Good morning, Fargo-Moorhead. Your phone just got a free security update, and the same week a Michigan couple lost more than sixty thousand dollars after a call that sounded exactly like their loan officer. Those two stories belong together.
iOS 27 is out. You probably do not need a new phone.
On September 14, Apple released iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 to the public. It is a free software update. If your iPhone is an iPhone 11 or newer, or an iPhone SE (2nd generation or later), you can install it today from Settings, General, Software Update.
There will be a lot of noise this week about Apple Intelligence and the next-generation Siri. Some of that is useful. A lot of it is a sales pitch for a new handset. Full Apple Intelligence features still need newer hardware (iPhone 15 Pro and later). An older phone that can run iOS 27 still gets the security fixes, the bug fixes, and the everyday improvements. That is usually the part that matters more than the marketing demo.
Do this before you buy anything:
- Back up, then install the update on Wi-Fi while the phone is charging.
- Leave Optimized Battery Charging on. Stretching the battery you already have beats shopping for a new one.
- Skip the foldable for now unless you have a specific reason you need it. A $1,999 phone does not patch last year’s software for you. Updating the one in your pocket does.
If your phone cannot take iOS 27 at all, that is a different conversation about age and support. For most people reading this on a phone from the last several years, the move this week is free.
The voice on the phone is not enough anymore
On September 15, CNN reported what happened to Brian and Wendy VanDoeselaar of Hudsonville, Michigan.
They were days from closing on a condo near Grand Rapids. On May 19 they got an email saying they needed to wire $66,026.92 within 24 hours to keep the closing on schedule. The phone number in that email differed from their real loan officer’s number by only the last two digits. Brian got a call to confirm the instructions. The voice sounded like their loan officer.
They wired the money.
The next day their real loan officer sent a legitimate statement for what they actually owed. The wire never showed up where it should have. Closing was canceled. The account they had sent money to was already closed. Looking closer, the fake email address had extra letters: UnitedsMortgages instead of UnitedMortgage. Brian now believes the call used a spoofed number and suspected AI voice cloning. Experts told CNN that scammers can build a usable voice from short clips of someone talking on social media, often for a few dollars.
They eventually closed on the home weeks later. The money is still gone. They filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. An investigation is ongoing.
This is not a one-off story. The FBI’s 2025 IC3 Annual Report lists $275.1 million in losses under the Real Estate crime category across 12,368 complaints, up from about $173.6 million the year before. That category covers investment, rental, and timeshare fraud. Diverted closing wires often get coded under Business Email Compromise instead, which was more than $3 billion in 2025. Either way, the habit that would have stopped the VanDoeselaars’ loss is the same.
When money or an emergency is involved, the voice is not proof.
- Hang up. Call back on a number you already have written down or saved from an earlier trusted source. Do not use the number in the email, the text, or the caller ID.
- Agree on a code word with family, and with anyone involved in a closing, for requests about money.
- Never change wire instructions from a phone call, text, or email alone. Confirm in person or through a second channel you already trust.
- Treat urgency as a warning. Scammers create a 24-hour deadline on purpose. Slowing down is the defense.
The same pattern shows up in family-emergency calls (“your relative is in trouble, send cash now”). Same rule: hang up, call the person on a number you already know.
This is what our AI classes are for
AI is useful. It also makes it easier to fake a voice, a face, or a convincing email. The skill most people need right now is not “buy the newest phone.” It is knowing what these tools can do, what they cannot do, and when to slow down and verify.
That is why we teach it in person.
Our September AI classes are at Bonanzaville in West Fargo, kept small at 25 seats per session, with a written guide you keep:
- Beginner ($75, 90 minutes): Wednesday, September 23, 10:00 to 11:30 AM, and Monday, September 28, 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Fundamentals, prompting, and privacy and safety in plain language.
- Intermediate ($100): Wednesday, September 30, 10:00 to 11:30 AM. Connecting AI to the tools you already use.
- Advanced ($150): dates to be announced.
Reserve a seat at darkhorseit.ai/ai-classes. If you want help checking whether the phones and PCs in your house or office are current, or walking through how your team should handle wire and vendor requests, reach out to DarkHorse IT. It is a short conversation.
We talk through this kind of thing every week. Join us Thursdays at 7:40 AM on KFGO 790 AM.