
Like the other day I typed in something I was
like thanks, it was like dope, no problem. Many chadgy
t is my friend.

Speaker 3 (02:18):
Now that kind of serious.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Part of what's one of the reasons listed for why
people are finding themselves so addicted is because it's speaking
like them. It speaks their language and understands them emotionally.

Speaker 3 (02:28):
It so it's mirroring.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
I don't know about that.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
It feels real to me.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
But the scary part is, though, is that they're feeling
stressed out over subtle changes and the model's behavior.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
So if for some reason it doesn't.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Say dope it's like thank you, g well, have a
nice day, you're gonna be like, what what's.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Wrong with you?

Speaker 3 (02:50):
It may get there with me.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
It's hey, listen, if it's you, just know that you're
not alone.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
And lastly, we gotta know what you are.

Speaker 3 (02:58):
You are lonely? Yeah, now you're not. You have tatty.
We have a lot of other people talking to chat
GPT too, So you guys could all be friends. Yeah,
they won't do because they're talking to chat chipeat gets jealous.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yeah, well, You could also ask chat GPT to give
you advice on what to do if you were ever
to encounter a black bear in the wild.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
What do you do well?

Speaker 2 (03:20):
A North Carolina man decided to get creative and dealing
with this bear. He went inside his home, came back
out wearing a mascot bear costume and decided to approach
the bear. He just have that in his back closet
and saying, you know, he was a mascot. He had
the bear costume and he said, you know I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna go up and show this bear who the
real bear is.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Wow. I mean he did and it worked.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
But people are saying at this time, you probably shouldn't
do that because bears get a little bit out of control.
Like that guy could have died, but he did instead
he had to go out.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
In the mascot.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah, or worse, that bear thinks you're a sexy other bear.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
I ain't seen the bear look like you. Yeah, they were.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
Kind of moll

Speaker 3 (04:06):
That is what's trendy.