Fox News Latest Headlines
White Sox agree to deal with Japanese record-breaking slugger: report
The Chicago White Sox are reportedly set to add some power to their lineup.
The White Sox and Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami agreed to a two-year deal worth $34 million, ESPN reported Sunday.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Murakami, 25, was one of the youngest players on the free-agent market. He started his career with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and set the record for most home runs hit in a single season with 56 in 2022. The mark surpassed Sadaharu Oh’s mark set in 1964.
Murakami was hurt during the 2025 season. He hit 22 home runs in 56 games and had 265 home runs in 1,003 games. He’s mostly known as a third baseman or first baseman defensively, but could end up as the White Sox’s designated hitter.
The Murakami deal is among the first steps in Chicago rebuilding its roster following years of futility.
MLB FREE AGENCY RUMORS, BUZZ: LOS ANGELES DODGERS PAYING RECORD TAXES
Chicago hasn’t made the postseason since 2021 and hasn’t been in contention to win the American League pennant since winning the World Series in 2005. Since then, The White Sox have only gotten as far as the American League Division Series. The team only has three postseason appearances since 2005 as well.
Last season, the White Sox won 60 games – an improvement over 41 wins in 2024.
Chicago has a few young players projected to be in its lineup going into 2026. Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Edgar Quero and Brooks Baldwin are under 25 years old and come with high expectations to help turn the team around.
Shane Smith, who was an All-Star last year, will be the ace of the rotation. He had a 3.81 ERA and 145 strikeouts in his rookie season. He finished 10th in American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Trump administration launches multi-agency 'strike force' to crack down on animal abuse
Senior officials in President Donald Trump’s administration say they are cracking down on animal cruelty, rolling out coordinated actions across the Justice Department, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to target dogfighting, puppy mills and animal testing.
"We are forming a strike force... and we're going to have designated U.S. attorneys in every state to prosecute these [animal abuse] cases," said Attorney General Pam Bondi on "My View with Lara Trump" on Saturday.
Bondi appeared with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to discuss their interagency animal welfare initiative.
Bondi said her department would work with the USDA to conduct special training for prosecutors and law enforcement agents on executing search warrants in animal abuse cases.
"We just last week convicted someone, for the first time ever, of using a firearm in a violent crime, and the violent crime was dogfighting," Bondi said.
In another example that shows "no one is above the law," Bondi told host Lara Trump that 190 dogs were seized from former NFL player LeShon Johnson.
"That was the most seized from one single defendant. So we're coming after you if you're going after these babies," she said, holding a small black puppy named Guru in her lap.
RFK JR. ANNOUNCES 'HISTORIC CRACKDOWN' ON 'BROKEN' ORGAN DONATION SYSTEM
Secretary Rollins said the USDA is taking a tougher approach to shutting down abusive puppy mills, moving away from issuing warnings and toward stricter enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act.
"Compliance with the Animal Welfare Act, which is from the 1960s, was hovering around 65, 67% until the last few years. We're now closer to 92%, but it's that 8% that we're really going to focus on."
She described the poor conditions dogs can face in these mass-breeding operations. "No more puppy mills where you have puppies stacked on top of each other, where, if you don't sell them, then you drown them in a barrel because it's the cheapest way to do it."
Kennedy said all the major sub-agency heads at HHS are "all deeply committed to ending animal experimentation."
He said new studies on animal testing show "that the predictivity of animal models is very, very poor for human health outcomes. There are much more efficient ways of predicting human health outcomes. We are using, even in their nascent stages, computational modeling and AI," which he said provides much better results.
The HHS chief said there are about 100,000 primates in research labs across the country.
"There are another 20,000 that are imported every year, and we're very concerned about that. We're trying to put an end to that completely," he said, adding that his department was "re-educating researchers" to improve the predictability of human health outcomes.
ESCAPED MONKEYS FROM MISSISSIPPI TRUCK CRASH PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON NIH-FUNDED TULANE LAB
In September, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) changed its rules to ensure funding could be used to "retire their primates to sanctuaries after the experimentation is done."
"Until now, there was no option like that, no alternative, except the researcher euthanized that animal after they were through. Now we're developing sanctuaries across the country," he said.
Kennedy framed animal welfare as a measure of the country’s character.
"The badge of a really humane nation is the way that it takes care of its animals," he said.
'Full House' star Jodie Sweetin has 'no problem' with Candace Cameron Bure's faith despite political divide
Despite their political differences, Jodie Sweetin has always loved "Full House" co-star Candace Cameron Bure like a sister.
During an appearance on "The Moment" podcast, the 43-year-old actress — an activist for LGBTQ rights, reproductive rights and equality — opened up about the at-times complicated dynamic between her and Bure, who has been outspoken about her Christian faith and conservative views, and explained how they manage to overcome their differences.
"She was the closest thing I had to a sister. We fought like sisters, even when we were kids, that’s the relationship we had," said Sweetin, who starred as Bure's younger TV sister, Stephanie Tanner, on the beloved '90s sitcom. "Candace’s faith, to be quite honest, has always been at the forefront for her, and I have zero problem with that."
CANDACE CAMERON BURE FEELS PEOPLE ARE ‘LESS AFRAID OF BEING CANCELED’ IN HOLLYWOOD FOR THEIR FAITH
"I have no problem with religion if it brings you peace and happiness, not necessarily saying that her brand of religion is not necessarily peace and happiness," she continued. "I don’t really know."
"I do know that I don’t think you can truly love people if you don’t respect them," Sweetin said. "I think if you don’t respect people enough to allow them the same rights of marriage, of bodily autonomy and all those things, then I don’t think that you can truly love someone. It’s some sort of weird pity, and it’s not love. For me, standing up to say that how we treat other humans because they’re different from us is completely unacceptable. And I’m pretty sure that is what Jesus would’ve said, but what do I know? I’m not a Christian."
Sweetin said she's perfectly fine with people not liking her due to her outspoken political beliefs.
"It’s OK, you don’t have to like me, but I try not to let other people’s perceptions of who I should be put up any barriers of what I want to be," she said. "Candace and I are very different in that regard."
Earlier this month, Bure opened up about a trying time in her life in which her character was questioned and explained how her faith in God helped her persevere.
"In 2022 and 2023, it was a really hard year for me because of some things with work and movie networks and a lot of things. Bad things were said about me that just weren't true and headlines that were made up," she said during an episode of the "Candace Cameron Bure" podcast,
"I felt like my character was just thrown in the gutter, you know? I felt like I had lived such a life of integrity and honesty, and so it really hurt.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
"It wasn't just about what people were saying, but it resulted in contract losses and partnerships that dissolved and went away and friendships that just disappeared," she added. "It just felt like it wasn't going to end. I felt like I was on a witness stand for a year, and it felt awful."
In 2022, Bure, Great American Family's chief creative officer, faced backlash after saying the network would not feature same-sex couples in leading roles.
Bure sparked controversy after telling The Wall Street Journal that the network's programming "will keep traditional marriage at the core."
In the interview, the "Full House" alum, who was known as the "Queen of Christmas" during her time at the Hallmark Channel, had also expressed that she wanted to put Christ back in Christmas movies.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
"I would like to address my comments on Great American Family’s programming as reported in The Wall Street Journal," Bure said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital at the time.
"All of you who know me, know beyond question that I have great love and affection for all people. It absolutely breaks my heart that anyone would ever think I intentionally would want to offend and hurt anyone.
CANDACE CAMERON BURE FOCUSING ON FAITH-BASED CHRISTMAS MOVIES WITH ‘PURPOSE’
"It saddens me that the media is often seeking to divide us, even around a subject as comforting and merry as Christmas movies. But, given the toxic climate in our culture right now, I shouldn’t be surprised," Bure added.
Former Brown University student and friend to Ella Cook blames 'spending priorities' for lack of security
A former Brown University student and friend of Ella Cook, who was murdered by a lone gunman at the University earlier this month, said the Ivy League school’s lack of preparedness and resources to catch the killer didn’t come as a surprise.
Brown’s misguided financial priorities are the root cause of how a killer was able to enter and exit the university’s facilities essentially undetected, Alex Shieh told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview,
"I don't think it's particularly surprising that the old buildings on campus have never been retrofitted with updated security systems, because that's not what the priorities are with the spending, and that they know that people will want to come to Brown anyway, irrespective of the facilities, because of the Ivy League name," Shieh said.
"It is sort of confusing to people that you have a school that costs $100,000 a year, you have an $8 billion endowment," Shieh said. "How come the building doesn't have cameras?"
BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF TERROR THAT LEFT 2 DEAD, 9 INJURED
Shieh is no stranger to what he says is bloated and wasteful spending by Brown. During his time at the school, he served as the publisher for the university’s student-run paper, the Brown Spectator, and caused a stir when he started asking questions about how much administrators make and what they do at work.
Shieh sent out a survey to administrators, asking them to detail their jobs after being inspired by President Donald Trump’s DOGE, but was met with opposition from faculty. He noted that administrators are making millions, while facilities and students’ quality of life suffer.
Brown took disciplinary action against the former student, first claiming he was causing emotional and psychological harm, invading privacy, misrepresenting the university, and violating operational rules.
NOEM ANNOUNCES PAUSE ON IMMIGRANT VISA LOTTERY THAT ALLOWED ALLEGED BROWN SHOOTER TO ENTER US
"There's about 4,000 administrators at a school of about 11,000 students," Shieh said. "And this struck me as odd, and it struck me very clear that this growth and ballooning in the number of staff administrators is what's been leading to the cost of tuition rising precipitously all across the country, but particularly at a school like Brown University."
"The classes aren't necessarily what distinguishes [Brown] from other schools, not the caliber of the facilities, not the caliber of the dorms, but [what] really distinguishes Brown and makes it worth the price in the eyes of some people is the fact that Brown is in the Ivy League," Shieh added.
Brown’s aggressive reaction to Shieh's reporting sparked a House Judiciary Committee hearing in June, with Shieh as a witness, to discuss free speech concerns as well as misguided and excessive Ivy League spending.
HUNT FOR BROWN UNIVERSITY KILLER HANDICAPPED BY SECURITY LAPSES, CAMPUS BUDGET CUTS
The University ultimately dropped all charges against Shieh, who wonders if some of the waste he was hoping to expose could be the reason that facilities weren’t equipped with cameras or better security.
"They use their money in really silly ways," Shieh said. "Like paying their athletic director of a small Ivy League school millions of dollars a year and having an inordinate amount of administrators on staff."
Shieh, who like Cook was a member of the school's College Republicans, said he was shocked when he learned she had been murdered.
"She was just somebody who was very nice and everybody respected, and nobody really had a problem with her on campus, which is why it was so surprising that it happened to her, of all people," Shieh said.
On Nov. 13, Claudio Neves-Valente entered Brown’s campus and took the lives of Cook and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov before driving 50 miles to Brookline, Massachusetts and killing MIT nuclear physicist Nuno Loureiro two days later, according to authorities.
Neves-Valente avoided capture and a manhunt lasting several days followed. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot in a storage shed Thursday night in Salem, New Hampshire.
Law enforcement officials and investigators credit a homeless man who lived on Brown’s campus for providing an account of his interaction with Neves-Valente that eventually led to the shooter.
Had Brown University been equipped with preventative technology and had cameras in the facilities which the gunman targeted, it’s possible the shooter would have been apprehended and the MIT professor would not have been killed.
Gene Simmons tells Americans to 'shut up and stop worrying' about politics of their neighbors
KISS frontman Gene Simmons downplayed politics during an interview with CNN on Sunday, and urged Americans to stop worrying about their neighbors’ political beliefs.
"It's nobody’s business who you support," Simmons told Manu Raju on CNN's "Inside Politics." "Nowadays, people engage in, 'So are you pro or,' and my first question is, ‘Who the f--- are you? Who are you?’ Since when does who I support or not support is the business of anyone except my conscience?"
Raju then asked Simmons about the Make America Great Again (MAGA) wing of the Republican Party.
"Some of it makes sense and some not," Simmons replied, questioning why anyone cared about his political views. "But literally, have a sense of humor. Take a pill, shut up and stop worrying what your next-door neighbor believes or doesn't believe. It’s their America too."
SYLVESTER STALLONE, GEORGE STRAIT LEAD TRUMP'S KENNEDY CENTER HONORS RED CARPET
Simmons also said he spoke with President Donald Trump after receiving a Kennedy Center Honor earlier this year.
"Had some face time with Senator Tillis and Blackburn and met Mr. Schiff and so on. But the telling moment was after we all got our Kennedy Center awards, as I had some face time alone with the president," he said.
"And I actually met the president and on and off for years and years, decades before he entered politics. And the conversation was what human beings do. How‘s the family? How are the kids? And, you know, all that stuff. It‘s not always about politics," Simmons continued.
Simmons was on Capitol Hill this month to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of the American Music Fairness Act.
In what could mark a major shake-up for the music industry, the legislation would require AM and FM radio stations to pay recording artists and performers when they broadcast their songs, ending a decades-old exemption in U.S. copyright law. The bipartisan bill would align traditional radio with digital and streaming platforms that already pay artists royalties, while offering low, flat fees to protect small local stations.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., introduced this version of the bill in January, while Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., brought forth the legislation in the Senate this year.
More than a dozen conservative groups urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to support the bill.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
Fox News' Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
Lane Kiffin earns hefty bonus from former team's College Football Playoff win
Lane Kiffin turned out to be a big winner on Saturday even though he didn’t coach a game.
The Ole Miss Rebels defeated the Tulane Green Wave in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Rebels’ win gave Kiffin a $250,000 payday thanks to the terms of his departure from the program to take the LSU Tigers job.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
LSU agreed to pay his playoff bonuses if Ole Miss continued to win in the Playoff, according to CBS Sports. If the Rebels make a run and win the national championship, Kiffin could be looking at a bonus of up to $1 million.
Ole Miss cruised to a 41-10 win over Tulane. Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was banged up but still managed to finish with three touchdowns in the win – two rushing scores and one passing touchdown.
Kiffin offered his congratulations to Ole Miss for their win.
EX-MICHIGAN STAR BACKS BIFF POGGI AS NEXT HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
"Congrats to all the coaches and players @OleMissFB and especially @CoachGolding and seeing his 2 boys on the sidelines," Kiffin wrote on X. "Great win today."
It was Pete Golding’s first win as the head coach at Ole Miss. With the pressure on Golding’s shoulders to step out of the shadow of Kiffin, he said it was helpful to have players who "actually enjoy playing together, and they don’t want it to end."
Ole Miss defensive coordinator Bryan Brown had high praise for Golding’s "swag."
"He controls the room. He controls the narrative in anything that he wants to control," Brown said. "The guys believe in him just like they do defensively, and you can see it turning over to our full team. He just is a great human being, great coach, great motivator... and is going to be a heck of a coach for a long, long time."
Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Australian PM Albanese gets booed during Bondi Beach vigil honoring Hanukkah attack victims
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was met with boos while attending a vigil honoring the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting on Sunday.
An estimated 10,000 mourners, including Albanese and various Australian politicians and members of the Jewish community, gathered on Bondi Beach to commemorate the victims. David Ossip, who serves as president of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies, remarked on Albanese's presence to the crowd and received a chorus of boos.
"This has to be the nadir of antisemitism in our country," Ossip said. "This has to be the moment when light starts to eclipse the darkness."
Meanwhile, the crowd cheered at the mention of opposition leader Sussan Ley. Ley has said that a coalition government under her leadership would reverse a decision by Albanese's government to recognize a Palestinian state.
FAMILIES MOURN LOVED ONES LOST IN BONDI BEACH TERROR ATTACK: ‘NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE THE PAIN’
The tense reaction comes after Jewish leaders and Israeli officials have lambasted Albanese's government for ignoring warning signs of Australia's rising antisemitism in the months before the attack on Bondi Beach.
SURVIVING AUSTRALIA TERROR SUSPECT SLAPPED WITH CHARGES IN WAKE OF DEADLY ATTACK
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted a letter he sent to Albanese earlier this year when the latter's government announced it was recognizing a Palestinian state. He argued the move "pours fuel on the antisemitic fire."
"Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia. You did nothing to curb the cancer cells that were growing inside your country. You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today," Netanyahu said the day of the attack.
AUSTRALIA ANTI-TERROR POLICE DETAIN 7 MEN AS COUNTRY LAYS YOUNGEST BONDI BEACH VICTIM TO REST
The Dec. 14 attack left 15 people dead and dozens more hospitalized. The shooters were a father-son duo, and the father was killed in the attack. The son, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, woke from a coma after recovering from severe injuries and faces charges of murder and terrorism.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Star winemaker in emerging American region shows old-guard elites how it's done
A renowned winemaker calls New York's Finger Lakes "one of the only cool continental climates in the U.S. for wine-growing" — touting the beauty and benefits of an area that is increasingly grabbing the national spotlight.
Nova Cadamatre, together with her husband, Brian, opened Trestle Thirty One winery in 2015 in the Finger Lakes. She splits her time between the emerging powerhouse region and California's globally recognized Napa Valley.
Unlike California, where summers are reliably dry and conditions stable, the Finger Lakes see "precipitation of some sort throughout the year — and it includes us having rain during the growing season," Cadamatre told Fox News Digital.
IRANIAN REFUGEE BUILDS WORLD-RANKED AMERICAN WINERY ROOTED IN HERITAGE AND HEALTH
The result is wine that tastes different than anywhere else in the country, she said.
Wine Enthusiast recently named the Finger Lakes as the American Wine Region of the Year — a feat that Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said "recognizes the region’s world-class winemaking, sustainable practices and collaborative community that have helped define New York State as a leader in American viticulture."
Her office's note added, "It’s a win for our state’s economy and our reputation as a global wine destination."
In bestowing the honor, Wine Enthusiast said, "New York’s largest wine-growing region has come a mighty long way in a few decades. Where wine lovers once had to search for quality, these days it’s the norm."
NASHVILLE'S HIDDEN 'WINE COUNTRY' PROVIDES TASTE OF TENNESSEE IN WHISKEY BARRELS
"Making wine in New York really forces you to be creative and very resourceful because the industry is not as well established as it is in California," said Cadamatre.
The region has been evolving fast.
Since her very first Finger Lakes harvest, Cadamatre said she's watched the area shift from underdog to emerging powerhouse.
Climate change, while destabilizing in many wine regions, has had a paradoxical benefit in the Finger Lakes, Cadamatre said.
"We are becoming warmer," she said.
"We're able to grow different varieties than we did 20 years ago and ripen them more consistently."
She likens the region's trajectory to Napa's early ascent.
"The Finger Lakes, right now, is kind of like where Napa was in the 1970s," she said.
TEXAS WINERY BEATS NAPA ELITES WITH SMALL-TOWN SAVVY AND TOP-NOTCH TASTE
Cadamatre views Trestle Thirty One's Engine Riesling, featured in the Fox News American Wine Club, and Cabernet Franc, available through the Fox News Wine Shop, as ambassadors for a region still creating its identity.
"They're really great exposure to what the region has to offer," she said.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
The Engine Riesling is "great as just an apéritif or a sipper or with a cheese plate and charcuterie, hanging around with friends," she said.
"But it's also dry enough where it'll go really well with lighter, red meats."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES
For a winemaker who has built her career on both coasts, Cadamatre is bullish about the future of viticulture in the Finger Lakes.
"I think it's just a real testament to all the work that the community's done here to get the word out about our beautiful wine region," Cadamatre said.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
She's the first female winemaker in the United States to earn the prestigious Master of Wine title — which she earned in 2017.
"It's the highest level of certification you can achieve in the world of wine," Cadamatre said. "Right now, there are about 432 of us in the world."
As she also recently told SUNY Morrisville, where she earned her degree in horticulture, "I've been working my butt off for a long time. I've made a lot of wine over 20 years."
Learn more about the Fox News Wine Shop here.
FBI warns of fake kidnapping photos used in new scam
The FBI is warning about a disturbing scam that turns family photos into powerful weapons. Cybercriminals are stealing images from social media accounts, altering them and using them as fake proof of life in virtual kidnapping scams.
These scams do not involve real abductions. Instead, criminals rely on fear, speed and believable images to pressure victims into paying ransom before they can think clearly.
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter
FACEBOOK SETTLEMENT SCAM EMAILS TO AVOID NOW
According to the FBI, scammers usually start with a text message. They claim they have kidnapped a loved one and demand immediate payment for their release. To make the threat feel real, the criminals send an altered photo pulled from social media. The FBI says these images may be sent using timed messages to limit how long victims can examine them. The agency warns that scammers often threaten extreme violence if the ransom is not paid right away. This urgency is designed to shut down rational thinking.
When victims slow down and look closely, the altered images often fall apart. The FBI says warning signs may include missing scars or tattoos, strange body proportions or details that do not match reality. Scammers may also spoof a loved one's phone number, which makes the message feel even more convincing. Reports on sites like Reddit show this tactic is already being used in the real world.
Virtual kidnapping scams work because they exploit emotion. Fear pushes people to act fast, especially when the message appears to come from someone they trust. The FBI notes that criminals use publicly available information to personalize their threats. Even posts meant to help others, such as missing person searches, can provide useful details for scammers.
The FBI recommends several steps to protect yourself and your family.
Staying calm is one of your strongest defenses. Slowing down gives you time to spot red flags and avoid costly mistakes.
When scammers can access your photos, phone numbers and personal details, they can turn fear into leverage. These steps help reduce what criminals can find and give you clear actions to take if a threat appears.
Review the privacy settings on every social platform you use. Set profiles to private so only trusted friends and family can see your photos, posts and personal updates. Virtual kidnapping scams rely heavily on publicly visible images. Limiting access makes it harder for criminals to steal photos and create fake proof-of-life images.
Avoid posting real-time travel updates, daily routines or detailed family information. Even close-up photos that show tattoos, scars or locations can give scammers useful material. The less context criminals have, the harder it is for them to make a threat feel real and urgent.
Install strong antivirus software on computers, phones and tablets. Strong protection helps block phishing links, malicious downloads and spyware often tied to scam campaigns. Keeping your operating system and security tools updated also closes security gaps that criminals exploit to gather personal data.
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.
NEW EMAIL SCAM USES HIDDEN CHARACTERS TO SLIP PAST FILTERS
Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com
Data brokers collect and sell personal information pulled from public records and online activity. A data removal service helps locate and remove your details from these databases. Reducing what is available online makes it harder for scammers to impersonate loved ones or personalize fake kidnapping threats.
While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren't cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It's what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.
Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com
Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com
Review older public photo albums and remove images that clearly show faces from multiple angles. Avoid posting large collections of high-resolution facial photos publicly. Scammers often need multiple images to convincingly alter photos. Reducing facial data weakens their ability to manipulate images.
Create a simple verification plan with loved ones before an emergency happens. This may include a shared code word, a call back rule or a second trusted contact. Scammers depend on panic. Having a preset way to verify safety gives you something steady to rely on when emotions run high.
Contact your mobile carrier and ask about SIM protection or a port-out PIN. This helps prevent criminals from hijacking phone numbers or spoofing calls and texts. Since many fake kidnapping scams begin with messages that appear to come from a loved one, securing phone accounts adds an important layer of protection.
If you receive a threat, save screenshots, phone numbers, images and message details. Do not continue engaging with the sender. Report the incident to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Even if no money is lost, reports help investigators track patterns and warn others.
Virtual kidnapping scams show how quickly personal photos can be weaponized. Criminals do not need real victims when fear alone can drive action. Taking time to verify claims, limiting what you share online and strengthening your digital defenses can make a major difference. Awareness and preparation remain your best protection.
Have you or someone you know encountered a scam like this? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter
Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Ex-Michigan star backs Biff Poggi as next head football coach
The Michigan Wolverines are in the market for a new head coach after Sherrone Moore was fired for an alleged "inappropriate relationship" with a staffer and later arrested on multiple charges.
Two coaches the school was rumored to be interested in – Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer and Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham – don’t appear to be available. DeBoer has said he’s focused on the Crimson Tide and their run in the College Football Playoff and Dillingham reportedly signed a contract extension with the Sun Devils.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Michigan named Biff Poggi the interim head coach and at least one alum expressed support for him keeping the job.
"The best way forward for @UMichFootball is to name Biff Poggi the 22nd head coach of the University of Michigan, not interim, Head Coach," Devin Gardner wrote on X.
Current Michigan tight end Marlin Klein credited Poggi with keeping the team focused on the upcoming bowl game instead of the outside noise.
"Coach Poggi is a legend, everybody loves him," Klein said, via Click on Detroit. "The vibe in the building has been awesome."
Poggi was the head coach with the Charlotte 49ers before he was let go and joined Moore’s staff at Michigan.
He revealed what Michigan players were feeling as the Moore scandal went down.
"It has been a tumultuous time," Poggi said, via ESPN. "A lot of... first disbelief, then anger, then really, what we're in right now is the kids, quite frankly, feel very betrayed, and we're trying to work through that."
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.