Try, try, and try again, and eventually you’re bound to get it right. Or at least that appears to be the case for Volkswagen and regulators who have finally reached a deal to fix thousands of diesel vehicles equipped with so-called “defeat devices” that skirt federal emissions standards. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Ransomware Spreading Onto Smart TVs, Is A Pain To Fix
By 1.6.17 — Updated: 1.7.17
Streaming TV has been a boon for consumers. Programming is everywhere, right at our fingertips, as soon as we get our screens online. But that connectivity comes with a big risk: wherever there’s an internet connection, there’s a possibility for bad guys to show up. And now they are showing up in the real world, holding TV sets hostage with ransomware and demanding cash to let you access your own stuff. [More]
Uber User Claims Driver Beat Him And Left Him In “Pool Of Blood On The Pavement”
By 1.6.17
Increasingly popular ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft continue to be dogged by allegations of bad behavior by the drivers who use these popular platforms to connect with customers. The latest incident involves an Uber driver accused of assaulting a passenger after refusing to take him to his destination. [More]
Don’t Use Your ATM Card During A Bank Robbery Unless You Want To Get Caught
By 1.5.17
There are crimes that stymy, mystify, and otherwise confound veteran detectives for decades. And then there the crimes that are almost too easy to solve, thanks to the overly helpful, not quite so bright criminals that commit them. Like the would-be bank robber in San Diego who demanded money from a bank teller, but not until after he’d swiped his ATM card, providing the bank with everything needed to identify him. [More]
Lottery Players Want A Refund For Buying Losing Tickets To Rigged Games
By 1.4.17
The fallout of a rigged lottery scheme perpetrated by the former director of security for Des Moines-based Multi-State Lottery Association continues in the form of a lawsuit from hundreds of thousands of people who want refunds for their losing tickets. [More]
Convict Sues Verizon For $72M For Allowing Him To Commit ID Theft
By 1.4.17
A Florida man serving ten years in prison for fraud and theft is now suing Verizon Wireless, claiming the company was negligent by not preventing him from using the company’s wireless service and products to commit his his latest identity theft. [More]
Equifax, TransUnion To Pay $23M For Misleading Consumers About Credit Monitoring
By 1.3.17
The nation’s three largest credit reporting agencies — TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian — not only collect consumers’ financial information to assist lenders in gauging whether or not someone is qualified for a loan, fit for a job, or can afford a place to live, they also provide people with credit-related products and resources that are meant to help them keep tabs on or improve their credit. But, according to federal regulators, Equifax and TransUnion haven’t been upfront about the costs and usefulness of these products, and now they’re on the hook for a total $23.1 million in fines and refunds. [More]
Congress Decides Maybe It Shouldn’t Gut Independent Ethics Office (At Least Not Until August)
By 1.3.17
Last night, against the reported wishes of party leadership, Republican members of Congress met behind closed doors to adopt an amendment to the House Rules package that would have effectively neutered an independent Congressional watchdog created in 2008. Following a huge backlash from the public and the President-elect, the lawmakers have now walked back this controversial effort, and will reconsider the change this summer. [More]
Customer Buys $150 Crafting Machine From Walmart; Receives Box Of Potatoes
By 1.3.17
Crafters and scrapbookers across the country are likely familiar with the Cricut, a device that cuts paper into just about any pattern you desire. They probably also know what a potato is, and that the two items aren’t interchangeable. Except, apparently, at Walmart. [More]
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Others Call On Treasury To Make It Easier For Marijuana-Related Businesses To Bank
By 1.3.17
With marijuana now legal — at least for medical purposes — in more than half the states, a small but growing number of federally insured banks have allowed pot retailers and other legitimate marijuana-related businesses to open accounts. Still, some 97% of U.S. banks won’t work with these companies over concerns about the regulatory ramifications, which is why a number of U.S. senators are asking the Treasury Department’s financial crimes division to help the marijuana industry — particularly those businesses that service the industry — move away from being purely cash operations. [More]
Uber Driver Reportedly Saves Woman From Human Trafficking
By 12.29.16
When you see a headline containing the phrase “Uber Driver” it’s rarely good news. In the past, the ridesharing company’s drivers have faced accusations of assaulting, overcharging, and stranding passengers, but today we have a welcome change of pace. Police in California say one Uber driver actually helped to save a teen from a human trafficking ring. [More]
Disruptive Couple Arrested After Forcing Delta Flight To Return To Airport
By 12.29.16
A Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to Los Angeles returned to the gate less than an hour after takeoff Wednesday night when a couple’s spat became too disruptive to continue. [More]
Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental Hotels Investigating Possible Credit Card Breach
By 12.28.16 — Updated: 2.6.17
The Intercontinental Hotels Group — parent company to a number of hotel chains, including Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express — is investigating a possible breach of customers’ payment card data. [More]
No, The FTC Did Not Email You That You’re Under Investigation
By 12.28.16
If the Federal Trade Commission is investigating you or your business, they will not send you an email asking you to click on a link for more information. How do we know that? The Federal Trade Commission says so. [More]
Wells Fargo Customers: Bank’s Contract Can’t Be Used To Allow Illegal Activity
By 12.28.16
Even though Wells Fargo has admitted that bank employees opened millions of fraudulent, unauthorized accounts in customers’ names, the bank has avoided or delayed class-action lawsuits over this fake account fiasco by citing terms in customer contracts that prevent account-holders from bringing lawsuits against Wells. However, one group of customers is arguing that the bank can’t use these contracts to shield itself from being held liable for illegal activity. [More]
Following Richard Marx Heroics, Airline Eases Restrictions On Using Tasers On Unruly Passengers
By 12.27.16
A week after singer Richard Marx criticized Korean Air crew members as being “ill-equipped” to deal with unruly passengers after he helped subdue a fellow traveler on a flight from Vietnam to South Korea, the carrier says it will better train employees and allow them to use stun guns to manage in-flight disturbances. [More]
‘Game Of Thrones’ Still Most-Pirated Show On TV, Despite HBO Efforts
By 12.27.16
HBO has a bit of a challenge on its hands: every new episode of its mega-hit Game of Thrones is viewed by tens of millions of fans… but a huge percentage of them aren’t actually HBO subscribers. They’re pirating the show, instead. And once again, the show’s most recent season has landed at the top of the “most-torrented” lists for the year. [More]
Thieves Swipe Millions Of Dollars’ Worth Of Fur Coats From NYC Store
By 12.27.16
Three thieves who apparently have an eye for the pricey things in life chucked a rock or some other heavy object through the glass door of a Manhattan store early on Christmas Eve morning, police said, swiping millions of dollars’ worth of sable fur coats. [More]
