The U.S. continues to see job growth as payroll giant ADP reported that private-sector companies added 113,000 jobs in October. Many of those gains are coming in traditional sectors like hospitality and health services, but what will the future hold? Here are five jobs that will be the most in-demand over the next decade in this week’s Five For Friday.

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#5: Renewable energy engineer

The transition off of fossil fuels is underway, and renewable energy engineers will be in high demand amid the decarbonization push. These engineers research and develop green solutions and are primarily focused on solar and wind power.

You will need some sort of engineering degree, but the median income for this work is $116,000, according to ZipRecruiter. Alternatively, wind turbine service technicians and solar installers will see growth rates of 45% and 22% respectively over the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). But those jobs pay only about half as much.

#4: Information security analyst & cybersecurity analyst

Ransomware and cyber attacks have been top of mind in recent years, and that’s why the world needs more information security and cybersecurity analysts. Both of these roles are intended to mitigate risk to a company’s data. Cyber analysts specifically focus on protecting hardware, software and networks.

The median salary for these positions is $112,000, according to BLS. To get the job, you will likely need a degree, but computer-savvy people with the right skills and experience may be able to get around that requirement.

#3: Business intelligence analyst

Analyzing data is crucial to keeping a business humming along. Business intelligence analysts dig through the numbers and turn them into tables that non-data nerds can read. That information is then used to increase profits and efficiency.

A degree in data science or finance doesn’t hurt, and certifications can help you get your foot in the door. A business intelligence analyst pulls in an average of $88,000 per year, according to Glassdoor.

#2: Sustainability Specialist

Here’s another job for going green. Sustainability specialists work with corporations and universities to reduce their employer’s environmental impact. Your dedication to the planet will net you a median income of $68,000, according to Glassdoor.

You will need a bachelor’s degree in a related field like environmental studies or sustainability. Experts also suggest padding your resume with volunteer work in the space to put you ahead of your peers.

#1: AI and machine learning specialist

Artificial intelligence is clearly the wave of the future, and AI and machine learning specialists are set to be the fastest-growing careers in the next several years. The World Economic Forum says the field will see a 40% spike in roles by 2027.

Generative AI is playing a big role in that. LinkedIn’s future of jobs report says that mentions of GPT are up 21-fold since last November. AI engineer job postings on LinkedIn doubled from the first quarter to the second quarter of this year. Median income sits around $140,000, but you will need a degree in computer science. As the field becomes more competitive, a specialty in AI won’t hurt.

People have long called shoplifting a victimless crime. Who gets hurt beyond the big-box retailer? As organized retail crime becomes more prevalent, violent and bolder, claims of it being harmless go out the window.

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Along with retailers losing tens of billions of dollars a year to organized retail theft, employees have been attacked during “smash and grabs.” Fear then ripples through the stores, and “retail shrink” can result in higher prices for customers.

“These are not victimless crimes, especially in the case where Angelinos are attacked through force or fear,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.

Law enforcement cracks down

Los Angeles is afflicted more than any other city in the country, according to the National Retail Federation. Like many other cities and states, this year Los Angeles launched a task force to tackle organized retail crime. It features 22 full-time investigators dedicated to the crime.

“Those who commit these crimes will be caught, they will be held accountable, and we will work to address this issue,” Bass said.

In South Florida in October, following a nine-month multi-agency investigation, authorities charged 14 people with stealing more than $20 million in merchandise this year alone. 

“It is well-organized, it is profitable, it is criminal. This is the modern-day mafia and criminal organizations that we’re taking down,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said.

But crime rings are like weeds: Pull one and another pops up. So any crackdown needs to get to the root of the problem: How to deter the crime in the first place. 

Store solutions

Retailers have tried solutions like locking up items that are most often stolen. That’s done to their own detriment, according to top retail consultant Burt Flickinger. 

“Locking up the merchandise can reduce sales by anywhere from 12 to 20% or more,” Flickinger said.

Another option for retailers is checking receipts at the door.

Portland’s KGW reporter Kyle Iboshi recently interviewed convicted felon and retail crime ring leader Martin Castaway in prison. Castaway is serving a 7-year sentence for theft. 

“Does the presence of a security officer or loss prevention change your decision whether to go into a store or not?” Iboshi asked.

“Not really. If I see a security dude with a gun, I know he can’t touch me,” Castaway replied. 

Castaway said he would have second thoughts about shoplifting only if there was a police officer on the scene.  

Police as retail security

In one year, police in the greater Tampa, Florida, region logged nearly 17,000 calls to Walmarts. That’s two calls an hour, every hour, every day, according to a 2016 Tampa Bay Times analysis. 

In Clearwater, Walmart called police after a man drank a 98-cent bottle of sweet tea in the store without paying. The police response and subsequent jail time cost taxpayers $1,230, the Times reported. 

For years, Walmart’s been criticized for putting too much of its security burden on police. 

“Instead of treating security as an expense the way most of the rest of retail does, in Walmart’s defense, treat security as an investment the way Target and Kroger and the independents do so well,” Flickinger said.

The Times analysis showed local Walmarts generated four times as many calls as nearby Targets. 

Target, which recently closed nine stores around the country over organized retail crime, says they’ve made significant investments in hiring more security team staff and third-party guard services as well as using theft-deterrent tools. 

Walmart, meanwhile, announced plans to reopen an Atlanta-area store that was hit by arsonists last year. When the store opens in May, it’ll have a new feature: a police workstation inside.

“If you’re thinking about you’re going to go into this Walmart and do some shoplifting or a robbery or whatever, you see this APD logo, and you’ll say, ‘Eh, not today,'” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.

It’s not a solution for every store, and one possible solution isn’t at the store at all. 

The online crackdown

The bipartisan INFORM Consumers Act took effect in June. The new law requires online marketplaces to verify and share identifying information on high-volume third-party sellers. 

“These scammers are having a heyday, particularly online,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) said. “We want to make sure that we eliminate the opportunity for these…defrauders and scammers to be able to sell online and hold these platforms accountable for checking out who the sellers are.” 

“It can make a modest difference on the rogue sellers,” Flickinger said, “but no material changes in reducing crime today.”

Community solutions 

Flickinger said the real solutions come from the community, like East Harlem’s Abyssinian Development Corporation, a nonprofit born out of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. 

The group helped bring Pathmark to a relative food desert and used profits from the lease to reinvest in housing, economic development and social services.  

“An area that everybody said was not saveable because the junkies had wrecked it for 40 or 50 years, and in a matter of a few years, it was first a requiem and then a whole East Harlem Renaissance,” Flickinger said.

The renaissance would last less than two decades. Following a building sale, bankruptcy and a spat between development partners, Pathmark shuttered in 2015, leaving residents with few affordable food options. 

This is the final installment of a 3-part series on organized retail crime. Here is Part 1 and Part 2. 

Celebrating Halloween this year is big business. Americans are expected to spend a record $12.2 billion to prepare for trick-or-treaters, according to the National Retail Federation. Here are the numbers behind the Halloween season in this week’s Five For Friday.

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#5: Spooky Spending

More Americans than ever — nearly 3 out of 4 — will celebrate Halloween festivities this year. The average bill is expected to come in at $108.24 per person, up from $100.45 in 2022, according to the NRF.

The majority of gory goods are bought at discount stores, followed by specialty stores and then online retailers. Local businesses aren’t getting much love, while a tiny percent say they are still shopping via catalog. 

#4: Devious Decorations

People who go all out on Halloween decorations brighten up (or haunt up) the neighborhood, and 77% of people who do celebrate the season will purchase some sort of decorations, according to the NRF. Decorations as a whole are a $3.9 billion business this year.

The most iconic decoration is the jack-o-lantern and pumpkins alone will pull in $843.6 million this year, according to Finder. The average decorator spends just $31.93 getting their home all set, but you can see who is spending more. ABC has an entire show dedicated to homeowners who go the extra mile. Hopefully, their neighbors are into haunts because some of this stuff looks like it belongs in Hollywood instead of your neighborhood. 

#3: Sinister Sweets

Not everyone decorates but nearly everyone purchases candy to the tune of an estimated $3.6 billion this year. Reese’s Peanut Butter cups are the most popular candy nationwide, according to Instacart. Peanut M&M’s and Regular M&M’s round out the top three.

Candy corn comes in at No. 8, but if you plan on giving it to trick-or-treaters you might as well turn off the light and think of a new strategy for next year. It’s like those people who hand out toothbrushes; which, to be honest, are needed after all the Laffy Taffy the kids get on All Hallow’s Eve. 

#2: Creepy Costumes

Costumes may cause the most sticker shock leading up to Halloween. These disguises are expected to cost $4.1 billion this year, up $500,000 from last year‘s total.

The most popular adult costume is a witch, according to the NRF. Google Trends FrieghtGeist, on the other hand, has Barbie at the top of its list this year. Wednesday Addams and Princess Peach of Super Mario Bros. fame are also up there with the classics, like cowboys and devils. Topping the kids’ costume list is Spider-Man, followed closely by a princess. It’s all adorable. 

#1: Petrifying Pets

There’s nothing scary about a cute little animal in a costume. Pet costumes will account for roughly $700 million in Halloween spending this year, the NRF said. The most popular costumes include a pumpkin, hot dog, bat, bumblebee and spider. That said, these Shih Tzus in Chucky costumes are some of the best.

People get so excited about dressed-up pets, New York City’s Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade drew in 15,000 humans and 600 pets this year, despite facing financial uncertainty just weeks before. Dog folks say cats aren’t as cuddly, but this feline in a pirate costume is a lot better than Jared Leto in a cat costume.

Former President Donald Trump has an unlikely ally in his appeal to remove a gag order. The American Civil Liberties Union said a gag order on Trump is unconstitutional.

“Trump retains a First Amendment right to speak, and the rest of us retain a right to hear what he has to say,” the ACLU brief said.

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Trump was issued a gag order in his federal 2020 election case in Washington and his civil fraud trial in New York. The civil fraud trial in New York has already gotten the former president in trouble.

In that civil fraud trial, Judge Arthur Engoron decided Trump violated the order twice and fined him $5,000 for the first offense and $10,000 for the second.

The ACLU is arguing the gag order in his federal case is overbearing to the point they believe it’s violating Trump’s right to free speech.

The concept of a gag order is controversial. Those against gag orders often argue it violates the First Amendment while proponents say it serves as protection of the Sixth Amendment — the right to a fair trial. Whether a gag order is issued or not comes down to the discretion of a judge.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, overseeing his federal trial, imposed a gag order on Trump to prevent him from talking or posting online about special counsel Jack Smith, prosecutors and the court. Chutkan argued it could sway future jury members in the case.

“This case is already one of the most talked-about trials of all time,” the ACLU stated. “There may never have been a better-known criminal case in American history, or a better-known defendant. With that in mind, to the extent that the court’s order seeks to prevent future statements from affecting the impartiality of the potential jury pool, the order seems unlikely to make much of a difference.”

The ACLU is a nonprofit human rights organization. According to AllSides, an independent organization that rates media bias, the ACLU leans left in its policy agendas and is a known critic of former President Trump.

“No modern-day president did more damage to civil liberties and civil rights than President Trump,” ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said. “But if we allow his free speech rights to be abridged, we know that other unpopular voices — even ones we agree with — will also be silenced.”

The gag order for Trump’s federal case has been temporarily lifted while the court decides what to do next.

In New York, the gag order is active and Judge Arthur Engoron has threatened potential imprisonment if Trump continues to violate his gag order. Trump has been highly critical of the courts, the justice system and indictments against him. The gag order places limits on his criticism of the courts that has so far lit a fire under Trump’s base.

Americans are falling behind on their car payments at a rate not seen in about 30 years. The National Automobile Dealers Association has warned that a combination of recent “surging interest rates” and “higher vehicle prices” will continue to “put further pressure on vehicle affordability” going forward, hampering the ability of consumers to purchase a car.

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After the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to zero during the COVID-19 pandemic, only 2.6% of subprime auto loans, issued to borrowers with below-average credit scores, were at least 60 days past due in May of 2021. However, with increases to average car prices and interest rates back on the rise, that number has now jumped to 6.1% of borrowers, a total not seen since 1994. This comes as relief for those in debt may still be a long ways off, with Federal Reserve officials now predicting that higher interest rates will continue through 2026.

“In the auto industry right now, interest rates are public enemy No. 1 – the leading factor holding back business,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive. “Limited Inventory was the leading factor one year ago, but now it’s interest rates, the economy and credit availability, which all make affordability more challenging. Ultimately, these are not good signs for demand continuing to be strong or improving in the fourth quarter.”

In September, the typical new vehicle loan interest rate rose to a new peak, and those with bad credit could be faced with rates upwards of 20% according to Bankrate.

Edmunds, an automotive inventory and information resource, reported more than 1 in 6 people who financed a vehicle in the second quarter of 2023 have a monthly payment of $1,000 or more, another all-time high. That has in part put the average new car payment up by almost 40% over the past five years.

“The double whammy of relentlessly high vehicle pricing and daunting borrowing costs is presenting significant challenges for shoppers in today’s car market” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds. “The Federal Reserve’s recent pause in interest rate hikes, unfortunately, didn’t offer much relief for consumers, and hints at further raises later this year mean auto loan rates could even continue to increase.”

Meanwhile, automobile costs are also hindering consumers ability to afford their vehicle payments.

According to Kelley Blue Book, 17 of the 23 vehicle categories showed a pricing increase from March 2022 to March 2023. During the start of this year, average new vehicle prices peaked at nearly $50,000, a sharp increase from the  $37,876 average seen in 2021. Cox Automotive/Moody’s Analytics Vehicle Affordability Index found that as of September, the total median weeks of income needed to purchase the average new vehicle stands at over 42 weeks, close to one year’s worth of pay.

“New-vehicle affordability continues to be much worse now than it was a year ago, when prices were notably lower and incentives were higher,” Cox Automotive said in a news release. “The market has faced high interest rates, real affordability issues, and ongoing inflation, which could have led to large declines in vehicle sales.”

Over the summer, industry experts like Brain Moody, executive editor of AutoTrader.com, said that while the current state of car loan delinquencies was concerning, it had not hit the point of becoming alarming. Yet, as these trends have continued, others have now expressed fears that continued higher rates of subprime borrowers falling behind on their auto payments could precede an economic bubble burst.

“It’s going to come, and it’s going to bite us. Now, we’re selling the cars for so much more, and financing for longer, at a much higher interest rate. There are some challenges coming down the pike,” said Pete Kesterson, general manager of the Don Beyer Volvo auto dealership group in Virginia.

Margaret Rowe, senior director at Fitch Ratings, said the trends of subprime borrowers can often be the first indication of “where we start to see the negative effects of macroeconomic headwinds.”

The housing market crash of the late 2000s was driven by subprime borrowers being unable to make their mortgage payments, further fueling fears the auto market may be heading toward a similar result.

It’s not your average shoplifting infraction. Retailers around the country report that they are losing tens of billions of dollars a year to organized retail crime.

“It’s like a wildfire burning out of control with no easy way to stop it,” said Burt Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resource Group and a top consultant in retail. “The communities want the criminals to have consequences and be arrested.”

But in many cases, that’s not what’s happening.

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“Either New York state or California, a person can steal up to $949 per person per store per day with no criminal consequences, no arrest, no jail time, basically a parking ticket,” Flickinger said.

People in the organized retail crime business are very aware of the threshold between petty and grand larceny. In California, petty theft is under $950 in stolen goods. In New York, it’s under $1,000.

Serial offender Michelle McKelley has been arrested more than 100 times, according to the New York Post. Often, she’s released without bail. The Post caught up with her outside of court.

“I have to go to work,” she said. “I don’t call it stealing… I’m a professional booster.”

How organized retail crime rings work

“Boosters” are the ones who steal the merchandise, sometimes hitting several stores a day. Then “fences” buy the product off boosters for a fraction of the retail price before turning around and selling to the public. Fences range in sophistication from low-level street resale at swap meets to e-fencing on Amazon and eBay.

Last year, New York’s Office of the Attorney General announced the takedown of a retail theft crime ring following a 3-year investigation. The investigation tied more than $3.8 million in stolen goods to Queens ringleader Roni Rubinov and 40 accomplices.

“Rubinov trained these employees to procure and directed the boosters to steal specific items from retailers based on sale trends from his eBay storefront,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.

Rubinov also owned and operated pawnshops in Midtown Manhattan.

“This is just not shoplifting. This is organized crime attempting to exploit our merchants and our city,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

Revolving door of crime

Despite this crackdown, Adams and the NYPD said the city’s criminal justice system is a revolving door of no consequences. In a press conference last year, they highlighted the city’s top 10 repeat offenders, including this one they called “Recidivist No. 1.”

“He’s hit one location 20 times, the same location 20 times,” NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Mike Lipetri said. “And again, we’re talking about arrests here. We’ve arrested that individual 100 times. How many crimes do you think he really committed? Two hundred? Three hundred? A thousand?”

New York doesn’t even top the list. It ranks fourth among the top cities facing organized retail crime, according to the National Retail Federation.

Top cities affected by organized retail crime

In Seattle, a city audit said police are aware of at least four major fencing operations where they sell stolen goods online, but police staffing constraints are hurting their ability to investigate and pursue, forcing them to prioritize violent crimes over organized retail crime.

“One of the New York City retail leaders told me it’s only 900 people who are committing these crimes. It’s the same 900 people now, and it might have been 500 or 600 people before the pandemic,” Flickinger said. “But it’s not a lot of people with the right cooperation to take corrective action and identify constructive solutions.”

What do those solutions look like? Download the SAN app and enable notifications so you don’t miss part 3 of the organized retail crime series. Catch up on part 1 here.

Buying a home can be an ordeal, and the housing market is especially rough right now. Just what factors are causing the biggest headaches? Here are five reasons 2023 has been the worst year for housing in decades in this week’s Five For Friday.

#5: Rent

If you have to put off buying your dream home, renting these days isn’t much better. Being rent-burdened is the new normal, according to Moody’s Analytics. That’s when someone spends at least 30% of their household income on rent. National median rent has jumped more than $400 per month since January 2020. And the more money you spend on rent, the less you have to save up for a house.

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#4: Affordability

Home affordability is at its lowest point since 1985, according to the National Association of Realtors. The metric weighs whether a typical family earns enough to qualify for a mortgage for an average-priced home.

Median home prices are up 29% over the last three years, at $416,000 the second quarter of this year. Nearly 1 in 10 homes is now worth one million dollars or more, according to Redfin. Meanwhile, median household income has declined since 2019 when adjusted for inflation.

#3: High interest rates

If affordability hasn’t pushed you out of the market quite yet, here come oppressive interest rates.

The average 30-year mortgage rate has spiked from 3% at the end of 2021 to more than 7.5% in October 2023. Mortgage rates are up a full percentage point this year alone. For context, for every point mortgage rates go up, purchasing power goes down by roughly 10%.

#2: Inventory

Let’s assume you can afford an overpriced home and that massive mortgage payment. It’s still going to be tough to find the right home on the market.

During the COVID-19 pandemic housing boom, buyers bought up inventory at breakneck speeds. Now that rates are higher, homeowners are holding onto those properties and their favorable mortgage rates. Inventory is moving slightly upward this year, but is still below where it was the same time last year.

Looking for new construction? Homebuilders are already at max capacity, and having trouble keeping up with demand.

#1: Bad year for sales

This year is shaping up to be the worst for home sales since the 2008 housing bust, when the market collapsed and the nation fell into recession. Redfin projects 4.1 million homes will be sold in 2023. If that number falls below 4 million, it would be the worst performance for the housing market since 1995.

When people think about organized crime, names like Al Capone, Frank Costello and Joe Colombo come to mind. However, brazen mobs plundering stores is the organized crime that is plaguing retailers nationwide.

Organized retail crime is not your average shoplifting transgression. While shoplifting usually refers to small-scale theft for personal gain, organized retail crime involves large-scale crime rings.

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“It’s bad for the community, it’s bad for the store, bad for the employers and bad for raising prices,” Burt Flickinger, a top consultant in retail and managing director of Strategic Resource Group, said.

“A relatively smart criminal can make $200,000 a year or more in cash just by selling what that person steals from one store every day,” Flickinger said. “Or if that person steals from a few to five stores every day, that person could net close to half a million or more on an annual basis from store crime and street resale.”

Florida drug recovery pastor Robert Dell is accused of preying on his flock to run a retail theft crime ring, targeting Home Depots in the region five to six times a day.

Prosecutors said Dell sold the scores on his eBay account. Home Depot suspects he’s been targeting stores for a decade to the tune of $5 million in losses.

“There aren’t that many more criminals, it’s just easier to steal more per criminal per day, and that’s why the numbers have gone up so much,” Flickinger said.

Executives are sounding the alarm on organized retail crime, with mentions of “shrink” in second-quarter earnings calls — nearly double what they were the quarter before and four times what it was one year ago, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Russell 3000 companies.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) says shrink is a $112 billion problem in fiscal year 2022, up significantly over the past decade. However, when looking at the percentage of total retail sales, 2022’s 1.6% is in line with 2019 and 2020.

Shrink numbers consist of much more than organized retail crime (ORC). External theft, including ORC, accounts for 36% of a retailer’s shrink figure. Internal (employee) theft is 29%, while retailer process, control failures and errors account for 27%, according to NRF data.

That doesn’t mean organized retail crime isn’t a big ordeal. More than two-thirds of responding retailers told the NRF these criminals are more violent than one year ago.

Target claims that violence is the reason it is closing nine stores across New York, Seattle, Portland and the San Francisco area.

“We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests,” Target said in a statement.

In May, Target said worsening organized retail crime would result in $500 million more in losses this year than last, putting total losses at an estimated $1.2 billion or more for the year.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s fraud trial is in full swing. The beleaguered crypto evangelist faces up to 110 years in prison if convicted. The details of one of the biggest fraud cases since the turn of the century will come out during this six-week trial. Here are the five biggest revelations so far in this week’s Five For Friday: 

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#5: SBF’s big ambitions

One of the most anticipated moments of the trial to date is the testimony of SBF’s ex-girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, who played a direct role in the alleged fraud. She revealed some of Bankman-Fried’s big-time ambitions on the stand.

One bombshell from Ellison was that SBF once claimed there was a 5% chance he’d become president. He also contemplated paying Donald Trump $5 billion to sit out the 2024 presidential election, according to author Michael Lewis.

While Bankman-Fried is now accused of misusing billions in customer funds, he once dreamed of giving away much of his fortune even before he acquired it. While a student at MIT, he subscribed to effective altruism, a specific type of philanthropy that aims to use logic and data to do good. Once he did make the big bucks, he was quick to sign the Giving Pledge to donate most of his wealth, alongside folks like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. 

#4: $500 million USB drive

A high-profile trial like this will bring out some good stories that aren’t necessarily told on the stand. The same day FTX declared bankruptcy, someone started stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency.

Wired just published all the details of the scramble to thwart the $1 billion heist. FTX staffers, who had already been through quite a bit that day, spotted mysterious outflows of the digital currency in real time. As they tried to figure out a way to get their crypto to safety offline, a consultant ended up using a personal USB drive to protect $500 million in FTX funds. It’s not the safest solution: If something were to happen to the keys, drive or consultant, that money could have been lost forever. In the end, it worked, and the hackers only made off with $415 million. 

#3: Ten’s company

Tech startups are known for wild lifestyles. After all, if you think you’re changing the world, the adrenaline must be pumping. A lot has been made of Bankman-Fried’s $35 million penthouse in the Bahamas, which was paid for by FTX’s hedge fund Alameda Research.

According to testimony from FTX developer Adam Yedidia, nine other employees also lived with the CEO, who was worth $26 billion at his height. SBF was also known to nap on a bean bag there. Could a good night’s rest have prevented some of the bad decisions that sunk the exchange?

#2: Alameda’s backdoor

FTX co-founder Gary Wang already pleaded guilty to fraud charges, but testified that SBF had the final say on all the deals that sent FTX money to Alameda Research. Wang said he and another programmer put in a backdoor to allow the loans at the behest of his co-founder.

In 2019, Wang said Alameda could only borrow as much as FTX made in revenue from trading fees, roughly $300 million at the time. But Wang said the line of credit soon grew to $65 billion, while customers and investors were kept in the dark. 

#1: FTX wasn’t bulletproof

Bankman-Fried has repeatedly claimed ignorance, but his coworkers are testifying that he knew the company’s financials weren’t up to snuff. Yedidia said he confronted SBF last summer while playing paddleball about whether Alameda could repay the $8 billion it owed FTX at the time. Yedidia said SBF’s answer was rather ominous.

“We were bulletproof last year,” SBF said, according to Yedidia. “We’re not bulletproof this year.”

SBF added that it would be six months to three years to get back to bulletproof. Yedidia said he looked “worried or nervous.” The company filed for bankruptcy four months later.

There’s a dark side of a device so light, victims don’t even know it’s there. Apple AirTags are meant to track personal belongings, but criminals quickly capitalized on far more nefarious utilities.

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“Had that device not been in that car, my son would still be living today. She found my son because of the Apple AirTag,” LaPrecia Sanders told Nightline.

Sanders’ 26-year-old son Andre was killed in June 2022, after an ex-girlfriend planted an AirTag in his car, tracking him to a local bar and killing him when she found him, according to Indianapolis police.

“She went head-on and ran my son over. And she didn’t do it once. She did it three times. Ended up with a 4,000-pound car sitting on top of my son,” Sanders said.

Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooks Nader warned her followers about AirTag dangers after she found the tiny tracking device in her coat.

“It was the scariest, scariest moment ever,” Nader said.

In late 2022, Lauren Hughes sued Apple after she said she found an AirTag in the wheel well of her car, planted there by a stalker she was actively trying to escape.

“I was actually loading things into my vehicle at the time when I got the notification that the AirTag was moving with me,” Hughes said.

The proposed class action lawsuit claims Apple didn’t take effective measures to prevent abuse, saying, “it has become the weapon of choice for stalkers and abusers.”

Thieves are also planting AirTags and other Bluetooth tracking devices to track and steal cars.

More recently, those meant to uphold the law are now accused of illegally using these devices. The FBI is actively investigating the disbanded Los Angeles Police Department gang unit, where officers are suspected of slipping AirTags into vehicles they stopped, allowing them to track suspects without a warrant.

In September, LAPD also opened an internal investigation into Assistant Chief Al Labrada, who is accused of using an AirTag to stalk a subordinate, female officer with whom he had a prior relationship.

Apple’s response

“We’re adding to this growing ecosystem with a new iPhone accessory that makes finding things even easier,” iPhone Systems’ Engineering Program Manager Carolyn Wolfman-Estrada announced in April 2021.

Since Apple launched AirTags, people have used these quarter-sized devices to track anything they don’t want to lose, from wallets and keys to dogs and luggage.

From the beginning, Apple acknowledged malicious use could be an issue.

“AirTag is designed to track items, not people. So we included safety features to discourage unwanted tracking,” Wolfman-Estrada said.

If Apple detects an AirTag traveling with someone other than the owner, they’ll send that person an iOS alert. That’s how stalking victims found out they were being tracked.

However, Android users need a specific app for the same feature, and Apple didn’t launch Tracker Detect until nearly eight months after AirTags came out.

Nearly 10 months after the tech launched, Apple noted, “Incidents of AirTag misuse are rare; however, each instance is one too many.”

The company said it is closely working with law enforcement.

Of course, this isn’t just Apple’s problem because it’s not just AirTags. Tile, Samsung, Chipolo and Pebblebee are just a handful of other Bluetooth tracking devices.

Domestic violence victim advocates are among those pushing for universal standards to combat unwanted trackers. 

In May, Apple and Google announced that by the end of 2023, there will be a standard, industry-wide unwanted tracking alert for future iOS and Android versions.