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Posts Tagged “

Crime

travel tips

How To Avoid Being Victimized On Vacation

Whether you realize it or not, as a tourist, you are very conspicuous to would-be criminals who would like to take advantage of you. To help keep you safe, CNN and BudgetTravel have compiled a list of some common crimes at some of the most popular travel destinations. The list, inside... More »

Bad Consumer

Meet The Man Who Faked Heart Attacks To Escape Dinner Bills And Cab Fares

Police arrested Robert Farnham for "habitual criminality" and "fraud on a restaurant" after his doctor reported him for faking heart attacks to avoid paying bills. The Wisconsin resident, who has been caught pulling the same routine five times this year, most recently keeled over in Applebees to avoid paying $22.66 for a "steak, salad, mashed potatoes, a soda, a strawberry smoothie and a brownie." More »

Google now helps catch criminals. The FBI identified a Citibank PIN thief by cross-referencing security camera footage with an ICQ handle and personal photos on ham radio enthusiasts sites. [Information Week]

In case you were wondering, yes, it is illegal to trade sex for a $100 gas card. [The Smoking Gun]

civil disservice

Paramedic Steals Credit Cards From Patient, Goes On Shopping Spree At Target

A Cleveland paramedic was arrested last week after being caught on video using credit cards she had stolen from an 87-year-old patient, according to The Plain Dealer. Tiffany Forte, age 32, has been working for the Cleveland Emergency Medical Services for the last seven years. A police statement says she was seen on video surveillance at Target and Marshalls racking up $1000 worth of charges while wearing her EMS t-shirt. Details, inside... More »

taking it seriously

JPMorgan Chase Accidentally Breaks Into Your House And Steals Everything You Own

Bobo and Joy Dickson bought a house had been headed for foreclosure, but JPMorgan Chase apparently didn't get the message that the former owners had moved out and the new owners were in residence. So, naturally, they hired a firm to drill the Dickson's locks and take everything they owned, including their food. Now JPMorgan Chase is "taking it seriously." More »

confessions

Ex Countrywide Manager Exposes Its Lies

A former regional manager for Countrywide Home Loans, the mega mortgage company whose shady mortgage mill came to epitomize the subprime meltdown, went on The Today Show camera to detail some of the company's questionable practices. Here's some of the tricks he warned upper management about during his 6-month stint before he was fired for refusing to give loans to unqualified buyers: More »

shopping sprees

Woman Used Dead Grandma's Credit Card To Charge Up $11,000

Melanie Schleiger is proof that credit card fraud sometimes starts at home, after she and her boyfriend were arrested last week for making 69 purchases totaling $11,715 on a credit card belonging to her grandmother, who died in 2003. The charges were discovered when the deceased woman's daughter-in-law received the bill and called the police. It's going to be an awkward Fourth of July this year! More »

citibank

Here's What The World Of ATM Hacking Looks Like

Wired has been covering the ongoing investigation into recurring ATM pin thefts from Citibank accounts, and their latest article tracks how Ukrainian immigrants, a ringleader back in Russia, a hacked company named Fiserv that runs Citibank-branded ATMs in 7-Elevens, and an online payment service that also offers money laundering for a small fee all come together to steal your money. It's an amazing look at how the U.S. tries to combat the threat of ATM-related theft.

[The] undercover operation... at one point had Eastern European hackers chasing a female FBI agent through the streets of New York, trying to mug her for ATM-card-programming gear.

"Stakeouts, Lucky Breaks Snare Six More in Citibank ATM Heist" [Wired Threat Level] (Thanks to Robbie!)
(Photo: Getty)


chase bank

Chase Bank Teller Allegedly Fleeces 86-Year-Old Out Of More Than $300,000 In Savings

A Chase Bank teller who befriended an 86-year-old senior allegedly fleeced the women out of most of her $400,000 in savings, says the Chicago Sun-Times, and even though the bank caught the teller and fired her... they're taking a long time to repay the stolen money. More »

Home alone

Cable Company Employee And Registered Sex Offender Charged For Allegedly Touching A 13-Year-Old

Thomas Jefferson, 43, was part of a crew subcontracted by Verizon installing cable in a subdivision in Glen Allen, VA, when police say he went to a house where a 13 year old girl was home alone and asked for a drink of water. NBC12 says that after he asked for the water he "touched the girl in her private areas." More »

Over 400 people have been charged in the government's national mortgage fraud probe, called "Operation Malicious Mortage," which dealt with individual rather than corporate fraud. [Reuters]

Sign of economic desperation: man robs kids' lemonade stand, but the kids chase him into nearby house and call the cops, who arrest him and charge him with felony robbery. [AP]

bad consumer

Woman Punches JetBlue Flight Attendant In The Face For Not Letting Her Smoke

Once again we remind you not to drink too much at the airport before getting on your flight. We know airports are boring and sad and they make you want to kill the pain with copious amounts of gin. Don't do it — or you could end up punching a JetBlue flight attendant in the face. More »

Here's a new excuse for bad service: AT&T is being plagued by copper thieves in Tennessee. The thefts of copper cables "has caused disruptions to voice and data communications, as well as emergency calls, company officials said." [The Tennessean]

Contractor crime isn't just for Comcast: Two men in Verizon Wireless longsleeves robbed a 64-year-old lady's home at gunpoint, binding her and her live-in-aid's hands and taking cash, jewelry, and electronics. [FairfaxCounty.gov]

walmart

Wal-Mart Employee Stabs Customer

Wal-Mart employee, Ray Canales, age 18, has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a teenage customer inside the store, according to KPRC. The altercation started at about 10:15pm Wednesday night at the Wal-Mart in Pearland, TX. More, inside.... More »

comcastic

Judge Orders Mental Exam For Man Who Kidnapped Comcast Technician

On Monday, John Weatherly, age 60, appeared in court to face kidnapping charges stemming from an incident in March, 2007 when he allegedly detained a Comacst technician, The Tennessean reports. According to the police affidavit, Weatherly deadbolted his door and threatened the technician with a German Shephard and would not allow the tech to leave until he fixed his television. The judge ordered a mental evaluation for Weatherly. More, inside... More »