While consumers are much more tech-savvy today than we were during the days of Windows 3.1 and baud modems, there are still a lot of people whose tech-insecurity makes them potential prey for bogus tech support businesses that make money by convincing victims their computers are infected with viruses. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Feds Investigating After 20 Laser Strikes Aimed At Aircraft Reported Across The U.S. In One Night
By 11.12.15
Federal investigators have been kept busy this year investigating laser strikes at the nation’s airports, but in just one night, their workload jumped by quite a bit: more than 20 laser incidents were reported overnight between Wednesday at Thursday, at airports across the country. [More]
Video Shows What Not To Do At McDonald’s When You’re Tired Of Waiting For Your Change
By 11.5.15
Although we don’t like how often we report on scuffles, brawls and other fights at fast food restaurants, we like to think that each example gives us the opportunity to learn something. In the case of a McDonald’s customer who ended up in a tie-grabbing, right-hook flying kerfuffle with a worker in Minneapolis, the lesson to be learned may be: exhibit patience when waiting for your change. [More]
Fired Taco Bell Executive Apologizes For Drunkenly Attacking Uber Driver
By 11.5.15
Days after a video hit the Internet showing an Uber passenger attacking a driver in California (and getting a face full of mace in the process), the California man accused of the assault has issued an apology. In the meantime, he was fired from his executive position at Taco Bell and the Uber driver is suing him. [More]
Former Ashley Madison Customer Sues Site Over “Army Of Fembots” With Fake Profiles
By 11.2.15
After hackers dumped a plethora of personal information about Ashley Madison’s 37 million subscribers online in August, the public has learned a lot about the dating site aimed at cheaters. Among the reported revelations: only about 15% of its users are women, contrary to the site’s marketing claims, a new lawsuit says. Adding insult to injury? The army of fembots scattered through the sites with fake profiles written by employees. [More]
Man Accused Of Drunkenly Attacking His Uber Driver Gets A Face Full Of Mace
By 11.2.15
UPDATE: As it turns out, the passenger who alleged assault the Uber driver in California is a Taco Bell marketing executive. At least, he used to be: the company says it’s fired the suspect after the accusations were made public yesterday. [More]
Group Must Pay $700K Penalty For Allegedly Profiting From ‘Charity’ Donation Bins
By 10.29.15
How do you turn a charitable donation into a scam? Take the donated item and sell it for a profit, instead of giving it to the needy. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office has reached a settlement with a for-profit company accused of doing just that, by way of more than 1,100 clothing donation bins scattered throughout the New York City area. [More]
Feds Sue Scammers Who Charged For Bogus Student Financial Aid Assistance
By 10.29.15
Paying for college out of pocket is nearly impossible for millions of prospective students. Instead, these individuals turn to scholarships, grants, and student loans, often relying on financial service programs to assist them in obtaining the funds. But not all of the companies promising a helping hand are looking out for your best interests. That was apparently the case for a California company accused of ripping off tens of thousands of victims in a nationwide financial aid scam. [More]
Emirates Passenger Says She Was Sexually Assaulted By Fellow Traveler While She Slept On Flight To NYC
By 10.29.15
We’ve asked this before, and apparently we have to ask again: what is wrong with some people? Unfortunately we have to yet again report on an incident involving a passenger accused of molesting a fellow traveler during a flight. This should go without being said, but just because someone is asleep, that does not mean they’re giving you permission to touch them. [More]
Police: United Airlines Passenger Walked Onto Plane, Claimed He Had A Bomb In His Bag
By 10.29.15
Whether you’re lying or telling the truth, the thing about saying you have a bomb in your bag on an airplane is you’ll get in trouble either way: a Massachusetts man has a court date this morning after walking onto a United Airlines flight last night out of Boston and allegedly announcing that he was carrying an explosive device. [More]
Man Who Sold Industrial Chemical As “Miracle Mineral Solution” Sentenced To 51 Months In Jail
By 10.28.15
There are plenty of people out there peddling “miracle” cleanses, juices, and elixirs that don’t really do anything, but that will usually just get them a slap on the wrist and some fines for false advertising. But if the “Miracle Mineral Solution” is really nothing more than an industrial chemical that can’t be sold for human consumption, then you’ll probably end up in jail for a few years. [More]
Reminder: Shattering A Glass Door Will Not Lead To Cheaper Sausage Biscuits At Waffle House
By 10.27.15
Getting upset when you find out a beloved menu item costs more today than yesterday is completely understandable, but damaging a restaurant’s property will not do anything to mitigate that problem. To that end, police in Georgia say a man who was enraged over the increase price of Waffle House’s sausage biscuits shattered a glass door on his way out of the restaurant. [More]
Scammers Who Defrauded Scam Victims Barred From Scamming Anyone Else
By 10.26.15
Imagine you’ve been a victim of that old “woke up in a bathtub with my kidney gone” urban legend. As you stumble out of the hotel in urgent need of medical care, you come across a helpful doctor who will tend to your wounds… only to wake up in another tub with another missing organ. Replace “unauthorized donation of precious, life-sustaining organs” with “telemarketing fraud” and you’ve got the basis for a scam that took in nearly $3 million from people who had already been the victims of fraud. [More]
Police: If You’re Waiting On Packages Filled With Marijuana, Feel Free To Come Pick It Up
By 10.23.15
We know how annoying it is when a package you’re expecting gets lost in the mail, and so do police in Hazlet, N.J. That’s why they want the public to know that they’ve got boxes filled with around 50 pounds of marijuana that was delivered to the wrong person just waiting for its rightful owner to claim it. [More]
If You Bring Fake Poker Chips To A Tournament, Don’t Flush Them Down The Toilet To Hide The Evidence
By 10.22.15
Let’s make it clear that we in no way endorse or condone cheating. But if you’re the kind of jerk who brings counterfeit poker chips to a tournament, don’t act even jerkier by flushing them down the toilet: a judge sentenced a New Jersey man to five years in prison for bringing millions of dollars worth of fake markers to a tournament and then breaking the plumbing when he tried to hide the evidence. [More]
Police: Squatter Stole $300,000 In Art From San Francisco Mansion
By 10.20.15
It’s already illegal to live in a home you don’t own, but police in San Francisco say one squatter upped the criminal ante by stealing and selling more than $300,000 worth of paintings from a mansion that’s on the market. [More]
Supplement Company Owner Gets 30 Months In Prison For Selling Diet Pills Containing Unsafe Ingredients
By 10.19.15
One slogan used by the folks at now-defunct Floyd Nutrition on weight-loss “supplements” like ZXT Bee Pollen and ZXT Gold Infinity was “Offering the gift of health,” but a more accurate statement might have been “Offering the secret gift of drugs that were pulled from the market years ago for potential health risks,” or rather, “Offering products that will land this company’s founder in federal prison for two-and-a-half years.” [More]
Traveler Accused Of Smuggling 11 Pounds Of Liquid Cocaine In Olive Oil, Vinegar Bottles
By 10.15.15
Perhaps you have a secret ingredient for adding a little kick to your salad dressing, but if it’s cocaine, law enforcement officials aren’t going to let you keep it: U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport say a passenger arrived with 11 pounds of liquid cocaine packed inside oil and vinegar bottles in his luggage. [More]
