For years, Consumerist has written about unscrupulous debt collectors that have attempted — sometimes successfully — to collect thousands of dollars from consumers who don’t actually owe a debt. This type of scheme is apparently alive and well in Illinois, where investigators say the ploy is one of the most popular for alleged con artists preying on residents, prompting the state’s Attorney General to file suit against at least one such operation. [More]
Crime & Fraud
FBI Attorney: Tech Companies Are Helping Dumb Criminals By Providing Quality Encryption
By 2.9.17
Much of the debate about encrypted devices and messaging services has been centered on more sophisticated criminal or terrorist activities, where the people involved are actively searching out ways to avoid detection by law enforcement. However, the FBI’s top attorney contends that tech companies may be inadvertently giving dimwitted crooks a leg up by making quality encryption so widely available. [More]
Arby’s Admits Malware Infection And Credit Card Breach At Hundreds Of Restaurants
By 2.9.17
The last time you satisfied your craving for seasoned curly fries at Arby’s, did you use a credit or debit card? It’s time to start watching your statements for fraudulent transactions and also to watch your mailbox for a new card: Arby’s announced a payment card breach at a few hundred of its restaurants. [More]
Office Of Government Ethics Website Overwhelmed After White House Push For “Ivanka’s Stuff”
By 2.9.17 — Updated: 2.10.17
Following this morning’s comment by White House special adviser Kellyanne Conway that people “Go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” the U.S. Office of Government Ethics says its website was pushed offline by the apparent rush of people looking to voice their opinion on the matter. [More]
White House Staffer Kellyanne Conway Encourages People To “Go Buy Ivanka’s Stuff”
By 2.9.17
In the wake of multiple stores dropping or de-emphasizing Ivanka Trump’s women’s clothing line, a senior White House official went on TV this morning to tell people to “Go out and buy Ivanka’s stuff.” [More]
Alibaba Says Companies Are Filing Fake Claims About Counterfeit Products
By 2.9.17
Five months ago, designer brands complained that Alibaba wasn’t doing enough to rid its site of counterfeiters. Now, the e-commerce megasite claims that it’s being victimized by fakes — not bogus products, but allegedly false complaints about vendors selling counterfeit products. [More]
Why You Should Care That All FCC Settlements Must Now Go Through Full Commission Vote
By 2.8.17 — Updated: 2.9.17
New FCC chair Ajit Pai is a very busy man. After only a few weeks sitting behind the big desk, he’s killed off cable set-top box reform, abandoned rate caps on prison calls, scuttled Lifeline expansion, and decided violating net neutrality (which he hates) through zero-rating is officially not the FCC’s problem. Having accomplished all those goals, Pai is now targeting the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau, potentially making it more difficult to hold wrongdoing telecom companies accountable. [More]
Feds Ask Victims Of Nigerian Internet Scam To Step Forward
By 2.8.17 — Updated: 2.10.17
Did the “love of your life” scam thousand of dollars from you? Did someone promise that you could make the big bucks working from home? If you answered yes to one of these schemes, federal regulators may be looking for you following the conviction of three Nigerian nationals who allegedly scammed thousands of consumers with internet-based financial fraud schemes. [More]
My Identity Was Stolen, Then TransUnion Let The Fraudster Unfreeze My Accounts
By 2.8.17
One of the smart things to do when your identity has been stolen is to contact the three major credit reporting agencies — TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian — to discuss placing a temporary fraud alert and credit freeze on your accounts. But as one Consumerist reader found out, all it takes to remove those restrictions is the same information that any good ID thief already knows about you. [More]
Dressing Marijuana Up As Fruit Is Apparently The New Trend In Illegal Drug Shipping
By 2.8.17
Drug-busting has had a particularly fruity theme in Texas lately, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have recently uncovered large loads of marijuana disguised as innocent produce. [More]
5-Hour Energy Ordered To Pay $4.3 Million For Deceptive Ads
By 2.8.17
Four months after a Washington state court ruled that the maker of the popular 5-Hour Energy drink had misled consumers into believing that its product was superior to caffeine, the judge has ordered the company to pay a total of $4.3 million. [More]
Feds: Drug Company Delayed Cheaper Generics By Flooding The FDA With Paperwork
By 2.7.17 — Updated: 2.12.17
Given that a brand-name prescription drug stands to lose a significant chunk of its market share once a lower-price generic becomes available, you can understand why a drug company would want to do anything it can to delay the cheaper alternative, even if you disagree with their intentions. We’ve seen companies accused of paying millions to stave off competition through alleged “pay for delay” deals, and we’ve also seen examples of “product hopping” to prevent competitors from entering the field. Now here’s another method for keeping generics off the market: allegedly flooding the Food and Drug Administration with pointless paperwork. [More]
Gold’n Plump Worker Charged With Feeding Sand & Soil To Chickens
By 2.7.17 — Updated: 2.9.17
Nearly a year after Minnesota-based Gold’n Plump (GNP) recalled more than 55,000-pounds of chicken when sand and black soil was mysteriously found on the products, a former plant worker faces two felony charges for the incident. [More]
Legal Fund Accused Of Deceiving 9/11 First Responders & NFL Players Out Of Settlement Payments
By 2.7.17 — Updated: 2.8.17
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the state of New York have accused a New Jersey company of defrauding customers — including Sept. 11 first responders and former NFL players suffering from long-term brain injuries — into signing away millions of dollars in settlement payouts. [More]
Odds Against Tom Brady’s Stolen Super Bowl Jersey Ending Up On eBay
By 2.7.17
There are a few things that shouldn’t need to be said, and yet, someone ends up saying it anyway. Like, “Resistance is futile,” “One does not simply walk into Mordor,” or, “You won’t get away with selling Tom Brady’s missing Super Bowl jersey on eBay.” [More]
House Passes Bill Requiring Warrants For Searching Older Emails
By 2.7.17
The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a second attempt at new legislation that would update existing federal laws to require that law enforcement obtain a warrant in order to remotely search files that are older than six months. [More]
Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental Hotels Confirms Payment Card Breach
By 2.6.17
In December, several banks had identified hospitality giant InterContinental Hotels Group as the common link among customers with otherwise unrelated fraudulent credit card transactions. InterContinental is now confirming the breach and releasing information on which of its hotels’ restaurants and bars were affected. [More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Says Rewards Accounts Being Attacked Using Data Stolen Elsewhere
By 2.6.17 — Updated: 2.7.17
Here’s another example of why you should take experts’ advice when they say not to use the same password on multiple sites: Hackers have been apparently been attempting to breach accounts of Toys ‘R’ Us rewards program members using data they got from other hacks. [More]
