When you’re about to get caught with something you shouldn’t have, trying to get rid of that evidence is only natural. But while flushing that joint down the toilet before your mom catches you in the act makes sense, destroying millions of dollars worth of precious art seems like a pretty extreme reaction. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Report: Treasury Secretary Nominee Mnuchin Misled Senate About Robo-Signed Foreclosures
By 1.30.17
Steve Mnuchin, President Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, recently told members of the Senate Finance Committee that his former bank OneWest did not use the illegal practice of “robo-signing” when foreclosing on homeowners after the collapse of the housing bubble. However, a new report claims that OneWest repeatedly used robo-signed documents on foreclosures. [More]
New Hacker Trick: Locking All Hotel Guests Out Of Rooms, Demanding Ransom
By 1.30.17
Ransomware is a type of malware that infects computers and smartphones, encrypting the data on them and locking up the device, making it unusable. This is pretty bad when it happens to your personal device and you have no backup, but imagine an entire hotel full of guests locked out of their rooms because the hotel staff has been locked out of the computer system. [More]
Feds Sue Debt Relief Law Firm For Charging Customers Illegal Fees
By 1.30.17
Nearly four years ago, federal regulators shut down a debt relief company — Morgan Drexen — accused of deceiving customers with promises of reducing their debt and charging illegal upfront fees to do so. While that company eventually paid $170 million to resolve the allegations, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Monday sued a related company using the same playbook. [More]
Industry, ISPs End Controversial “Six Strikes” Copyright Alert System
By 1.30.17
Since the Napster era began in 1999, content creators and distributors have really, really hated it when you share their stuff online without paying up. Industry groups have tried many ways to stem the tide but one, a four-year-old cooperative alert system, is being scrapped after basically proving not to work. [More]
Maintenance Workers Find 31 Pounds Of Cocaine Hidden In Nose Of American Airlines Plane
By 1.30.17
Though it’s not uncommon to hear that someone shoved an ungodly amount of cocaine nose-ward, it’s an entirely different story when it’s 31 pounds of the stuff that’s been hidden in the nose gear of a commercial airliner. [More]
Feds Say Ponzi Scheme Promised Big Profits From Reselling ‘Hamilton’ & Adele Tickets
By 1.27.17
A business that promises huge returns on resold tickets to hot Broadway shows like Hamilton or concerts featuring big-ticket names like Adele might seem like a worthwhile investment, but federal prosecutors say victims lost millions as part of an alleged Ponzi scheme involving secondary market tickets to popular events. [More]
If A Telemarketer Or Robocall Asks “Can You Hear Me?” Just Hang Up; It’s A Scam
By 1.27.17 — Updated: 2.1.17
It’s a bad idea to ever use the word “yes” when talking to any telemarketer, but with the latest version of an old scam, saying “yes” can quite literally come back to haunt you. [More]
Tech Support Scammer Calls Tech Expert, Gets Trolled For Two Hours
By 1.27.17
Computers are everywhere, and lots of people don’t know very much about their inner workings. That creates an ample playground for scammers who use a combination of social engineering and scary-sounding words in order to bilk people out of money, or even sensitive data. The scammers are legion, and so, unfortunately are targets… but when one scammer recently tried to pull one over on a tech expert with time to kill, the tables were briefly turned. [More]
Even Police Can Fall Victim To Card Skimming Devices
By 1.26.17
You might think that you’re too savvy to be tricked into slipping your credit card into a skimming device that steals your account info, but you’re probably not. Just ask the Indiana State Police, whose troopers were fooled by one skimmer, and who are now using the incident as a teachable moment for everyone. [More]
Feds: Fraudsters Claimed To Own $17M Worth Of Property, Preyed On Tenants
By 1.26.17
There’s a lot of work that goes in to owning a property and renting it out to tenants, but in return, landlords can charge deposits and collect rent. Two Florida residents took the “work” part out of the equation, federal prosecutors claim, and instead just pretended they owned $17 million worth of property so they could demand money from tenants. [More]
Burger King Manager, Employee Allegedly Ran Drug Operation Through Drive-Thru Window
By 1.26.17
Customers ordering “fries extra crispy” at a New Hampshire Burger King were apparently getting more than crunchy potato sticks. Authorities say they arrested two employees of the fast food restaurant for allegedly running a drug operation. [More]
For-Profit Prisons Could See Boost With Trump’s Executive Order To Open New Detention Centers
By 1.25.17
While much of today’s news about President Trump’s latest executive order is the directive to build his often-promised wall along the border between Mexico and the U.S., the order also directs the federal government to get to work immediately on building — or contracting out — detention centers along that border, providing a potential boon to the for-profit prison industry. [More]
Here’s What $20M Cash Stuffed Inside A Box Spring Looks Like
By 1.24.17
It is a rule universally acknowledged in crime writing that if you stash your ill-gotten gains under the mattress, someone is eventually going to find it. Just like the $20 million in cash hidden in a box spring that federal agents found in Massachusetts this week. [More]
Should Microsoft Be Allowed To Tells Its Users When Government Searches Their Data?
By 1.23.17
If the police serve a search warrant on your home, you know, but if law enforcement searches your cloud-stored files, you’ll probably have no idea — and companies like Microsoft are currently forbidden from telling you. That’s why the tech giant is suing the Justice Department, but can Microsoft even bring this lawsuit? [More]
Former Wells Fargo Employees: Borrowers Forced To Pay For Bank’s Mortgage Delays
By 1.23.17
Even though you can now get an initial approval for a home loan in a few minutes, the actual underwriting process can take so long that the interest rate you were promised at the beginning has since increased. If the delay is the borrower’s fault, they can usually pay a hefty fee to extend that lower rate, but if the bank caused the delay, it usually eats that charge. However, some former Wells Fargo workers say the bank forced borrowers to pay for these rate extensions even when it was Wells’ fault. [More]
Apple Sues Qualcomm For $1B Over Alleged Antitrust Violations
By 1.20.17
Days after federal regulators sued smartphone and device chip maker Qualcomm accusing it of antitrust violations, one of the company’s largest customers, Apple, is following suit, seeking $1 billion in damages. [More]
Man Pleads Guilty To Groping Teen On American Airlines Flight
By 1.20.17 — Updated: 1.23.17
Seven months after an Oregon man was accused of groping a 13-year-old girl traveling alone on an American Airlines flight, the man has pleaded guilty. [More]
