When you have a question about the price tag on a department store item, you should raise your concerns with store employees. You should not yell at them or curse them out, and you should definitely not become violent. A Macy’s customer in California was arrested after she allegedly did all of those things, then bit a loss prevention officer on the leg during a price dispute. [More]
Crime & Fraud
A Good Way To Ruin A Roller Coaster Ride For Everyone Else? Pull Out A Selfie Stick
By 6.25.15
As if selfie sticks aren’t obnoxious enough when they go waving through the air, threatening to smack unsuspecting bystanders in the face, visitors at Disneyland had their roller coaster fun interrupted when their fellow passenger whipped out one of the extension devices in the middle of the ride. [More]
The Apartment Rental Credit Check Scam Is Alive And Well
By 6.24.15 — Updated: 5.23.17
Six years ago, we alerted the world to the apartment rental credit check scam. That’s a scheme where apartments or houses that may or may not exist are advertised on Craigslist or other classified ad sites to sell not-so-free credit checks to prospective renters. Unfortunately, in spite of our campaign and warnings right on Craigslist ads, these schemes are alive and well. [More]
Two Arrested After Video Surfaces Of Guy Streaking Through Walmart, Dousing Himself In Milk
By 6.22.15
A man seen on video running almost naked through a Kentucky Walmart wearing only his socks, shoes and a Halloween mask has been arrested, along with the suspected cameraman, after the footage hit the Internet last week. The man also treated shoppers to the sight of him pouring milk on his naked body and yelling that he was on fire. [More]
Unhappy Subway Customer Hurls Sandwich, Soda, And Car At Employee
By 6.19.15
There are many ways to express your dissatisfaction when you aren’t happy with a product or service, but we do not recommend any of the methods that a woman in California used earlier this week when a sandwich displeased her. According to local police, first she hurled words at the employee, then her sandwich, then her beverage. After that, things got even worse. [More]
Samsung Rolling Out Security Update To Fix Keyboard Vulnerability That Affects Up To 600M Galaxy Phones
By 6.19.15
After a security researcher found a flaw in the way Samsung phones update their SwiftKey keyboard software that leaves Galaxy phone owners open to hack attacks, the company says it’s rolling out a security update in the next few days that will address the vulnerability. [More]
How To Avoid Getting Scammed When You Sell A Timeshare
By 6.15.15
Timeshare vacation properties are a strange market: there’s always someone ready to try to sell you fractional ownership in a vacation property, but it’s much harder to unload a property when you don’t want it anymore. That’s why, if someone approaches you to help sell a timeshare, you should be wary and know who you’re dealing with. [More]
IRS Working With State Agencies & Tax Preparation Companies To Combat Refund Fraud
By 6.12.15
It’s been a rough year for the Internal Revenue Service, what with thieves stealing information for roughly 100,000 taxpayers and a slew of fraudulent refunds filed with TurboTax that had the FBI and various states scrambling to investigate. Now the IRS says it’s working with state agencies and tax-preparation firms to combat stolen-identity refund fraud. [More]
Police Chief Totally Messes With Phone Scammer Telling Him He’s Won $7K From The Government
By 6.12.15
A scammer peddling magical $7,000 rewards from the government chose the wrong person to try to dupe: A police chief in Indiana filmed his phone on speaker while a stranger explained to him that yes, the government does just give people “free grant money” for no reason, and that he could get his money at Western Union. [More]
Police Searching For Man Seen On Security Video Urinating Into Store’s Mail Slot
By 6.12.15
Contrary to what you might believe, the world is not, in fact, your toilet. Which is why police in Scottsdale, AZ are looking for an unidentified man who was caught on camera peeing through the mail slot of a furniture store. [More]
Reminder: Don’t Fall For The Walmart Mystery Shopper Scam
By 6.11.15
Almost exactly four years ago, we first warned you about the Walmart Mystery Shopper Scam, in which con artists offer their potential victims employment as undercover quality assurance inspectors who get paid to shop. Yet scammers continue to try running this ruse, so we figured it was a good time for a reminder. [More]
Fake Cop Wants Prepaid PayPal Cards To Make Your Warrant Go Away
By 6.10.15
Here’s an innovative scam that’s been reported near St. Louis, and could soon come to a doorstep near you. Victims report receiving a phone call from someone who identifies himself as a local police officer, who tells the target that they’ve missed a court date, and must pay up within an hour or an officer will immediately arrive to arrest them. While the threat of being arrested is scary, this is not an actual thing that happens. [More]
Lovelorn Man Claims Fortune Teller Scammed Him Out Of $700,000
By 6.8.15
While many of us would love a glimpse into the future, one man says he was scammed out of a hefty sum of money in his attempt to find out what was keeping him from finding romantic bliss, saying he forked over $700,000 to a fortune teller only to find that his expensive efforts were all in vain. [More]
Police: Taco Bell Customer Upset With Drive-Thru Order Arrested After Tire Iron Assault On Fellow Patron
By 6.3.15 — Updated: 11.18.16
It can be vastly annoying to receive the wrong order at a fast food restaurant after patiently waiting for your meal in the drive-thru line. But there’s no reason to resort to violence, a tack police in St. Paul, MN said one group of customers took when they allegedly attacked other customers, hitting one in the head with a tire iron. [More]
Scammer Convinces Tourists To Pay $409 For Free Staten Island Ferry Tickets
By 6.1.15
It costs a lot of money driving into New York City through the Hudson River tunnels or over the George Washington Bridge, and subways and cabs certainly aren’t free. So you can’t fault tourists who assume they have to pay to ride the free Staten Island Ferry — but more than $200 per ticket? [More]
Sally Beauty: Investigation Confirms Customer Payment Info May Have Been Put At Risk, But Not Debit PINs
By 5.29.15
Three weeks after Sally Beauty first said it was looking into whether it’d been the victim of a hack attack, the company says it’s confirmed that criminals used malware on some of its point-of-sale systems, possibly exposing payment information for customers who used cards at some of its U.S. stores. [More]
Man Arrested After Police Say He Stuffed An AK-47 Down His Pants
By 5.28.15
The AK-47 is many things, but it is definitely not a small and discreet weapon. That’s why it’s not surprising that a man in Florida was arrested after trying to shove one of the assault rifles down his pants in a pawn shop, evidently thinking that this was something he would be able to get away with. [More]
IRS Suspects Russian Identity Thieves In Data Breach
By 5.27.15
You may remember that the Internal Revenue Service announced late yesterday that about 100,000 taxpayers’ personal information was breached when thieves armed with their personal information were able to log in to the IRS transcript system and extract even more sensitive information about their victims. Today, we learned that the IRS suspects that an organized group of hackers out of Russia are responsible for the 200,000 attempts to extract taxpayer data. [More]
