Getting packages stolen from your front doorstep is unpleasant, no matter who you are or what time of year it is, and knowing that you or a neighbor actually let the thief inside must be even worse. We buzz delivery people who are strangers in and give them get a kind of implicit trust, and one delivery driver in Chicago is accused of violating that trust by grabbing packages on his way out the door. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Did Big Pharma Hire Dozens Of DEA Officials To Reduce Scrutiny Of Opioid Painkillers?
By 12.22.16
It’s not uncommon for folks at federal agencies to cash in on their public sector connections by taking a high-paying job with a company they used to regulate. But when it comes to the pharmaceuticals industry’s hiring of dozens of Drug Enforcement Administration officials, the question is whether these former DEA staffers were being hired because of what they could contribute, or because it was better for the industry to get them out of law enforcement. [More]
Feds Halt Timeshare Scheme That Bilked $15 Million From Property Owners
By 12.22.16
When buying into a timeshare, many owners receive more weeks at the property than they could possibly use in their lives. This has created a second industry that focuses on reselling or renting out the properties. But, as the Federal Trade Commission showed this week, not all of these businesses are legitimate, some are just out to line their own pockets. [More]
Thieves Think They’re Stealing Gift Delivery; Make Off With Boxes Of Family Heirlooms & Dad’s Ashes Instead
By 12.22.16
‘Tis the season for thieves across the country to swoop down upon doorsteps, porches, and stoops to swipe all those gift deliveries waiting outside folks’ homes. But somewhere in Ohio there’s a thief who now has boxes of very personal items — including the ashes of a dearly departed dad — that are worthless to the thief, but mean the world to the family from which they were stolen. [More]
State Files Consumer Protection Lawsuit Against Man Accused Of Using Facebook To Trick Women Into Sex
By 12.21.16
Washington state prosecutors are using state consumer protection laws to go after a man — already facing multiple criminal charges of rape — that they claim spent years misleading women about his job, and even his gender, with the goal of misleading women into sleeping with him in exchange for a non-existent shot at stardom. [More]
Thieves Cut Hole In Target Roof, Go On Electronics Theft Spree
By 12.21.16 — Updated: 12.22.16
Thieves dead-set on getting their hands on goods that aren’t theirs — which is what makes them thieves in the first place — have been known to employ some extreme methods to pull off heists, like the two alleged ne’er-do-wells in the Atlanta area who recently created an unauthorized skylight in a local Target store. [More]
5 Adults Arrested In Latest Boozy Brawl At Chuck E. Cheese’s
By 12.21.16
There’s something about the kid-focused pizza party venue Chuck E. Cheese’s that brings out some adult guests’ extremely bratty inner children. A restaurant in Massachusetts is just the latest to host a brawl pitting adult guests against the cops. [More]
Volkswagen To Buy Back, Fix 83K 3.0-Liter Vehicles In Second “Dieselgate” Settlement
By 12.20.16
A day after reports surfaced that Volkswagen was in talks with federal regulators to reach a second $1 billion settlement stemming from its “dieselgate” scandal, the Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Department of Justice and state of California, announced a deal in which the carmaker will buy back or fix 83,000 3.0-liter VW, Audi, and Porsche vehicles equipped with so-called “defeat devices” that skirt federal emissions standards. [More]
AT&T Launching New Tool To Let Some Wireless Customers Block Robocalls Some Of The Time
By 12.20.16
Spam robocalls suck and everyone hates them. They are a digitally-generated scourge on modern society, a small yet omnipresent annoyance met with universal derision. So AT&T’s wireless customers will likely be happy to see their carrier taking steps today to let customers block the unwanted calls — but there are a couple of big catches. [More]
Florida Grinch Accused Of Stealing More Than 100 Toys From ‘Toys For Tots’
By 12.20.16
The holidays are a time for giving, but they’re also apparently quite a temptation for those who are only interested in giving to themselves. Case in point: a Florida woman who allegedly stole more than 100 toys from a Toys for Tots fundraiser. [More]
Thief Steals Volunteer Firefighters’ Proceeds From Christmas Tree Fundraiser
By 12.20.16
While a thief with Grinch-like tendencies didn’t sneak into every home in Spring Lake Heights, NJ with a Christmas tree and steal them, what the thief did was still pretty mean-spirited. Someone broke into a garage at the firehouse and stole $1,000 that the local volunteer fire department raised in its annual tree sale. [More]
Attacking A Cashier, Order Screens Because You’re Unhappy With Your Food Joins Long List Of Customer Overreactions
By 12.19.16
Another day, another extreme overreaction: police in Dayton, OH say a McDonald’s drive-thru customer who was unhappy with her food went on a rampage in the restaurant, overturning ordering screens and attacking the cashier. [More]
Labor Group: High-Pressure Sales Goals Led T-Mobile Workers To Add Services Customers Didn’t Want
By 12.19.16
Selling consumers services they don’t need is nothing new; recent examples include Wells Fargo’s fake account fiasco and Office Depot’s computer virus scanning program. Now, a labor group has filed a complaint with federal regulators accusing wireless carrier T-Mobile of using similarly aggressive sales goals, driving employees to enroll users in services they don’t actually want or never asked for. [More]
Report: Volkswagen Settlement Over 3-Liter Vehicles Could Add $1B To “Dieselgate” Tab
By 12.19.16
Volkswagen has already agreed to pay $15 billion to settle a large portion of its “dieselgate” scandal, so what’s another $1 billion? That figure could reportedly be added to the carmaker’s tab as part of a settlement concerning so-called “defeat devices” on thousands of 3-liter vehicles not covered by the company’s earlier settlement with federal regulators. [More]
LinkedIn’s Education Service Lynda.com Latest Data Breach Victim
By 12.19.16
Less than a week after Yahoo confirmed a second data breach affecting nearly one billion users, another online social network has been targeted by hackers: LinkedIn says that its online education service — Lynda.com — is the latest hack attack victim, albeit with a much lower number of affected victims. [More]
Minnesota Cities Claim Walmart Is Using Local Police As Unpaid Security Guards
By 12.16.16
Across the country, local governments are speaking out about how their police departments are subsidizing security at their local Walmart stores, with officers dispatched there more often than competing discount and grocery stores. Now state legislators from two cities in Minnesota say that they’re working on possible solutions to the issue. [More]
House ‘Freedom Caucus’ Asks Trump To Undo 232 Rules On Net Neutrality, Tobacco, Nursing Homes & Ceiling Fans
By 12.15.16
What’s on your wish list this holiday season? For the few dozen members of the House of Representatives Freedom Caucus, the hope to see President-elect Donald Trump undo or revise more than 200 federal rules involving everything from tobacco to food labels to ceiling fans to your constitutional right to bring a lawsuit against your credit card company. [More]
FTC Settlement Permanently Halts Alleged Energy Drink-Slinging Pyramid Scheme
By 12.15.16
A year ago, a court agreed to put a temporary halt to an alleged pyramid scheme that made its money by convincing college students they could make big bucks shilling energy drinks — but only paying up for recruiting more sales friends instead. Today, the FTC has announced a settlement with the Vemma Nutrition Company that puts a halt to those practices for good. [More]
