The Scam Attempt: A Fake Bug Bounty

I received a message on Reddit from someone saying they had “claimed an email address on my behalf” and wanted a “cash reward” for reporting the vulnerability. At first glance, it sounded urgent. The goal was clear: pressure me into paying quickly.

But something felt off, so I asked ChatGPT to help me understand what was happening. Within seconds, I learned this was a classic bug bounty scam, really just an extortion attempt. The scammer hadn’t actually “claimed” anything. Instead, they were using a tactic called email spoofing.

What is Email Spoofing?

Email spoofing happens when someone forges the “From” address in an email to make it look like it’s coming from you (or your domain). It doesn’t mean they’ve hacked your account, but it can still cause confusion or trick others into clicking malicious links.

In my case, the spoofing worked because my domain was missing some key email authentication records. Without these, scammers can make emails appear legitimate.

👉 Learn more about Google’s guide to stop spammers from impersonating your organisation by spoofing or phishing

How ChatGPT Helped Me Solve It

Instead of panicking, I asked ChatGPT what my options were. I didn’t want to spend more money on a new email service just to fix this, although I needed an email provider anyway. To my surprise, ChatGPT pointed out something I’d completely overlooked:

I could associate multiple domains with a single Google Workspace account.

That meant I could run both my personal, business, and Peek domains under the same account. The result?

• One inbox instead of three

• A more secure setup

• $28 saved every month

I quickly linked my new domain and my personal one to my business Google Workspace setup. Problem solved.

The Bigger Lesson: Scams Thrive on Pressure

Looking back, I realised that scammers count on two things:

1. Confusion - they want you to feel like you don’t understand what’s happening.

2. Time pressure - the more rushed you feel, the more likely you are to pay them.

Without ChatGPT, I probably would’ve spent hours digging through articles, second-guessing myself, and stressing over whether I needed a new subscription. Instead, I had a clear path forward in minutes.

AI as Both a Threat and a Tool

I’m still worried about how scammers might use AI to make their attacks more convincing. But this experience showed me the flip side: AI can also be a powerful tool for defence. With the right guidance, it helps level the playing field for everyday users.

Over to You

Have you ever received a suspicious “bug bounty” or spoofing scam? How did you handle it? Would you trust AI to guide you through a security fix?

Share your thoughts in the comments. Your story might help someone else avoid falling for a scam.

Constantly having to come up with new topics and then turning them into actual content made content creation feel like an hours-long task, just to produce a single 5-minute blog post.

And it was all because of how I approached content creation.

A big chunk of time was wasted simply due to lack of clarity. I’d start writing about one topic, only for it to morph into something else. The result? A 10–15 minute article with no consistency or central theme.

As a creative process, this was great. But as a sustainable strategy to support my main business, it was a disaster.

A quick online search pointed me to the idea of content pillars and using a content calendar.

Content pillars help keep things focused by sticking to a few key themes. A content calendar makes sure I know what to post and when, so I'm not scrambling for ideas last minute.

Plan first, execute later.

Sounds great, but how do you actually do it?

I spent hours reading articles and trying to piece things together. But I always ended up with a vague plan that didn’t quite fit my business. So I never followed through.

Eventually, I tried a different route: I asked AI to do it for me.

Here’s the prompt I used:

Please create the content pillars and 60 pieces of content distributed in each pillar. The topic is about using AI and technology to automate your business and achieve a lot more with less time.

As expected, it failed miserably. It suggested topics I had zero interest in or wasn’t familiar with. One example: “The ultimate vision: running a one-person billion-dollar company.”

My business isn’t even at six figures yet. How am I supposed to talk about scaling to a billion-dollar empire? No thanks.

The only good thing? It made my own content calendar look pretty decent by comparison.

The issue wasn’t the quality of the suggestions. They were actually well-crafted and aligned with what others talk about online.

The real problem was they didn’t align with my brand or goals. That’s a context issue.

But what kind of context does AI need? If I’m struggling to define my own content pillars, how would I know what info to feed the model in the first place?

What if the context I give is too focused on product features or business ops, how would that connect to the brand I want to build?

Then it hit me: what would a digital agency do if I hired them to plan my content strategy?

Easy. They’d ask questions. Lots of questions, until they had the insight to make a solid recommendation.

So I had ChatGPT take that approach instead.

You are a world-renowned content marketing manager. You are going to ask me as many questions as you need about me and my business to recommend what content to create and which platform to focus on.

Ask each question one at a time. If needed, ask follow-ups to dig deeper. Don’t move on until you understand my intent.

Final output should include:
– Content pillars with definitions and goals
– How often to post per pillar
– 60 short-form content ideas distributed across the pillars
– A content calendar with daily posting

The result?

ChatGPT asked me 18 questions about my goals, audience, and brand voice. Just answering them was incredibly helpful. It forced me to think about things I’d never considered.

For Peek, the private photo sharing app I’m building, ChatGPT suggested starting with TikTok for quick feedback and cultural relevance, then repurposing content to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

Here’s how the content broke down:

1. Empowerment & Mindset Shift – 42%

2. Education & Awareness – 28%

3. Practical Tips & Safe Sharing – 15%

4. Founder Journey & Peek – 15%

It also generated 60 short-form ideas spread across those pillars to last 2 months, along with what it called a weekly rhythm to make sure topics are well-balanced and not repetitive.

Now I have way more clarity, not just about what kind of content to make, but why I’m making it.

No more guessing what to post or how often. I’ve got a real strategy.

And they’re not wrong to be cautious.

AI-written articles often feel “off”. They’re overly polished, lack depth, and follow predictable patterns that make them easy to spot. Worse still, they fail to connect with your audience on a human level.

But here’s the good news: AI doesn’t have to replace your voice. When used correctly, it can actually help you refine your drafts, strengthen your message, and produce content that feels authentically yours.

Should you let AI write your articles?

The short answer? No.

Fully automated workflows (like the one Simon Høiberg explains in this video) work incredibly well for SEO-driven content at scale, but they aren’t the right choice if you’re building a personal brand.

Your content isn’t just about sharing information. It’s about building trust and offering a perspective only you can provide. If you let AI write your posts from start to finish, you risk sounding generic and losing that personal connection. The internet is flooded with articles sharing information about any topic. Your readers want your unique perspective, your tone, and your unique insight.

But using AI is not the same as having AI write your content.

How to use ChatGPT as your content editor

Think of AI as your editor and coach. Rather than outsourcing your perspective, use ChatGPT to:

• Identify strengths and weaknesses in your draft

• Refine your voice and clarity

• Spot gaps in depth or data

• Suggest SEO opportunities

For example, here’s a before-and-after snippet for one of the paragraphs I used in this article in the section above about letting AI write your articles:

Draft: Generally the answer is no. You could achieve great results with fully automated n8n workflows, like Simon Høiberg explains in this video, but this approach is SEO driven rather than creative driven.

After AI refinement: The short answer? No. Fully automated workflows (like the one Simon Høiberg explains in this video) work incredibly well for SEO-driven content at scale, but they aren’t the right choice if you’re building a personal brand.

The result is more conversational and adds clarity.

The 9 key criteria to evaluate your drafts

To get better results from ChatGPT, we first need to define how we want AI to critique our draft.

With the help of ChatGPT, I came up with nine areas to critique every post:

1. Title/Hook – Does the title grab attention and include target keywords?

2. Introduction – Does it clearly set the stage and connect with the reader?

3. Value – Does the content solve a problem or offer actionable insights?

4. Readability – Is the post scannable with headers, bullets, and short paragraphs?

5. Depth – Does it include credible data, sources, or expert quotes?

6. Storytelling & Voice – Is the tone human, engaging, and unique?

7. SEO & Technical Optimisation – Are keywords, internal links, and metadata optimised?

8. Engagement – Are there CTAs, social prompts, or comment invitations?

9. Publishing Readiness – Is it free of errors and fully formatted?

Each category will be rated from 0-100%. I’m using 80% as my benchmark for each category. This prevents me from chasing perfection and wasting time over-editing.

Putting it all together

You can get creative with your prompt and adjust the criteria to fit your needs. For example, if you’re writing a thought-provoking essay, the value metric might prioritise unique insights over actionable steps.

To make it easier, I built a custom GPT article reviewer that uses these exact criteria. You can plug in your draft, and it will return a detailed breakdown of strengths, weaknesses, and improvement tips.

Alternatively, you can find the entire prompt in this Google Doc if you want to use it as inspiration to write your own or modify in any way you want.

What about you?

How are you using AI in your creative process? Have you found a way to balance efficiency and authenticity? Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your approach.

This classic moment reveals a timeless truth: getting exactly what you ask for doesn’t mean you’re getting what you actually want. And surprisingly, it’s a perfect metaphor for how we interact with AI tools like ChatGPT today.

ChatGPT: Our Modern-Day Genie

Like the Genie, ChatGPT can fulfil almost any request instantly. But there’s a catch. It gives you what you ask for, not necessarily what you mean or need. That’s why prompting, the art of asking the right questions in the right way, has become the essential skill for effective AI use.

The problem isn’t the tool. It’s the prompt.

Most people try ChatGPT once, type in a vague command like “write an article about World War II”, and feel underwhelmed. The tool didn’t fail. The input did. If you give a historian the same task, their first move wouldn’t be to start writing. It would be to ask you questions:

• What’s the purpose? Inform, persuade, analyse?

• Who’s the target audience?

• What’s the scope?

• Preferred format or length?

• Should it include emotional or factual tones?

ChatGPT, unlike a human expert, won’t ask those by default. So, unless you provide that context, your output will feel generic.

How to get what you really want from ChatGPT

Following the example above, let’s compare two prompts:

Basic prompt: “Write an article about World War II.”

Context-rich prompt: “Write a narrative-driven, empathetic article on World War II focusing on civilian life in Eastern Europe and East Asia. Highlight how ordinary people endured and adapted to the war, from survival strategies to cultural shifts. Avoid political and military analysis. Centre the human experience, and draw equally from both regions with historical accuracy and emotional depth.”

Same general topic, radically different outcome. The second example brings depth, relevance, and intentionality, because the prompt was well-crafted.

Prompting is a learnable skill

Becoming great at prompting doesn’t require technical expertise. It requires clarity of intent. Start every interaction by asking yourself:

What are the key considerations I need to clarify before asking this?

That one step alone will increase the relevance and accuracy of the AI’s response. The more you do it, the more you think like a writer or strategist, even before you begin typing.

Why prompting matters more than ever

There’s a lot of hype and fear surrounding AI. The general discourse is that AI will replace us and take away our creativity. The reality is that AI is a tool, and in the hands of a thoughtful user, it becomes exponentially more powerful. The same tool in the hands of an expert generates refined results. In the hands of a novice, it might disappoint.

The prompt that will make you better at prompting

If you are just getting started with prompting and you are not so sure how to adequately provide context, copy-paste the prompt below and add the task you want ChatGPT to execute. It will first give you a list of questions to gather all the information and context needed to accomplish your task.

Act like an expert assistant. Before starting the task below, ask me a comprehensive list of specific questions to gather all the details and context you need. Once I answer them, you will then use that information to execute the task below as accurately as possible. Do not begin the task until all relevant details are collected. Take a deep breath and work on this problem step-by-step.

Task:
"Write your task here"

Try this prompt for a week. You’ll notice better, more nuanced outputs. Over time, you’ll start embedding that context automatically and thinking more like a writer, strategist, or whatever role ChatGPT is assuming for you.

In the following weeks, we’ll start getting deeper and more creative on how we can get the most out of ChatGPT. But everything starts with prompting.

For now, remember: better questions lead to better answers.

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

James clear - Author of Atomic Habits

Welcome to Beyond Human Effort.

This is a space for solopreneurs, builders, and dreamers who want more than burnout disguised as ambition. People who want to live with intention. We want the option to choose where we put our time and who we give our energy to.

I’m not here to give you all the answers. I don’t have them. I’m figuring it out in real time. What I do know is that effort alone isn’t enough. And I refuse to lose myself, my family, or my health trying to figure it out.

About Me

I’m Diego Rincon. A self-taught software developer and lifelong learner. For over a decade, I built mobile apps that made millions for other people. I had what most would call a stable job, but it was an illusion.

In a world of constant layoffs, even a permanent contract offers no real security. So I stopped trading my energy for someone else’s dream and started building my own.

I’ve always been someone who makes bold moves and takes risks others avoid. I’ve changed countries. Left it all behind to start all over more than once. But this is the biggest leap yet.

I quit my job to build something that fits my life, not the other way around. A business shaped around who I am, what I care about, and how I want to live. No more fitting myself into someone else’s plan.

I’ve given myself six months to make $1,000 a month from scratch. It might seem small, but what it represents is everything. It’s proof that I don’t need permission to live freely. It’s a step closer to financial independence. It’s control over my days, my health, and how I show up for the people I love.

What you’ll find here

• Workflows and automation using Shortcuts, n8n, GPTs, and custom prompts.

• Weekly progress updates: wins, losses, stuck points, and shifts.

• My evolving systems for health, family, focus, and solo business growth.

• Honest reflections on building a product and a life that aligns with my values.

• The lessons behind everything that doesn’t go to plan.

This isn’t a playbook. It’s a process.

If you’re taking risks of your own, or dreaming about it, you’re not alone. This space is for all of us who are done waiting for the right time.

Not because I have the answers, but because we are asking the same questions.

We’re figuring it out as we go.

And we’re doing it intentionally.

Let me know what you’re building. We don’t have to figure it out alone.