Earlier this week, we posted about the public adjusters and contractors who show up at the scene of a house fire, often before all of the flames are even out. Reader Josh’s family has been through a fire recently, and he wrote in to warn people about a whole different set of entrepreneurs who might stop by your home after a fire…looters. [More]
After A House Fire, Watch Out For Actual Criminals, Not Just Scummy Contractors
By May 24, 2013
Criminal Breaks Into Blogger's Home, Steals Everything But Wii
By April 26, 2011
In perhaps the most telling evidence yet that it’s time for Nintendo to release that new console it just announced, a robber ransacked a video game journalist’s home, stealing everything but his Wii. [More]
Alleged Shoplifter Stabs Home Depot Employee With Scissors, Flees At 100 MPH
By February 24, 2011
When an alleged shoplifter was caught at a New Hampshire Home Depot store, loss prevention staff brought him to the front office to speak with him, which is the normal procedure. As police put it, though, “the subject became agitated” and fled the store: stabbing an employee in the hand with a pair of scissors, and losing police in a high-speed chase that apparently reached 100 MPH. [More]
iPhones Help Cops Solve Crimes By Capturing Everything You Type, Do
By August 7, 2010
Cops love finding iPhones at crime scenes because the phones carry so much priceless data about your usage habits, or as the cops call it, evidence. That email you typed months back about feeling stabby when you drink? It’s still there because there because the iPhone captures everything you type to help fuel its spellcheck abilities—even emails you thought you deleted. And that’s not all. [More]
Your Feeble Security Is No Match For The Dark Side
By July 23, 2010
So, Darth Vader robbed a bank yesterday. Actually, it was just a guy in a Vader costume. How do we know this? Because the real Vader would have sent a minion, or just done the whole thing remotely, using the Force. Come on, people. [More]
TJX Hacker May Have Also Been Working For The Secret Service For $75,000 A Year
By March 23, 2010
Albert Gonzalez, the mastermind behind most of the multi-million dollar credit card breaches in the past few years, is being sentenced this week. (Feds are asking for 25 years.) Now his former accomplice, Stephen Watt, has told Wired that while Gonzalez was busy stealing and selling credit card data he was also being paid under the table by the U.S. Secret Service to inform on others, earning as much as $75,000 in cash annually. [More]
Alleged ATM Skimmer Crooks Caught Near Boston
By January 30, 2010
The Secret Service has apprehended an alleged ring of ATM skimmer crooks in eastern Massachusetts. The group set up skimmers with pinhole cameras on Bank of America and Citizens Bank ATMs in the greater Boston area. According to authorities, when one of the suspects was caught, he had almost $100,000 in twenties in his possession. [More]
Apple Store Is Efficient And User-Friendly For Thieves
By September 3, 2009
I’ve always found Apple Stores to be open and inviting. A team of thieves in New Jersey evidently agree with me. They smashed the front window of the Promenade at Sagemore store in Marlton, N.J. and cleaned out the display models. How long did it take them to steal 23 Macbook Pros, 14 iPhones, and 9 iPod Touches? Thirty-one seconds. Yes, there’s surveillance video.
Another Sears.com Security Hole Discovered
By September 2, 2009
That Sears website exploit we posted about a couple of weeks ago was funny, mainly because it seemed more embarrassing for Sears than a true security risk. However, an independent security researcher had also discovered a more significant issue with the site—it allowed for an unlimited number of gift card verification attempts via an external script, so a criminal could use the site as a brute force method to identify valid gift cards for Sears and Kmart.
Comcast Installer Robs Check Cashing Store
By July 9, 2009
Hey dumb crooks, if you’re going to rob a place be sure not to wear a uniform with your company’s name on it and drive a van plastered with a nationally recognized logo. It makes it really easy for the police to catch you. On second thought, do just that, please.
Some SSNs Can Be Guessed Using Birthdate And Location, Say Researchers
By July 7, 2009
It turns out our Social Security numbering system, which launched in 1936, isn’t very foolproof against some types of hacking. The New York Times reports that researchers at Carnegie Mellon University “used statistical techniques to predict Social Security numbers solely from an individual’s date and location of birth.”
$10 Million Bank Error In New Zealand Leads To International Manhunt
By May 22, 2009
Leo Gao, the co-owner of a BP station in Rotorua, New Zealand, applied for a $10,000 NZD ($6,142 USD) overdraft line from Westpac bank. An error by a bank staff member somehow put $10,000,000 NZD ($6,139,614 USD) in his account. He and his business partner haven’t been heard from since.
Fake Dunkin' Donuts Employee Sneaks Into Stores, Steals Purses
By May 14, 2009
If you live in Fall River, Massachusetts, and work at one of the town’s Dunkin’ Donuts stores, watch out for fake employees! A woman has been walking into the DD stores dressed in an employee uniform and going into the back, where she promptly steals real employees’ purses. When confronted at one of the stores, the thief told the workers that “she was there to pick up beans for another store and a note should have been left on the manager’s door.” When the employees went to look for the note, she left.
Here's A Phishing Site Disguised To Trick Wells Fargo Customers
By May 13, 2009
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.
New York ATM Skimmer Crooks Stole $1.8 Million
By May 12, 2009
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.
Reader Finds Card Skimmer On Bank ATM
By April 6, 2009
Dan says over the weekend he discovered a card skimmer attached to the ATM at his local WaMu branch. He pulled it off and took photos of it.
Bad Idea: Confessing To Your $100,000 A Year Shoplifting Habit On National TV
By April 2, 2009
All the clever shoplifting tricks in the world won’t save you from yourself if you decide to reveal your secrets on Dr. Phil. Last week a fraud task force raided the home of Laura and Matthew Eaton, who appeared on an episode in November to show the audience how they did it and to say they were going straight.
Best Buy Employee Arrested For Stealing Credit Cards
By February 10, 2009
Uh oh, another Best Buy employee has been caught swiping data from customers. Unlike the woman last August who went on small time shopping sprees, this woman was caught using a card reader to swipe and store info on as many as 4,000 customers at the Best Buy store located at 1880 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd in Palm Beach, Florida.
