IRS phone scams, where the perpetrators call up victims and demand that overdue taxes that they don’t owe be paid by prepaid debit cards, are cruel schemes that vacuum millions of dollars out of the pockets of people who don’t know any better. The only way they could be worse would be if they actually endangered victims’ safety while wasting law enforcement time and taxpayer money. They’ve figured out how to do this. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Wisconsin Jury Rejects Man’s Beer-Battered Fish Excuse In Drunk Driving Case
By 2.10.16
You might recall the story of a driver who told police that the reason he failed a field sobriety test was because he’d been eating some beer-battered fish before getting in the car, and not because he’d been drinking booze. His case recently made it to a Wisconsin courtroom, where a jury decided his excuse was too fishy to be true. [More]
Alaska Airlines Flight Diverted After Unruly Passenger Allegedly Threatened Crew
By 2.10.16
An Alaska Airlines flight headed to Boston from San Diego last night had to make an unscheduled stop midway through the trip, when a drunk passenger allegedly became abusive and threatened the crew, the airline said. [More]
Man Arrested For Allegedly Throwing A Live Alligator Into Wendy’s Drive-Thru Window
By 2.9.16
There are a few things alligators do well: chomping on stuff, looking like dinosaurs, and gliding around in swamps, marshes, and the like. They are not good at flying, however, and as such, should not be tossed carelessly into the drive-thru window at Wendy’s. A Florida man was arrested recently for allegedly attempting to do just such a thing. [More]
Police: Drunk Uber Passenger Stole His Driver’s Car, Crashed It Into Curb
By 2.8.16
It’s one thing to hail a car to take you somewhere, but it’s an entirely other, illegal thing to call for that ride and then take the car yourself. Police in Oregon say a drunken Uber customer fought with his driver before making off with his vehicle. [More]
Man Arrested After His Drone Crashes Into The Empire State Building
By 2.5.16
A lesson for you drone owners out there trying to get just the right shot: if you crash your unmanned aerial vehicle into a famous landmark, you should probably just kiss it goodbye. Because if you ask for it back, you may find yourself arrested, like one New Jersey man who police say flew his drone into a little New York City landmark called the Empire State Building. [More]
Scammy Sellers Of AF Plus, Final Trim Weight-Loss Pills Made Millions From Bogus “Risk-Free” Trials
By 2.5.16
You may have heard radio ads for weight loss supplements named AF Plus and Final Trim, promising “24 hours of fat burning power” and “maximum weight loss,” along with supposed real-world testimonials about how well these pills worked — and how you can try them now through a “risk-free” trial. Problem is, those people in the ads claiming they lost all that weight are just as fictitious as the free trial. [More]
How To Spot A Counterfeit Sports Jersey
By 2.4.16 — Updated: 1.30.17
All your bags are packed, you’re ready to go to Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, CA this weekend, and already there are visions of NFL merchandise floating through your head. Maybe you’ve tucked away some money especially to buy the jersey of your favorite player — money you definitely don’t want to waste on a fake. [More]
What Does A Grocery Store PIN Pad Skimmer Look Like?
By 2.3.16
Have you ever wondered how customers could slide their cards through and enter their PINs on a compromised payment terminal without even noticing? While some skimming schemes involve Bluetooth transmitters and require disassembling the device, installing a skimmer can be as simple as snapping an identical part over an existing card reader. [More]
Unruly JetBlue Passenger Charged With Attacking Fellow Travelers, Flight Attendant
By 2.2.16
Another day, another unruly passenger allegedly stirring up trouble on an airplane: authorities say a man had four alcoholic drinks on a JetBlue flight on Sunday, and ended up being charged with assaulting crew members and a fellow passenger. [More]
4 Things We Learned About Fake Locksmith Scammers Lurking Online
By 2.1.16
The moment you realize you’re locked out of your car or your home is never a good one. But now that everyone is armed with a smartphone, it’s an easy thing to search for a local locksmith on Google and have someone show up to the rescue. But not every listing out there is tied to a legitimate business, as scammy fake locksmith companies are hiding in plain sight, waiting to slam customers with pricy bills for their services. [More]
How To Avoid Becoming A Victim Of A Super Bowl Ticketing Scam
By 1.29.16
Whenever there’s a widely publicized event bringing in people from all over like the Super Bowl, you better believe there will be scammers lurking in the shadows, waiting to prey on those unfortunate souls who desperately want to score a ticket to join the fun. This year’s big game is no different, but there are some things football fans can do to avoid becoming a victim to a scam. [More]
Wisconsin Police Recover Second Load Of Stolen Cheese
By 1.29.16
We can all rest easy tonight, safe in the knowledge that cheese that was once ripped from the arms of its rightful owner has been safely returned. Wisconsin police say they’ve found a second load of stolen cheese, worth $90,000, that was pilfered last week. [More]
If You Pass Out While Shoplifting, Medical Personnel Will Notice Your Hidden Stuff
By 1.26.16
It might seem like stuffing merchandise under your clothing and then passing out in a store is a solid method for shoplifting without being noticed, but this is not true. When a woman who passed out twice in a Utah Kmart store was taken to the hospital, medical personnel noticed that she had Kmart merchandise hidden under her clothes. [AP] [More]
Police In Wisconsin Track Down $70K Worth Of Stolen Cheese
By 1.26.16
Wisconsin has been in a state of gripping suspense over the last few days, after two separate cheese thefts saw a total of $160,000 go missing. Now, $70,000 in cheese has recovered in Milwaukee (unharmed, I hope). No arrests have been made and police have no further information (beyond the fact that cheese is delicious) at this time. [Germantown Police Department] *Thanks for the tip, Mom! [More]
Some Jerks Stole $160,000 Worth Of Cheese In Two Separate Thefts In Wisconsin
By 1.25.16
UPDATE: Police have recovered $70,000 worth of that stolen cheese. [More]
Police: Drive-Thru Customers Attacked Burger King Worker Over Slow Service
By 1.21.16
We know it can be frustrating to wait for your food to be cooked, bagged, and passed to your eagerly awaiting hands, but it is never okay to throw a fit — or punches — when you grow impatient in the fast food drive-thru line. Police in Florida say two men who were ticked off at how long their Burger King order was taking left their vehicle and took their beef into the restaurant. [More]
“Artisanal Spam” Is Today’s Sneaky New Trend In Email Scams
By 1.19.16
Because we live in a world where everything trendy is farm-to-table, or handcrafted, or whittled by free-trade fairies from reclaimed wood, we’re not entirely surprised that the new thing in email scams is something called “artisanal spam.” [More]
