While the news is filled with reports of various frauds perpetrated on American consumers, one particularly nasty scam doesn’t make as many headlines because it preys almost exclusively on recent Spanish-speaking immigrants who think they are paying for quality legal advice but instead get someone with nothing more than a notary stamp. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Police: Kmart Shopper Left Bathroom Deposit In Box Of Store Security Tags
By 4.2.15
If there are aliens out there scanning our world’s media reports, at this point I’m terribly afraid they think humans don’t now how to dispose of their waste properly — from public bike paths to parked cars, we’re just a mess. In yet another instance of presumably otherwise functioning adults, police say a woman did her bathroom business in a box of security tags at a Kmart store in Wisconsin. Sigh. [More]
Impersonating A Police Officer To Cut Into Drive-Thru Line Frowned Upon By Actual Police
By 4.1.15
As badly as you think you want that burger and fries, is jail time really worth getting it a few minutes faster? A Texas man is facing some heat from the police after an off-duty officer said he saw him impersonating law enforcement to skip ahead of other customers in the drive-thru line at Whataburger. [More]
Uber Driver Accused Of Returning To Burgle House After Dropping Off Passenger At The Airport
By 4.1.15
Having a complete stranger know where you live is always a risk, but it’s one we’ve all learned to take for the sake of practicality — how else are you supposed to get anywhere if you don’t have the means to drive yourself, after all? But police in Denver say that risk turned into attempted burglary, when an Uber driver picked a woman up from her home, took her to the airport, and then returned to her house to try to break in. [More]
Police: Man Called 9-1-1 A Dozen Times Claiming Bar Overcharged Him For Beer
By 3.31.15
Will calling emergency services repeatedly about a bar bill summon the cops? Sure, but they won’t be helping to sort out whether or not you were overcharged for a beer, they’ll be charging you with abusing the 9-1-1 system, an offense that can bring up to a year in jail and a fine that is the equivalent of many, many beers. [More]
FTC Shuts Down Credit Repair Business Masquerading As The Federal Trade Commission
By 3.27.15
Fraudsters have been known to scam unsuspecting consumers by claiming to be agents with the federal government. So, in a bit of poetic justice, the Federal Trade Commission had a hand in shutting down a business calling itself the “FTC Credit Solutions.” [More]
iPhone Owner Watching Thief’s Selfies Post To Her Facebook Account
By 3.27.15
Vanity, thy name is smartphone thief: We’re no strangers to the tale of the narcissistic villain who’s ultimately caught after uploading photos taken on the pilfered phones somewhere the owner can see them. That’s the ending one iPhone owner is hoping for, as she’s been watching the person who stole her device unwittingly send them straight to the owner’s Facebook account. [More]
Illinois Town Posts Sign Imploring People To “Stop Pooping On Bike Path”
By 3.27.15
There are some things one might assume wouldn’t need to be clearly stated, like defecating in a public place that’s well-traveled and isn’t a toilet, especially when there are toilets conveniently nearby. But one Illinois town found it had to spell things out a bit clearer. [More]
Restaurant Uses Surveillance Footage To Disprove 1-Star Yelp Review
By 3.25.15
Being unable to get a seat at a busy restaurant where you don’t have a reservation is probably not a justifiable reason to give the place a one-star writeup on Yelp. But if you are going to put that negative stamp on a restaurant, at least tell the truth. [More]
Owner Finds His Rental Home Has Been Rigged To Explode At The Flip Of A Switch
By 3.25.15
Talk about nightmares: The owner of a house that he’d been renting out had a close call recently when an inspection revealed that the place had been rigged to blow up when a light switch was flipped. Because that kind of intricate wiring isn’t a mistake, police are now investigating. [More]
L.A. Man Claims Identity Theft Has Left Stranded Him In Mexico For Weeks
By 3.24.15
A U.S. citizen from Los Angeles says his visit to Mexico has lasted much longer than he anticipated, after he claims someone stole his identity, prompting border officials to keep him out of the country for now. [More]
Watch Out For Fake Magazine Renewal Invoices
By 3.24.15
When you subscribe to a magazine and a subscription renewal form arrives in the mail, you pay the invoice and keep the magazines coming, right? No, not quite: at least, not if your address and subscription information have fallen into the hands of a company called Subscription Billing Service, which customers say collects money without bothering to mention that they have no relationship to the magazine publisher. [More]
Accused Dine-And-Dashers Arrested For Allegedly Running Over Waitress Who Confronted Them About Bill
By 3.23.15
As if it isn’t bad enough to deliberately avoid paying a restaurant tab, a group of diners is accused of not only skipping out on the bill, but then allegedly running over the waitress who confronted them. [More]
TSA Busts Passenger Allegedly Trying To Fly With Bear Paws In His Luggage
By 3.23.15
We’ve heard many a tale of travelers accused of trying to move things they shouldn’t through the air in their luggage, attempts that are often thwarted by the Transportation Security Administration’s airport checkpoints. But while we’re used to hearing about concealed weapons or live wildlife, officials say one traveler allegedly upped the “what not to pack” ante by toting bear paws and other parts in his bags. [More]
Hilton HHonors Site Flaw Exposed All Accounts To Potential Hijacking
By 3.23.15
Following a report of a spike in hijacked accounts, Hilton recently asked its HHonors Awards members to change their passwords — offering them 1,000 bonus points if they did so before April 1. But cybersecurity experts say that hackers didn’t actually need passwords to take control of other folks’ HHonors accounts. [More]
Police: Man Said He Showed Meijer Workers Nude Selfies Because It Cheered Him Up
By 3.20.15
We’ve all had the blues, but when you need cheering up it shouldn’t involve showing unsuspecting store workers pictures of your junk. That’s what police in Grand Rapids say one man admitted to doing, because he says it cheers him up when he’s not feeling so great. [More]
Contractor Steals Homeowners’ Valuables, Demands Cash For Their Return
By 3.20.15
It’s certainly not unheard of to have your things stolen by workers with access to your home, but most of them don’t have the gall to justify their theft by saying the victim should pay a ransom because the thief’s boss doesn’t pay them enough. [More]
How To Verify Your Identity In Case The IRS Suspects Suspicious Tax Return Activity
By 3.18.15
In the aftermath of revelations that fraudsters exploited TurboTax and had possibly filed bogus returns in many states, the Internal Revenue Service is contacting people linked to suspiciously filed returns, and asking them to verify their identity to find out if the return is real or not. [More]
