TekTrendz

08/27/2026

"Rick, your $6,850 Pell Grant is close to expiring. No repayment required. Confirm by Sunday before it closes."

Seen any text messages like this lately? If so, you're not alone.

Back to School is primetime for hackers, scammers, and spammers. If it's late summer, then criminally brazen text messages and emails with bogus offers like this one^ are surely making the rounds — in droves, by the millions.

Cybercriminals are equal opportunity fraudsters, too, targeting students, parents, teachers, and administrators alike. Just yesterday, Bitdefender Labs published a report detailing some of this year's common BTS scams:

- Fake education grants with "no repayment required" like the one above
- Fraudulent scholarship opportunities
- "Free" laptops, technology
- Fake or misleading study tool/AI subscriptions
- Counterfeit delivery notifications
- Even "vote for my child" scams

Urgency is the name of the game — from "grant expires today" to "offer ends tonight." But instead of financial aid or free technology, a click redirects potential victims to phishing sites in order to steal their personal information and/or money. So...

Be skeptical. Be vigilant. And encourage others, from your kids to your school board, to be on the watch-out as well.

Because back to school means many scams are back in business.

Read more from Bitdefender's report:

Bitdefender Labs reveals back-to-school scams targeting Americans with fake education grants, scholarships, free laptops and AI offers.

08/06/2026

Are you a nonprofit leader in Northwest Arkansas? (Or maybe you know some?)

Save the date: Pixels With Purpose is coming to NWA Tuesday, September 15! It's a free morning forum built specifically to help nonprofits and their leaders thrive in a world characterized more and more by beeps, bytes, and bots.

And...we're very excited to say: TekTrendz is a sponsor and presenter!

Nonprofit leaders will spend the morning networking with colleagues from other NWA nonprofits, with free coffee and breakfast to boot, before diving into real-world guidance from local experts in digital marketing, AI, cybersecurity, technology, and digital leadership.

Attendees will walk away with practical insights they can put to work right away — all to help move their mission forward.

🗓️ September 15
⏰ 8:30-11 AM
📍 NWA Food Bank, Lowell
🎟️ Free with RSVP

Seats are limited and going fast — RSVP today: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pixels-with-purpose-tickets-1993780002659?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true

Or learn more about Pixels With Purpose: https://www.pwpnwa.com

07/20/2026

Did you know? TekTrendz has a free, monthly tech and cybersecurity newsletter received by more than 500 NWA business owners and professionals.

You're too busy to keep track of the technology trends impacting your business. Now, you don't have to. Each month, Trendz³ gives you a quick, practical, dare-we-say entertaining rundown of the tech trends (pun intended) that really matter — plus useful resources and upcoming events.

We made Trendz³ for businesses just like yours. And because it's completely free — well, what are you waiting for?

Sign up for Trendz³ today! https://tektrendz.com/trendz3

07/02/2026

Before the grills heat up, the fireworks ignite, or the first note of the Star-Spangled Banner plays…

We at TekTrendz want to pause and say how proud and grateful we are to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States alongside you — our clients, neighbors, and fellow Americans

[cue: screaming eagle sound effect] 🦅

Freedom isn’t free. This weekend, we’re mindful and deeply appreciative of the sacrifices made by millions of Americans — from 1776 to 2026 — so we can live freely today.

How are you celebrating this weekend? We'd love to see it. Drop your photos in the comments!

Happy 250th birthday, America. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Land of the free, home of the brave.

06/24/2026

What a night! Over 600 construction and business professionals gathered at Pacific Shore Stones in Lowell last night for a Construction Buzz event held by Queenie Be and Hive Networking of NWA. TekTrendz was there — making new friends and sharing timely advice about cyberattacks targeting construction firms.

Want to see our message to contractors? Take a look:https://tektrendz.com/hubfs/construction%20cyberattacks.pdf

The highlight of the evening for us: Sponsoring a giveaway for a "stay cool" summer bundle consisting of an ice chest, insulated jug, and tumbler — that, honestly, we were wishing we could take home ourselves. Congratulations to Dustin Gortemiller of Elite Dumpster Services for winning the drawing.

Thank you, Hive, sponsors, and participants for such a great night.

Let's do it again soon.

06/15/2026

Whahhhh?!?! A high school teacher was charged over $1 million for a single stay at an Arkansas hotel!?!? Wait, no, it was just another cyberattack.

As reported by WREG Memphis, Matthew Spencer, a middle school teacher traveling from Indiana to Texas, received quite the shock when he was seemingly charged $1,002,852.82 for a one-night stay at a Blytheville, Arkansas hotel. (I hope he at least got a massive amount of rewards points.)

As it turned out, though, Spencer wasn't the only victim — because the exorbitant overcharge, hotel management determined, was the result of a cyberattack on the business's credit card processing machine.

"The maximum amount we can put on an authorization on our machine is $100,000," the hotel's general manager told WREG. "The amount in question was over a million dollars. So we physically could not possibly put that kind of authorization using our system.”

Ultimately, Spencer was never charged the million-dollar rate, and what we're left with — besides a shocking hotel bill — is yet another example of how cybercriminals are targeting businesses right here in the Natural State.

https://wreg.com/news/local/teacher-shocked-by-bill-after-one-night-stay-at-ar-hotel/

06/10/2026

Here's an exhilarating topic for you: insurance. Okay, maybe not, but add the word "cyber" to the front — as in cyber insurance — and that spices it up considerably.

- What is cyber insurance, exactly?
- Do you — as an Arkansas small business — really need it?
- Could you qualify for it if you needed to?

TekTrendz answers those questions and others in our latest article — complete with a fancy-schmancy interactive quiz designed to estimate your business's chances of qualifying for cyber insurance.

Take the quiz — and see where your business stands. On cyber insurance, yes, but also on cybersecurity in general.

https://tektrendz.com/the-tektrendz-blog/would-you-qualify-cyber-insurance-guide-for-arkansas-small-businesses

05/12/2026

Maybe you heard? News broke on April 27 that hackers scammed the Pine Bluff School District in southeastern Arkansas out of a gut-wrenching $3.2 million.

Here's how it all went down, step by agonizing step:

- At a school board meeting on April 27, 2026, the superintendent of Pine Bluff Schools disclosed a cyberattack and subsequent payout dating back to December 17 of last year
- The district had received an invoice for $3.2 million from the construction firm working on its new $74 million high school
- A legitimate invoice had, indeed, been sent by the construction firm and received by Pine Bluff Schools
- However, cybercriminals had added fraudulent wire transfer instructions to an otherwise authentic invoice
- The bad actors had previously gained access to the district's system through an employee's compromised email account
- The district then wired the full amount of the invoice — presumably, to the hackers
- The director of finance for Pine Bluff Schools followed up with the construction firm after payment and learned that, while an invoice had been sent, payment was never requested via wire transfer
- District leadership contacted the FBI and its banking institution — kicking off a multi-month investigation
- Pine Bluff Schools was advised to keep the attack and payment confidential during the investigation

It's a story that's becoming all too common in Arkansas.

A few takeaways for organizations of all sizes:

- Where there are big-money invoices, there are opportunistic cybercriminals. Put strict protocols in place when handling invoices from construction partners or companies in other high-value industries.
- Train staff to be skeptical and aware when paying any invoice. No matter how authentic the invoice looks, start by assuming it's a scam.
- Recommit to basic cybersecurity safeguards like those linked below — because everything that transpired for the PBSD likely started with a simple and preventable phishing scheme through a single employee's email account.

https://tektrendz.com/the-tektrendz-blog/cybersecurity-tip-sheet-for-arkansas-small-businesses

Stay vigilant, Arkansas.

Million-dollar cyberattacks are happening right next door.

05/01/2026

Can you beat our marketer, Chris, on this IT quiz for NWA small businesses?

Truth is, there are just some IT basics every small business should know.

But how 'bout you? Do you know the basics?

Take this quick 15-question quiz — and see if you can beat the 73% made by our marketer who, frankly, is better at SEO and designing emails than IT.

(Not bad, Chris. Not real good either.)

https://tektrendz.com/the-tektrendz-blog/it-quiz-for-nwa-small-businesses

Did you beat Chris? Feel free to crow about it below. He'd love that.

04/20/2026

Delicious food and drink. Groovy music. And behaving like 10-year-olds again. The Amazeum's 2026 UnGala was a magical night, and the TekTrendz team had a ton of fun participating.

Where else, besides the Amazeum's annual FUNdraiser, can you play in water, send smoke signals, play oversized board games, learn about the forces of nature, and ride 24-volt racers — all while supporting a great venue and cause?

Thanks, Amazeum, for a highly memorable night.