Home Depot’s legal battles over the massive 2014 data breach that saw millions of customers’ card accounts compromised may finally be nearing an end, with news that the home repair retailer has reached a deal that will pay $25 million to banks and credit unions who had to help mop up Home Depot’s mess. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Verifone, Largest Maker Of Card Payment Terminals, Targeted By Hack
By 3.7.17
Verifone, the company behind many of the payment systems you see at retailers across the country, is reportedly the latest hack attack victim. [More]
Maybe Don’t Answer Calls From These Area Codes If You Don’t Want To Be Scammed
By 3.7.17 — Updated: 3.8.17
Yesterday, in honor of National Consumer Protection Week, we highlighted four scams consumers should be aware of in order to keep their money. One way to avoid some of these telephone-based scams is to just avoid picking up the phone at all when receiving calls from certain area codes. [More]
4 Scams You Should Always Be Aware Of
By 3.6.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
In honor of National Consumer Protection Week — don’t worry; we forgot to get you a gift too — we wanted to take a few moments to remind everyone of some of the most common scams so that they can do their best to avoid them. [More]
Watch Out: That “Free” Trial Of Wrinkle Cream Could Cost You Big Bucks
By 3.6.17
It’s always good to keep in mind that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Like an empty subway car on a hot summer day, or the email telling you you’ve just inherited millions from a dead Nigerian king. Or an offer for a “free” trial of beauty cream that ends up actually costing you hundreds of dollars. [More]
Uber Used Secret Tool To Avoid Regulators & Law Enforcement Worldwide
By 3.3.17
Uber has had this habit of deploying its app and drivers cities where, strictly speaking, using Uber may not yet be legal. You’d think it would be easy for law enforcement in those cities to nab rogue Ubers: Just use the app to hail a car and arrest or cite whoever shows up. However, it looks like Uber figured out how to sidestep these snares. [More]
FTC: Businesses Could Be Doing More To Protect Customers From Phishing, But Aren’t
By 3.3.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
You probably know the danger signs of a phishing message when it arrives in your inbox: It impersonates a company that you don’t do business with, mentions a transaction that didn’t happen, or has blatant spelling or grammatical errors. The Federal Trade Commission, though, notes that businesses that contact consumers online could implement simple steps to keep phishing messages from us in the first place. They just don’t. [More]
New Legislation Seeks To End Federal Ban On Marijuana
By 3.2.17
The same week that the White House likened legalized recreational marijuana to the opioid epidemic, and let it be known that the Justice Department will likely begin cracking down on non-medical pot, a Republican Congressman from Virginia introduced a law that, if passed, would put an end to the federal criminalization of marijuana. [More]
Airport Worker Accused Of Stealing Guns From Travelers, Trading Them For Pot
By 3.2.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Whenever you check your bag before a flight, you’re putting a high degree of trust in airport staff that they won’t help themselves to the things inside. Yet another baggage handler has been accused of violating that trust, allegedly stealing guns out of travelers’ bags to trade for drugs. [More]
Wells Fargo Tries, Fails To Explain Why Customers Shouldn’t Be Allowed To Sue Over Fake Accounts
By 3.1.17
Wells Fargo has admitted that thousands of its employees opened fake, unauthorized accounts in customers’ names, but the bank is doing everything it can to prevent these wronged customers from having their day in court. We asked Wells Fargo to explain why it believes hundreds of thousands of Americans shouldn’t be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to sue. The bank’s response made little sense (unless you’re a Wells Fargo executive). [More]
Former NFL Player Will Allen Sentenced To 6 Years For Ponzi Scheme
By 3.1.17
Will Allen, a former first-round draft pick for the New York Giants who also played for the Miami Dolphins (and was technically a member of the New England Patriots, though he never played a game), has been sentenced, along to six years behind bars for his part in a Ponzi scheme that authorities say swindled $35 million from investors who thought they were lending money to pro athletes. [More]
19 People Indicted For Money Laundering, CEO Scams, Imaginary Car Scams
By 3.1.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Have you ever wondered about the people who lurk behind scam emails asking for mysterious wire transfers, or who post ads for suspiciously cheap cars that never materialize after the buyer sends a payment? Today, the Department of Justice outed a few of these unscrupulous types, indicting 19 people for allegedly laundering money and perpetrating a variety of international financial scams. [More]
Wells Fargo Won’t Pay $32M In Bonuses & Equity To Top Execs
By 3.1.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Prior to his “retirement” as CEO of Wells Fargo, John Stumpf said he would forgo his salary and bonus for 2016 as penance for the bank’s fake account fiasco. Now, fast forward several months, and the bank’s board has decided to take away millions in extra money that was supposed to go to new CEO Tim Sloan and other top executives. [More]
Samsung Vice Chair, Four Others Indicted On Bribery & Embezzlement Charges
By 2.28.17
A week after a South Korean court approved a warrant for the arrest of Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee in connection with a bribery case, the executive and four others were officially indicted. [More]
Here’s A Snap-On Bluetooth Skimmer Spotted Out In The Wild
By 2.27.17
Have you ever wondered how a retailer can leave a Bluetooth skimmer on a payment card terminal in its stores for weeks at a time? It’s harder to detect the devices than you might think, because crooks have their own places to shop for spare parts that snap right on a payment terminal and are hard to spot if you aren’t looking for them. [More]
We Dissected This Fake News Site Linking Denzel, Stephen Hawking To Brain-Boosting Pills
By 2.27.17
For years, marketers of sketchy dietary supplements have cooked up fake news websites and used bogus “reporters” to push their product online. But we stumbled on one site that quadruples down on the fiction, attributing utterly made-up endorsements to bona fide stars of stage, screen, sports, and science. [More]
Police: Florida Man Interprets “Test Drive” As “Free $150K Maserati”
By 2.24.17
If you sell cars, you’ve probably had your share of jokes from “hilarious” customers who crack wise about making off with the car they are test-driving, but most car-shoppers are indeed only joking about committing grand theft auto. Then there’s the Florida man accused of using a test drive to help himself to a $150,000 Maserati. [More]
White House May Crack Down On Recreational Marijuana
By 2.23.17
Even though federal law currently prohibits the Justice Department from using any of the funding it receives from Congress to prosecute medical marijuana in 40 states (and D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico), no law blocks the DOJ from going after recreational marijuana operations, even in the growing number of states where it’s been legalized. This afternoon, the White House likened recreational pot use to the opioid epidemic and hinted that it may opt to crack down on non-medical pot. [More]
