There’s an episode of Friends in which Monica’s identity is stolen and she goes on to become best friends with the woman posing as Monica Geller, you know, before she goes to jail. Things didn’t so quite the same for a Los Angeles woman who says she confronted a couple she alleges used her identity to open credit card accounts and file income tax returns. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Horrible Taco Bell Customer Tosses Drink In Employee’s Face; Doesn’t Realize Drive-Thru Has Cameras
By 3.8.16
What sort of childhood trauma brings one to the point of deciding to throw a drink in the face of a fast food worker? More importantly, what sort of person does this today and doesn’t think they will be photographed from multiple angles? [More]
Home Depot Agrees To Pay $20M To Settle 2014 Data Breach Lawsuit
By 3.8.16
Nearly two years after Home Depot said 56 million consumers’ credit and debit cards, as well as email addresses, were compromised in a massive data breach, the home improvement retailer has reached a $19.5 million deal to settle a class-action lawsuit and compensate those customers. [More]
Seagate Employee Falls For CEO W-2 Scam, Sends Everyone’s Personal Information
By 3.7.16
Snapchat isn’t the only technology company that has fallen victim to the tax-season variation on the classic CEO e-mail scam, where a scammer impersonating the boss asks for all employees’ tax information. An employee at hard drive company Seagate fell into the same trap, sending 2015 tax information for thousands of current and former employees to unknown scammers. [More]
Inspectors In Massachusetts Combing Gas Stations, Other Card Readers For Skimmers
By 3.4.16
Look out when you’re on the road: police and state standards agencies have noticed a scary trend near highways in New England. Bluetooth card skimmers are appearing on gas pumps and ATMs in New England, slurping up customers’ payment data and beaming it to thieves who may be sitting just around the corner. [More]
N.Y. Driver Charged With A Felony Learns There’s No Such Thing As A DIY License Plate
By 3.4.16
If you’re in a bind and don’t have valid registration for your vehicle, whipping out some cardboard and colored markers for a little DIY project is not the way to go, unless you want to end up with a felony charge on your hands. That’s the lesson police say one New York woman learned when she was caught driving with a license plate of her own creation. [More]
Customer Slashes Dunkin’ Donuts Worker’s Face After Being Asked To Leave
By 3.2.16
A disgruntled Dunkin’ Donuts customer in New York City lashed out at employees who told him to leave the eatery, allegedly slashing one worker in the face with a razor blade. [More]
IRS Tool To Protect Identity Theft Victims Vulnerable To Identity Thieves
By 3.1.16
Every year, we warn you about tax return identity theft: bad guys all over the world obtain enough personal information about U.S. taxpayers to file fake tax returns and steal our refunds. After a taxpayer’s identity gets stolen in this way, the Internal Revenue Service issues them a special identification number that they have to enter when filing their tax return. The problem is that these numbers are pretty easy to access, too, and the IRS doesn’t have a good replacement yet. [More]
Oregon Police Thank “Anonymous Shopping Cart Guy” For Tripping Up Fleeing Suspect
By 2.29.16
Some heroes wear capes and have an arsenal of tools to fight crime hanging from their fancy utility belts. Other heroes, of the everyday sort, have different weapons at their disposal. To wit: one brave, mysterious shopper known only as “anonymous shopping cart guy” sacrificed his groceries to stop a fleeing suspect in Portland, OR. [More]
Passenger Arrested For Hijacking NYC Bus After Driver Told Her To Stop Smoking
By 2.23.16
As comfortable as it would be if the entire world was your living room, it’s not. We all have to abide by certain rules in public about behaviors that wouldn’t fly outside the home — wearing real pants, not having your butt stuck to the couch, etc. — including no smoking on New York City buses. And as one passenger learned recently, no stealing them when you’re told to behave. [More]
Police: Pizzeria Melee Sparked By Unwanted Cheese On Garlic Knots
By 2.22.16
It’s surely an inconvenience when your food comes out with an unwanted ingredient on it, but violence is never the appropriate response if your order isn’t exactly right. Police in Daytona, FL say a group of customers at a pizzeria reacted a bit strongly when a worker allegedly put cheese on an order of garlic knots that was not supposed to include cheese. [More]
IRS: Email, Text Scams Targeting Taxpayers Up 400% This Year
By 2.19.16
It’s tax season, which means it’s the prime time for scammers to crawl out from underneath their scammy rocks and try to nab taxpayers’ personal info. So far, this year’s electronic tax scams are even more prevalent than before, the Internal Revenue Service says, surging 400%. [More]
Teen Arrested For Passing Himself Off As A Doctor, Opening Clinic
By 2.17.16
In a combination of Doogie Howser, MD and Catch Me If You Can, a Florida teenager has been arrested for not merely posing as a medical doctor, but for going so far as to open up his own clinic, complete with a website. [More]
Angry Wendy’s Customer Arrested For Biting Manager For Mixed-Up Order
By 2.17.16
Fast food restaurants occasionally mix orders up; that’s why most of us spot-check our food before leaving. And while it’s acceptable to be a little perturbed when your order is wrong, it’s not acceptable to express your discontent by biting the manager.
[More]
Scam Victim’s Grandson Isn’t In Jail, Doesn’t Need $10,000 In iTunes Gift Cards
By 2.12.16
The basic story seemed plausible enough: a Chicago woman’s grandson got on the phone and said that he was in jail because he caused a car accident because he was texting while driving. Kids today definitely do that, right? The problem was that the “grandson” was an impostor, there was no accident, and he didn’t have a lawyer who was collecting iTunes gift cards to cover his bail. [More]
NYC In Need Of A Dairy Hero As Rash Of Ice Cream Pint Thefts Threatens City’s Häagen-Dazs Supply
By 2.12.16
Go into your freezer, grab that pint of Häagen-Dazs and hold it tight, New Yorkers: someone out there is targeting high-end ice cream in a series of thefts that may or may not be indicative of a dairy shoplifting ring. [More]
Credit Card Processor For Work-At-Home Scam Companies Settles FTC Charges
By 2.11.16
When you respond to an ad promising untold wealth if you start an at-home business, someone in a call center will contact you and try to extract your credit or debit card number. There needs to be a credit card processing company involved to run that transaction, though, and the company that did so for the Tax Club work-at-home scam operation has now settled up with the Federal Trade Commission for its role in the scam. [More]
Protect Your Heart (And Wallet) From These Valentine’s Day Scams
By 2.11.16 — Updated: 2.13.17
This is the year. It’s the year you’ll wake up on Feb. 15 without the stinging sensation of intense regret that inevitably follows after mourning Valentine’s Day at the bottom of a booze bottle, covered in bits of melted chocolate stuck to you in your sleep, because your beloved turned out to be a scammer. Because this year, you’re going to be prepared for any romance scams that may come your way. [More]
