Tech review: Nike sneakers fit for the metaverse

Nike wants you to wear its sneakers in real life and in virtual reality. The apparel giant bought RTFKT Studios, a maker of collectible digital artwork known as NFTs. Nike will sell NFTs of its apparel to be worn by gamers and others in the metaverse — the buzzy 3D virtual environment that incorporates aspects of an online universe and the real world. Nike says with RTFKT it will "serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture." Earlier this year, RTFKT (pronounced "artifact") teamed with 18-year-old digital artist FEWOCiOUS to sell more than $3 million worth of NFT digital sneakers in less than seven minutes.

Gift card fraud ‘staggering’

If you received a gift card this holiday season, be careful. The Federal Trade Commission says con artists are calling people, trying to trick them into giving them the numbers on the back of cards by saying there’s a "security problem." With those numbers, the criminal can cash the card before you do. The FTC says gift card fraud has "reached staggering new highs" in 2021.

Laugh till you cry

In a year of tears and joy, it is fitting that the most-used emoji in 2021 was a combination of both. The Unicode Consortium, the not-for-profit organization that oversees the creation and maintenance of the 3,663 ubiquitous icons that adorn text messages, emails and websites, said Tears of Joy accounted for 5% of all emojis used. In second place: the Heart emoji.

‘Cyber-mercenaries’ tracked Facebook users

Facebook is notifying nearly 50,000 users in about 100 countries they may have been targets of hacking attempts by surveillance-for-hire companies working for government agencies or private clients. The notification is the result of a monthslong investigation by Meta, Facebook's parent company. Meta said these "cyber-mercenaries" used Facebook and Instagram for surveillance activities, mainly to research targets for spyware infections.

— THE WASHINGTON POST