There’s a downside to media reports of airport mayhem. In Detroit, destination of the flight on which a failed alleged terrorist attack took place on Christmas Day, passengers expect additional security screening and are showing up early. Too early. Early enough that they’re screwing up the entire flight schedule. [More]
How Cons Steal Your ATM Card
By December 15, 2009
The Real Hustle shows two methods fraudsters can use to jack your ATM card and PIN. The first is the skimming method most of us are familiar with. The second is a lo-tech distraction-based method that, while interesting, seems a little higher risk than most card thieves are willing to put up with. [More]
The Truth About Walmart's Super-Secret Data Center
By December 11, 2009
Reader humphrmi thinks he knows what’s up with Walmart’s giant unmarked datacenter, photos of which we posted recently. It’s a truth SO REVEALING that it may make you go, “Oh, that makes sense.” [More]
Flyby And Driveby Photos Of Walmart's Super-Secret Data Center
By December 9, 2009
Have you ever seen these crazy Walmarts ginormous data center in Missouri? Airplanes and the Google Maps Streetview car have. Dubbed, “Area 71,” the facility is built on bedrock so it can withstand numerous kind of disasters. Four years ago, their Bentonville, Arkansas HQ was said to have 460+ terabytes of storage. This is an auxilary facility in Missouri, located 15 miles from their HQ. It’s gotta have something in the peta or exabytes. Wonder what they use all that for? More pix inside. Leave your crackpot conspiracy theories in the comments. [More]
PayPal Abandons Another Scammed Seller
By December 8, 2009
Todd got ripped off by a scammer on an eBay purchase. He made sure to insure the device before shipping it off via the United States Postal Service, but it turns out that an insurance claim won’t help him get PayPal to step up. [More]
Sprint Gives Stranger Full Access To Customer's Account, Shrugs
By November 20, 2009
When Campbell changed his phone number with Sprint earlier this year, the company immediately assigned his old number to a new customer. They also gave that customer full access to Campbell’s account.
Walmart Goes Crazy On Couple Suspected Of Shoplifting
By November 6, 2009
Walmart can try to spin itself as being on the side of good all it wants, but if it ever suspects you of shoplifting, you may find that you’re powerless to fight back. In the case of a couple accused of shoplifting some Bic lighters in Niles, Michigan this past August, Walmart detained them, the police came and cuffed one of them, their two kids were taken to a security room, and—after a review of security footage proved the couple’s innocence—they were banned for life from all Walmarts. To top it off, Walmart’s legal team has sent the couple a letter asking to be reimbursed for 10 times the value of the lighters, even though the police determined no shoplifting had taken place.
iPhone App Developer Sued For Stealing Users' Phone Numbers
By November 6, 2009
For secretly stealing users’ phone number by exploiting a backdoor iPhone vulnerability, app developer Storm8 got slapped with a class action lawsuit.
Selling Alarm Systems After Murders: Helpful Or Opportunist?
By November 4, 2009
About a month ago, a mother and daughter were chosen at random and brutally attacked in their home in small-town New Hampshire. The daughter survived, but the mother did not. And within days of this tragedy, ADT sales reps began going door-to-door to sell alarm systems.
Baby Too Boring? Watch The Neighbor's Baby With This Monitor
By November 3, 2009
If you buy the Summer Infant Day and Night Video Monitor, you might want to make sure your neighbors haven’t also got one, or else they’ll have a secret window into your newborn’s room.
Database Bug At Woot Leaves Reader Wary Of Ordering
By October 31, 2009
Robear wanted to order from shirt.woot, but something strange happened when he went to register. After choosing a username and entering his e-mail address, he noticed that all of the forms were pre-populated with another customer’s information…including that user’s credit card information. He contacted Woot to try to find out what could have happened, but Woot either hasn’t figured it out yet, or just isn’t responding. (UPDATE: Response from Woot below.)
Kindle Fees Trigger Fraud Alert On Visa Card
By October 28, 2009
Considering the growing amount of credit card fraud, it’s not surprising that banks are becoming more and more vigilant about identifying suspicious transactions. It’s too bad they haven’t been as successful at filtering out false positives or promptly notifying customers, as James Fallows at The Atlantic recently discovered when he got his account frozen for sending files to his Kindle.
State Job Website Has Great Opportunities For Self-Starting Identity Thieves
By October 26, 2009
CBS 5 exposed a “gaping hole” in the code of California’s state-run employment website that allows anyone who views the site to access and modify other users’ resumes and personal info simply by changing some numbers in the URL.
Home Depot Needs To Check Your Receipt "In Case You Stole Something"
By October 19, 2009
Rather than make up some line about needing to make sure customers receive everything they paid for, Home Depot is now openly treating its customers like shoplifters.
United: Bad Toilet Timing Leads To Delay, Arrests
By September 28, 2009
Two passengers were arrested on a United flight from LA to New York after one of them jumped up and ran to the bathroom after being instructed to remain seated by a flight attendant. Apparently the man just needed to use the bathroom — like now.
American Express Wants You To Use Lame Passwords
By September 24, 2009
We’re no longer indignant about Amex’s weirdly lax security policies anymore, we’re just confused. Why would a major credit card company cold call new customers and insist they give up bank and address info over the phone, or email sensitive data to strangers? Or, we just learned, demand that you use a lame password that isn’t case sensitive, is only 6 to 8 characters long, and can’t contain special characters?
Direct Marketing Association's Opt Out Website Is A Joke
By September 24, 2009
Jonathan wanted to opt out everyone in his family from direct marketing campaigns, something the DMA promises is possible via their website. Surprise! It turns out the DMA doesn’t really care so much about whether or not you want to be taken off any mailing lists, and they have a rotten website and poor security protocols to prove it.
SoCalGas' Password Policy Makes Passwords Pointless
By September 23, 2009
We’re not sure why a company would bother with offering a password feature on their customer accounts if they disable them without warning 3 months later as a matter of policy, but that’s how Southern California Gas Company rolls. Does it really matter, you ask? It might if you’re a victim of domestic violence.
