As gift cards go, Amazon gift cards are pretty flexible: they’re available in any amount and can be used for a wide variety of merchandise. You can even use them to buy imaginary cars. At least, that’s what happened to a Michigan man who thought that he was buying a car that was in Montana, but was in fact sending four thousand bucks into a scamtastic void. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Terrible People Have Stolen 25 Chickens From Nonprofit’s Coop In Series Of Heists
By 5.27.15
We’ve heard about no good, very bad and otherwise terrible people pilfering produce from nonprofit organizations in the past (tangerines, pumpkins, corn, onions), and now it appears poultry is also on the list of things thieves are willing to swipe from their rightful owners. [More]
IRS: Thieves Obtained Information On 100,000 Taxpayers From Transcript System
By 5.26.15
A tax transcript is a document from the IRS that shows key information from tax returns that you’ve already filed, or changes to what you and the government owe each other that may have been made after the return was filed. You can normally order them online, but the system is now closed after the IRS learned that people identified only as “thieves” accessed transcripts for about 100,000 people. [More]
Watch Company Collects $1 Million On Kickstarter, Spends It All, Then Hides
By 5.22.15
Kickstarter is not, and never has been, a store. Yet companies that use the platform to fund the production of a new product are eventually supposed to, um, make that product. Backers who contributed more than a million dollars to produce thin e-ink watches want answers from the company that promised these watches, and they aren’t satisfied with “we’re broke” as an answer. [More]
Report: AdultFriendFinder Hack Attack Exposes Info For Millions Of Dating Site’s Users
By 5.22.15
AdultFriendFinder.com is one of the largest online dating sites out there and now it’s suffered a hack attack that’s exposed a hefty portion of its 64 million members: According to a new report, the data of up to four million users of the hookup site has been exposed. [More]
Guy Upset Over Overbooked US Airways Flight Strips Naked In Charlotte Airport
By 5.21.15
There are many things you can do when a flight is overbooked, but a lot of those things won’t get you on an airplane. That includes stripping down to your birthday suit in the airport while yelling at people, like witnesses say one man did after trying unsuccessfully to get aboard a US Airways flight at Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Jamaica yesterday. [More]
Oakland Airport Baggage Handlers Accused Of Participating In Marijuana Smuggling Ring
By 5.19.15
Federal officials say they’ve uncovered an alleged marijuana smuggling ring that involved three baggage handlers working at Oakland International Airport. Because airport workers can go behind the scenes where others can’t, investigators say the baggage handlers used their security badges to access off-limits areas and get pot from one point to another. [More]
FTC Rolls Out Interactive Resource For Victims Of Identity Theft
By 5.14.15
With seemingly daily reports of new data breaches and related scams, it’s no secret that identity theft is now more of a concern than ever. In an effort to help victims work their way through the process of restoring and protecting their identities, the Federal Trade Commission has launched a new online interactive tool. [More]
Police: Man Pitched A Condiment-Throwing Fit Over Rest Stop’s Lack Of Macaroni & Cheese, Potatoes
By 5.14.15
We all get cranky when we’ve got a craving for a certain food and it’s nowhere to be found, but it’s important in those frustrating moments to keep a cool head. Unlike one man who allegedly was so enraged that a rest stop didn’t have any macaroni and cheese — and to add insult to injury, had run out of potatoes. [More]
Report: Scammers Breach Starbucks Accounts, Refill And Drain Gift Card Balances
By 5.12.15
Do you use a Starbucks stored-value card so you can have the fastest possible access to coffee? If you have that card set to auto-reload using a credit or debit card, you may be providing a way for criminals to vacuum money out of your bank account and into their own. How does that happen? Savvy scamsters can break into your account, then reload and drain them for you. [More]
Police Arrest 3 Suspects In Restaurant Burglary After Finding A “Steady Trail Of Macaroni Salad”
By 5.11.15
In the culinary justice system, restaurant thefts are not taken lightly. Luckily for the officers investigating a burglary at an Upstate New York establishment, there was a literal trail of evidence that wound up leading police to arrest three suspects. [More]
Police: Man Stole Riding Lawnmower From Walmart By Driving It Off The Lot
By 5.7.15
Because riding lawnmowers don’t just drive off store lots all by themselves, police in Nebraska say a man they found driving a stolen machine 10 miles from its home at Walmart was responsible for its escape. [More]
Scammer Dad Uses Daughter To Sell Nonexistent Girl Scout Cookies Door-To-Door
By 5.7.15
It’s a pretty common sight every year to see parents escorting their Girl Scout daughters around the neighborhood, ringing doorbells and trying to move as many Samoas and Tagalongs as possible. So the residents of one Pennsylvania town didn’t think twice when a man who grew up in the area came around with his youngster to sell Girl Scout cookies — that is, until those treats never materialized. [More]
Investigators Stumped After Woman Finds “High-Quality” Cocaine In Her Granola Bar Wrapper
By 5.7.15
Finding prizes in your food can be fun when you’re expecting them, but one San Antonio grandmother says she certainly wasn’t expecting to shake her Nature Valley granola bar wrapper and have a baggie filled with cocaine and covered in dollar signs fall out. [More]
Illinois AG Sues Company For Dumping Medical Files Containing Patients’ Personal Info In The Trash
By 5.6.15
When you get medical treatment, the information that goes into your file is extensive and can contain a whole lot of personal information like your name, address, Social Security Number as well as your medical history. That private stuff should be kept from the prying eyes of others, which is exactly the opposite of what Illinois prosecutors say one company did when allegedly dumping medical files in the trash. [More]
Police: “Serial Stowaway” Known For Trying To Sneak Onto Planes Arrested At Two Chicago Airports
By 5.6.15
A woman who’s been caught multiple times — with varying instances of success — trying to sneak aboard planes without a ticket has been arrested at two Chicago airports within a month trying to pull her signature stowaway move, police say. [More]
Fake Waitress Steals Diner’s Credit Card, Goes On Spending Spree Next Door At Target
By 5.6.15
How many times have you put your credit card out to pay for a restaurant meal and had an employee other than your server pick it up? It’s not uncommon, especially in busier eateries, so some diners wouldn’t think twice when it happens. At least until the card hasn’t been returned because the helpful “waitress” who took it is actually at the Target across the parking lot making purchases with it? [More]
Yes, Adding Gasoline And Lighter Fluid To A Birthday Cake May Increase Risk Of Setting Other Things On Fire
By 5.5.15
With the dawning of the Internet age has come an era filled with technological advances and tools that let humans talk to each other all over the world in mere seconds. And yet it has also wrought incredible stupidity, all for the sake of filming things to post on YouTube. Adding to the list of very unwise things to do for Internet fame: Adding flammable liquids to a birthday cake to make it explode — while inside the house. [More]
