A phone call in your grandchild’s voice. A video of a celebrity raving about a product. An urgent email that reads perfectly. AI has made scams so convincing that the old warning signs no longer protect you. In this episode of Tech Talk with Refresh Computers, Greg Rhodes and Refresh Computers technician Adam Littlefield join David Leavitt for the show’s first-ever video edition. They break down how to spot AI fakes, explain how the Refresh trade-in program and secure electronics recycling work, react to Apple’s jaw-dropping new MacBook and iPhone Duo, and share a tech tip that lets your phone type long things from just a few letters.
Listen to the Episode
Watch the video version on YouTube, and subscribe to the Refresh Computers channel
Why AI Fakes Are So Hard to Spot Now
Not long ago, AI fakes were easy to catch. Adam remembers the awkward AI video of Will Smith eating spaghetti. Today the same idea becomes a polished scene in front of the Eiffel Tower, complete with a cloned voice.
Writing That Flows Too Perfectly
Scam emails used to give themselves away with poor grammar and misspelled words. Now the warning sign is often the opposite. As Greg put it, if a message flows too perfectly, be suspicious.
Adam watches for extra-long dashes between phrases, the kind writers call an em dash. They are hard to type on a regular keyboard, but AI tools love them. David added a caveat: anyone can tell their AI to leave them out, so a missing long dash does not prove a message is real.
Also watch for AI “hallucination”: a wild scenario mixed with a few accurate details about you, invented to make you panic.
The most effective way to get you to act on something is to make you panic. That’s exactly what these AI scams are built to do.
Voice Clone Calls: The Scariest AI Scam
David calls the voice clone call the scariest scam of all. Scammers pull short voice clips from places like TikTok, where kids and grandkids post all the time, then use AI to call you in a loved one’s voice and claim they are in trouble.
Adam has even seen fake video of a “family member” stranded beside a wrecked car at night. Greg noted that the fun AI apps on social media use the same technology.
Your Best Defense: A Family Code Word
Agree on a family code word ahead of time. If a caller claiming to be your grandchild cannot give it, there is a very good chance it is a scam.
Deepfake Photos, Videos and Fake Celebrity Endorsements
AI can now create convincing images and clips of people saying and doing things they never did. The one that drives David up the wall is the flood of AI videos showing famous people endorsing products they have never used.
They eventually get taken down when the real celebrities complain, but plenty of people fall for them first. If a famous face is pitching a product in your feed, assume it may be fake until you confirm it.
AI Callers Pretending to Be Your Bank
Watch out for AI voices that imitate businesses you trust, like your bank, your credit card company, or a favorite shopping site. Adam noted that some AI callers even play office chatter in the background so they sound like a real call center.
The store even gets legitimate AI calls from a Google service that phones businesses to ask about products, and it sounds completely natural. If a “bank” calls you, hang up and call the number on the back of your card.
Hidden Text That Tricks AI Email Summaries
Scammers now hide text in emails that only your inbox’s AI can read, telling it to ignore the real details and stress urgency. An AI summary is not always accurate, so read the actual message before you act.
Pause Before You Panic
Scammers prey on fear, so build a new habit now. Whenever a call, text, or email gives you that panicky feeling, pause for just a few seconds and remind yourself that it may not be real. If you are not sure, call the Refresh Computers free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200 and ask a tech before you click, pay, or share anything.
When something is designed to make you panic, that’s your cue to stop for a few seconds and ask whether it’s even real.
Turn Old Gear Into Credit With the Refresh Trade-In Program
Have old devices piling up in a drawer? Bring them to the Longwood store for the new trade-in program. If a device has value, Refresh applies credit toward a device you buy from them. Trade-ins are credit, not cash.
Refresh does not buy from the general public, so every customer can feel confident about where their refurbished computer came from. Businesses are the exception because ownership can be verified. Email David at [email protected] about office equipment, and cash payment is available for those purchases.
Gear too old to have value? Refresh has a full electronics recycling center in the back of the store. Every drive that comes in is wiped to Department of Defense standards.
As Greg pointed out, an unwiped drive hands your personal information to whoever gets it next. Prefer to keep your drive? The team will remove it and hand it back.
Apple’s Jaw-Dropping New MacBook
Apple finally released its first touchscreen MacBook, something other laptop makers have offered for at least a decade. The starting price is about $2,900. A fully loaded model with a top M5-series chip, 128GB of RAM, and 16TB of storage runs about $14,500, which led to the hosts’ running joke: a used car or a laptop?
The top model is aimed at a niche of video and audio professionals. For most people, the bigger concern is that Apple still solders the RAM and storage to the board. Whatever you buy is what you are stuck with, and if the solid state drive wears out, it cannot simply be swapped.
iPhone Duo Hinge Problems
Apple’s folding iPhone Duo is having trouble too. Adam explained that pocket lint or a little dirt in the hinge can cause an internal part to press into the back of the inner display, leaving a line across the screen. He recalled a replacement screen costing roughly $1,000.
The folding display itself comes from Samsung, which uses a nearly identical screen in its own foldable without these hinge failures. As David put it, the first iPhone Duo buyers may have ended up as hardware beta testers.
Why Repair Often Beats Replace
Apple devices dent, scratch, and crack easily, and the Refresh team sees it every day. The store’s board-level Mac technician has been with David for 18 years and can often repair MacBooks, such as replacing the LCD on a 2016 or 2018 model, when others would push you to replace the whole machine.
That is the value of buying local: when something goes wrong, you can walk into the Longwood store and talk to a real person.
A $14,500 laptop with parts you can never upgrade? Sometimes the smarter move is repairing the machine you already have.
Tech Tip of the Week: Teach Your Phone to Type Long Things From a Few Letters
Set up a shortcut so a few letters, like “eml” or “myno,” expand into your email address, phone number, or full name.
On iPhone:
- Open Settings and tap General, then Keyboard.
- Tap Text Replacement, then the plus sign.
- Type the full text in Phrase and your short code in Shortcut, then tap Save.
On Android:
- Open Settings and look for Personal dictionary (often under Language and input; Samsung and Google phones place it differently, so try searching Settings for “dictionary”).
- Add a new entry with your full phrase and the shortcut you want to type.
Prefer help? Bring your phone into the Longwood store. David said the team will set up your shortcuts and show you how to use them at no charge.
Need Help? Refresh Computers Has Your Back
Whether you think you’ve received an AI scam call or email, want to trade in or securely recycle old gear, need a MacBook repaired instead of replaced, or want help setting up shortcuts on your phone, the team at Refresh Computers is ready to help. Stop by the store at 820 E. State Road 434 in Longwood, Florida (Monday–Saturday, 9 AM–7 PM), call the free tech support hotline at 407-478-8200, or visit refreshcomputers.net to browse their live inventory, explore managed IT services for your small business, and listen to past episodes of Tech Talk. Don’t forget to subscribe to their email list for weekly deals and new episode alerts!
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