It’s not an episode of Scooby-Doo* but a recent crime caper in California does sound pretty darn close: A police bloodhound came to the rescue after teens lured a Domino’s delivery driver to an abandoned house and then robbed him of both money and pizza. [More]
Crime & Fraud
How To Avoid Online Puppy Scams That Take Your Money And Do Not Give You A Puppy
By 5.10.17
We know: Those big eyes, huge paws, and soft fur in online puppy ads for popular breeds can be seriously beguiling when you’re looking for a new fuzzy friend. But don’t let the cuteness overload tempt you into falling for a scam that will ultimately leave your arms empty and your wallet hundreds of dollars lighter. [More]
Sheriff Gets 4 Years In Prison For Running E-Cigarette Business Behind Bars
By 5.9.17
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from movies and TV shows about prison, it’s that cigarettes are a popular currency behind bars, and apparently the same holds true for e-cigarettes. But if you’re a sheriff caught running a lucrative e-cig business for prisoners, you could end up one yourself.
[More]
Ponzi Scheme Victims Say PayPal Knew User Was A Scammer
By 5.8.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Victims of a Ponzi scheme that raked in hundreds of millions of dollars allege that online payment system PayPal were aware of the scam operator’s past but turned a blind eye because the company was making so much money from these fraudulent transactions. [More]
Bumble Bee Agrees To Plead Guilty To Tuna Fish Price-Fixing, Pay $25 Million Fine
By 5.8.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Bumble Bee Foods, one of the nation’s largest producers of canned tuna, has agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges that it conspired with competing companies to fix the price of this common pantry seafood item. [More]
Bar Owner Shames Dine-And-Dashers On Facebook, Gets Them To Pay Tab
By 5.8.17
Dining and dashing is never a good idea, but with advances in technology and the power of social media the consequences of such an action are even greater now. To that end: A Wisconsin bar owner was able to shame five diners into paying their tab after calling them out on Facebook. [More]
Woman Accused Of Faking Cancer To Collect $38K From Fundraising Campaign
By 5.5.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
With fundraising campaigns popping up all over online and in social media, it’s not always easy to tell the real causes from the fake. Officials in Alabama say one woman faked cancer and scammed charitable givers out of $38,000. [More]
Why Are People Still Stealing Old Cooking Grease From Restaurants?
By 5.4.17
Way back in 1998, in an episode titled “Lard of the Dance,” Homer and Bart Simpson became grease bandits, draining local restaurants of their used fryer oil and reselling it for a profit. Two decades later, folks are still imitating these animated grease grabbers, stealing oil from eateries and selling it to be refined into biodiesel. [More]
Don’t Jump Into The Giant Fish Tank At Bass Pro Shops Just Because You Can
By 5.1.17
Much like fountains, aquariums, zoos and other places where the public can come into contact with lots of water, the fish tank at your local sporting goods shop is not intended to be your personal swimming hole, even if it’s large enough for you to jump into. [More]
Supreme Court Says Cities Can Sue Banks Over Fair Housing Violations
By 5.1.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that cities are allowed to sue banks for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act if the city is able to show that it was harmed by a bank’s discriminatory actions. [More]
Flower Shop Owner Accused Of Stealing Plants From Cemetery
By 4.28.17
You might walk past a grave and see a beautiful bouquet of flowers and think “Those would look good in my living room,” but (we’re hoping) you don’t follow through on the impulse for free flora. However, one florist has been accused of repeatedly stealing plants and flowers from local grave sites. [More]
It’s Disturbingly Easy To Reroute Someone Else’s Mail
By 4.28.17
The U.S. Postal Service has made the process of changing your address when you move super easy and convenient, by just filling out a form online and paying $1. Maybe that’s not so good, though: The process is so easy that an identity thief can redirect your mall to their address by just filling out a form online and paying $1. [More]
Wells Fargo Shareholders Say Bank Staff “Rounded Up” Undocumented Workers As Part Of Phony Account Scam
By 4.27.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
We’re all well aware by this point that Wells Fargo employees opened up more than 2 million bogus accounts in customers’ names in order to game the bank’s sales incentive/quota system. Some former bank staffers revealed what they claim are some of the tricks used to create these fake accounts — including rounding up undocumented day laborers at convenience stores and construction sites to get them to sign up for accounts (only to then allegedly give them additional accounts they didn’t ask for). [More]
77-Year-Old Insurance Agent Pleads Guilty To Conning Customers Out Of $8.2M
By 4.27.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
A Pennsylvania insurance agent could spend more than five years in prison after pleading guilty for his part in a scheme that swindled millions of dollars from customers. [More]
New Home Depot Data Leak Exposes Gap In Consumer Privacy Protection
By 4.27.17 — Updated: 4.28.17
Recently, Consumerist received an anonymous tip pointing to an internet address that hosted digital images of bathtubs, garage doors, kitchen countertops, contractors at work on various projects, and customers picking out and paying for products in a home-center store. The site also hosted 13 Excel spreadsheets of customer records, including the full names, phone numbers, mailing addresses and email addresses of approximately 8,000 people, as well as other information chronicling the apparent installation complaints of each customer. [More]
Google, Facebook Employees Targeted In $100M Phishing Scam
By 4.27.17
When the Justice Department recently said that two major tech companies had paid out a total of $100 million to a scammer posing as a hardware manufacturer, it chose to not name the businesses that had been conned. But now, both Google and Facebook are confirming that they were the ones victimized by this phishing scheme. [More]
Uber Driver Charged With Raping Passenger
By 4.27.17
An Uber driver in California has been charged with raping a female passenger in his car in March, after he picked her up from a company function. [More]
Apple Store Thieves Run Off With $24K In Useless Products
By 4.26.17
If you’ve browsed an Apple Store recently, you may notice that the display devices are no longer tethered to their docks or tables. That’s because new security measures mean that the devices don’t work outside of the store. Maybe no one told the five young men who ran off with with more than 20 devices that can only really be used as pretty paperweights. [More]
