Consumerist
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ponzi schemers
Madoff Asks Judge For 12-Year Sentence
CNN just reported that Bernie Madoff's lawyer has submitted a letter to the judge who will be sentencing him next week, asking for a 12-year sentence.
"Mr. Madoff is currently 71 years old and has an approximate life expectancy of 13 years," wrote Sorkin, whose letter was released on Tuesday. "A prison term of 12 years - just short of an effective life sentence - will sufficiently address the goals of deterrence, protecting the public and promoting respect for the law."
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It turns out X-ray glasses don't work, at least not the ones this guy in Korea was selling. [Korea Times] (Thanks to Andrew!)
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malware
Meet The Virtual ATM Skimmers
Just when you thought that you and your ATM card data were safe from criminal eyes, Scientific American brings a different sort of threat. This time, the skimmers are inside the machine. Malware within the ATM itself harvests enough data to do some very bad things. More » -
prostitution
Man Uses Geek Squad Badge To Impersonate Cop, Coerce Sex Out Of Prostitute
If a man says he's a police officer and flashes a badge at you, then tells you to have sex with him or he'll arrest you, make sure the badge doesn't say Geek Squad on it first. That's what a woman says happened to her in Parsippany, New Jersey last week. More » -
insurance fraud
On The Rise: People Blowing Up Their Own Cars
Nothing salves buyer's remorse like a match in a fuel tank. Citing National Insurance Crime Bureau figures, a Los Angeles Times story says car owners are resorting to nefarious means to put an end to burdensome car loans. In the first quarter of the year, suspicious fires or arson were up 27 percent for the first quarter of the year and cases of intentionally destroyed cars shot up 24 percent. More » -
Looking for updates in the New Zealand bank error fugitives case? According to various news reports. the couple have split up to evade capture, the sister who posted the fateful Facebook message is back in New Zealand, and the couple face seven years in jail once they are caught.
Meanwhile, the bank has started legal action against the Macau casino where the couple had what was presumably a very, very nice time. [The Sun] [NZ Herald} [Sydney Morning Herald]
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credit cards
Credit Card Processors Launch A New Strategy To Defeat Theft
This fall, credit card processors will being rolling out a new approach to preventing data theft, based on the assumption that it's impossible to thwart every attack. Instead of keeping 100% of criminals out, they'll segment and encrypt the data into such small chunks that it will no longer be a cost-effective crime. More »
12:41 PM on Tue May 26 2009
By Chris Walters
0 views, 21 commentsMost discussed johnva: I'm surprised none of them have this sort of thing already. Well, actually I'm not that surprised, given the fact more »
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stupid criminals
New Zealand Bank Error Fugitives Foiled By Facebook Status Update
You know how it goes. You go out and have too many beers, then post a Facebook update with a bit too much information about your evening. Maybe you take it down once you sober up the next day, but not before the damage is done.
Then, if you're Aroha Hurring of New Zealand, Interpol uses your status update to track down you, your sister, her boyfriend, and the millions of dollars his bank mistakenly deposited in his account. More »
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tampering
Man Who Poisoned Children In Campbell's Soup Fraud Sentenced To 100 Years
In January 2006, William Cunningham laced soup with lighter fluid, peppers, and eventually Prozac and Amitriptyline, then fed it to his 18-month-old daughter and 3-year-old son. He then claimed the soup had been tampered with and threatened to sue Campbell Soup if they didn't pay up. Yesterday he was sentenced to 100 years in prison. More » -
fake bills
Sprint Customer Receives Fake-Looking Phone Bill
Update: Lloyd, a Sprint "Customer Experience" Manager, wrote in to let us know that the bill below is indeed legitimate: More » -
phishing
Here's A Phishing Site Disguised To Trick Wells Fargo Customers
Freddie writes that his friend was tricked by a phishing email. All the warning signs were there to tip off his friend—an email saying he needed to click a link, a suspicious url, a page asking for his login info—but he clicked and entered the info anyway. Please do not be like Freddie's friend, who is now probably on the phone with the real Wells Fargo trying to get his account number changed. More » -
ponzi schemes
Frontline Investigates Bernie Madoff
PBS's documentary show FRONTLINE took on Bernie Madoff this week, exposing the history of his operation and how the SEC let him slip through their fingers. More » -
crime
New York ATM Skimmer Crooks Stole $1.8 Million
Four Romanian nationals in Florida have been charged in a series of ATM skimmer frauds that targeted banks in New York City, Cicero (near Syracuse), NY, and Rochester, NY. They are charged with, among other things, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit credit card fraud. According to the Syracuse office of the Secret Service, they stole $1.8 million overall. More » -
identification
Breaking
Who pays for a six-piece McNugget with a$20$50 At McDonald's? Get Ready To Show Some ID$20$50 bill? Counterfeiters, that's who, and the McDonald's near Madison Square Garden is ready for them. Sorry guys, you're going to have to ask Wendy's to anonymously break your shadily large bills. More » -
apologies
Former Domino's YouTube Gross Out Girl Can't Get A Job Now
Kristy Hammonds, the woman who filmed her friend Michael doing inappropriate things to the food they were supposed to be preparing, needs a job to feed her two kids. She says she's been trying to get work at other fast food restaurants, though, which might be part of the problem. More » -
crime
8 Million Patient Records Stolen From Virginia State Database, Held For Ransom
The Washington Post says that a hacker encrypted 8 million patient prescription records from a Virginia state website last week, deleted the backups, and replaced the home page with a ransom note. If the state doesn't pay $10 million within 7 days, the hacker has threatened to sell the data to the highest bidder. More » -
weights and measures
Is Kohl's Systemically Overcharging Customers?
Don't walk out of Kohl's without first double-checking your receipt. The store apparently has a penchant for overcharging customers, according to the Sacramento County Department of Weights and Measures, which fined the chain $2,000 for repeatedly failing surprise inspections. CBS sent an enterprising reporter to see how long it would take for them to uncover a pricing discrepancy of their own. Almost immediately, they found a woman who was charged $64.99 for a pair of shoes marked $59.99. More » -
walmart
"Box Of Rocks" Scam Caught On Walmart Security Camera
Here's another "I bought a box of rocks!" story, only this time there's proof that the victim wasn't pulling a dirty trick on Walmart. Instead, it was someone before her who bought and then returned a Nintendo DS, only they swapped out the unit with rocks before making the return. More »
crime
New York, 1:48 PM
Sat Jul 4
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