While most federal agencies will soon see a change in leadership and direction after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is supposed to be shielded from such sudden changes. A recent court decision put that protection — and the future of the CFPB itself — in question, but today a group of 21 federal lawmakers, along with a coalition of consumer advocates and civil rights groups, asked the court to keep the CFPB’s structure intact. [More]
Crime & Fraud
New York Bars Scalpers From Using Bots To Snap Up Tickets Before Everyone Else
By 11.29.16
Perhaps you’ve been here before: you’re waiting patiently, albeit a bit anxiously, for the moment when you can buy tickets to a concert or sporting event online. But despite your best efforts and quick action, you find that someone has swooped in and snapped up all the tickets, leaving you to the mercies of online resellers that may jack up the cost of tickets. [More]
Feds Warn Banks: High-Pressure Incentives Can Lead To Another Wells Fargo Fiasco
By 11.29.16
As Wells Fargo continues to dig itself out of a years-long — if not decade-long — fake account fiasco perpetrated by employees under strain from high-pressure sales goals, federal regulators are warning other financial institutions that these sorts of programs could harm consumers and possibly lead to stiff penalties. [More]
Can You Be Arrested For Not Showing Your Driver’s License?
By 11.28.16 — Updated: 11.29.16
Imagine you and your friends are driving somewhere in two cars. Your friend in the other car gets pulled over for a minor traffic violation, so you pull over to wait. Then an officer comes to your door asking to see your license. If you refuse to produce the license because you’ve done nothing wrong, can you be arrested? Depends on which judge you ask. [More]
4 Scams To Avoid During The Holidays
By 11.28.16
It’s that time of year, where all your focus is on your quest to shop for gifts, decorate your home, and survive the gauntlet of holiday parties. But don’t let your ambition for discounts and seemingly great seasonal opportunities blind you to some common scams that tend to pop up in these final weeks of the year. [More]
Amazon Plans To Escalate War On Fakes In 2017
By 11.28.16
Rampant counterfeiting among Amazon Marketplace sellers is holding the retailer back. There are companies that simply won’t agree to sell their merchandise on the site, given the the company’s known issues with counterfeits, and the concern that genuine and knock-off merchandise could be co-mingled in Amazon warehouses. The online retail giant is now preparing a very public war on counterfeit merchandise. [More]
Payday Lenders Go To Court In Attempt To Keep Working With Banks
By 11.28.16
The payday lending industry claims that recent regulatory efforts to rein in short-term, high-interest loans have severely restricted their access to traditional banks. Now a trade organization representing the controversial lenders has asked for a federal court to intervene. [More]
Hackers Breached San Francisco Transit System, Held It Hostage All Weekend
By 11.28.16
San Francisco residents bustling around this weekend to visit friends and knock out some holiday shopping were treated to an unexpected surprise: all rides on MUNI rail were free. It wasn’t due to a gesture of goodwill from the transit operator, though; it was because hackers had managed to lock out the fare system and were holding it hostage. [More]
Couple Claims PetSmart Groomers Fatally Injured Their Dog
By 11.23.16
What happened, exactly, when a couple in California brought their 1-year-old dachshund to a grooming appointment that led to his death? They claim that the pup came out of the grooming department with bloody foam coming out of his mouth, and he died from injuries suffered at the groomers’ hands. Now the couple has filed a lawsuit, seeking answers about how their pup — who they refer to as their “son” — could have died from a routine nail clipping. [More]
Three Return Scams Retailers Will Be Looking For This Holiday Season
By 11.23.16
We’ve barely waded into the hectic holiday shopping season, but retailers are already preparing for a rush of returns after the big day — and the scams that inevitably go along with them. [More]
Feds Give Up Trying To Hold Bank Of America Accountable For Countrywide’s “Hustle” Mortgage Scam
By 11.22.16
A nasty four-year legal battle between the Justice Department and Bank of America over a massive mortgage-related scam run by Countrywide Financial has come to a whimpering conclusion, with the DOJ opting to not appeal its most recent defeat in the case. [More]
Debt Relief Scammer Will Spend Two Years In Prison, Pay $1.2M In Refunds
By 11.21.16
Four years after federal regulators shut down a debt relief operation that promised to help customers pay down credit card debt, but in reality only relieved customers of their cash, a man who worked for the scheme has been ordered to spend two years in prison and to refund $1.2 million to his victims. [More]
Symantec Buys LifeLock In $2.3B Marriage Of Online Security, Privacy Services
By 11.21.16
With cybercriminals increasingly using malware and phishing attacks to steal sensitive personal information, it’s perhaps not surprising that a company that makes online security software would want to acquire a business that offers identity theft protection services — even one that has been heavily penalized for not living up to its promises. [More]
Burning Down The Mall Because You Can’t Find A Shopping Cart Joins Long List Of Customer Overreactions
By 11.18.16
When you’ve been wronged by a business — or believe you have been — there are two ways you can try to resolve the situation: one, you can take a deep breath and calmly address the issue at hand by using your words; or, you can go the opposite route and overreact completely, and woe betide the poor mortals caught in your way. [More]
NJ Man Arrested For 323 Toll Violations Worth $20K Enters Drivers’ Hall Of Toll Shame
By 11.18.16
There’s that one time you didn’t realize your auto-paying toll pass wasn’t in the car, and then there’s earning yourself 323 toll violations and failing to pay the $20,869 in fees and fines you owe. [More]
U.S., Canada Team Up To Fight Robocalls Together
By 11.17.16
If you didn’t have much to do during the mid-’90s, you may remember a CBS show called Due South about the unlikely crimefighting duo (is there ever a show about a likely crimefighting duo?) of Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Chicago Detective Raymond Vecchio (until he had to go deep undercover and was replaced by not-quite-lookalike Det. Stanley Kowalski). Today’s announcement from regulators in the U.S. and Canada is exactly like that show, except it’s about robocalls, and is really nothing at all like that show. [More]
JPMorgan Chase To Pay $264M To Settle Corruption Allegations For Hiring Friends, Family Of Government Officials
By 11.17.16
Over a period of seven years, JPMorgan Chase hired or gave internships to around 200 individuals, not because they were the best people for their positions (they often weren’t), but at the request of foreign government officials and clients. That practice, alleged U.S. regulators, was a violation of federal law. Now Chase has agreed to pay a total of more than $264 million to settle these allegations of nepotism-gone-too-far. [More]
Guy Steals Credit Card, Uses It To Buy Home Security Camera To Ward Off Thieves
By 11.16.16
Police in Colorado say they’re on the lookout for a man accused of using a stolen credit card to purchase a home security system, which, is of course useful when trying to keep people from stealing your stuff. [More]
