A man arrested in connection with a backpack containing what police called an active methamphetamine that was found in the bathroom of an Indiana Walmart apparently doesn’t want officials to get the wrong idea. He admits that yes, the bag was his and yes, there were ingredients in it to make meth. But he wasn’t trying to cook it in the bathroom, he claims. [More]
Crime & Fraud
Card Skimmers Still Found On Bank Lobby Card Readers
By 3.17.15
Alert Consumerist readers know to check ATM card readers for signs of skimmer attachments, PIN pad capture devices, and video cameras to avoid having ATM skimmer crooks drain your bank account. Yet these nefarious devices aren’t just found on cash machines and payment kiosks: some banks use magnetic card readers to protect ATM access after hours, and these can hold skimmers, too. [More]
NYC Officials: Unlicensed Driver Posed As Super Shuttle Worker At Airport, Charged Travelers Wildly Inflated Fares
By 3.17.15
In an example of exactly how important it is to research new cities and how transportation works there before you travel, officials in New York say a man without a livery cab license posed as a Super Shuttle driver and lured travelers going through the John F. Kennedy International Airport hugely inflated fares. [More]
United Airlines Flight Forced To Turn Around After Passenger Reportedly Makes Run For Cockpit Door
By 3.17.15
A United Airways flight bound for Denver was forced to turn back to Washington Dulles Airport after a passenger reportedly made a rush for the cockpit door, and had to be restrained. An airline spokesman says the passenger “failed to comply with crew instructions” last night. [More]
No, Qantas Isn’t Giving Away Free First Class Tickets For Liking A Post On Facebook
By 3.16.15
It’s a Facebook post in which the company name is misspelled. It contends that an underwhelming number of passengers is reason to celebrate. It states that all you have to do to get free first class seats is to “Like” the post, and that “winner’s will be inbox’d on March 17.” Nothing about this seems legitimate, and yet more than 85,000 people thought it was worth a shot. [More]
Fraud Victim’s Impossible Choice: Eat $1,500 In Charges Or Be Banned From PayPal Forever
By 3.13.15
When a customer’s chargeback scheme left one PayPal customer down $1,500 and without the pricey headphones that they had sold, the person who sold the headphones was understandably upset. It’s wrong to rip anyone off, but they’re an individual seller rather than a faceless corporation. PayPal reduced the amount that this person owed to $700, but that was still $700 more than they really owed anyone. What’s a consumer to do? In this case, post to Reddit. [More]
Police: Active Meth Lab Discovered In Backpack Abandoned In Walmart Bathroom
By 3.13.15
While running a successful meth lab isn’t easy even under the best circumstances — and this is coming entirely from watching Breaking Bad, obviously — keeping an active operation going in a Walmart bathroom doesn’t seem like a guarantee for success. To that end, police say they’ve discovered an active meth lab, hidden inside a backpack, abandoned in an Indiana Walmart’s bathroom. [More]
Allegedly Armed Intruder Chooses The Wrong Wrestling-Themed Restaurant To Mess With
By 3.13.15
When presented with a list of businesses that you might not want to mess with, one that has a wrestling theme and is run by a former WWE star and her husband would probably be right at the top of that list. Nonetheless, police say an armed man got into a tussle at a Chicago wrestling-themed restaurant, and let’s just say he was not successful. [More]
FTC Orders Company That Swindled Tens Of Millions From Seniors To Pay $10M Judgment
By 3.12.15
We’ve said it too many times to count at this point, but scammers who take advantage of senior citizens are the worst. Today, the Federal Trade Commission made sure there was one less scammer out there by permanently barring the mastermind behind a multi-million dollar fraud from all future telemarketing activities. [More]
Why Do Robocalls Continue In An Age Of “Do Not Call” And Strict Telemarketing Rules?
By 3.12.15
Even though millions of Americans are on the federal Do Not Call list to limit unwanted telemarketing calls, and even though it’s illegal for anyone to make a commercial prerecorded robocall to a consumer who hasn’t given their express consent to receive such calls, the problem persists and is getting worse, with no cure-all solution in the offing. [More]
IRS Impersonation Scam Is Largest In History, Cost Consumers $15.5M
By 3.12.15
The 2015 tax season has been fraught with complications, from the fraudulent use of tax returns to the “dirty dozen” scams meant to tear consumers away from their money. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing exploring ways in which consumers could better be protected from such hustles, federal investigators divulged more information about one of the most prevalent tax-time scams in recent years, saying it has now targeted 366,000 taxpayers to the tune of $15.5 million. [More]
Police In Ohio On The Lookout For Serial Pooper Defecating On Parked Cars
By 3.12.15
Police in Akron, OH have been dealing with a messy issue since 2012, and it’s one they just can’t seem to wipe away: Cops say a mysterious serial pooper/bowel movement bandit has made area cars his own personal dumping ground, hitting up as many as 19 vehicles in the last three years. But now, police have his face on camera. [More]
Scammers Are Taking More Money With Fake Boss Wire Transfer Schemes
By 3.10.15
So much business is conducted over e-mail now that in some offices, it might be routine to receive an e-mail from your boss telling you where to wire a large amount of money. That’s why the Business E-mail Compromise scam, or CEO Scam, is so plausible and devastatingly effective. Since the last time we discussed this scam, scammers stole more than $17 million from one firm in a single transaction. [More]
Theft Of Truck Trailer Prevents Multiple Tons Of Mozzarella From Achieving Delicious Pizza Fate
By 3.10.15
Admittedly, a truck full of cheese would be a tempting sight for many, yours truly included. But some dastardly villain took things a step too far, swiping a tractor-trailer filled with multiple tons of mozzarella cheese, keeping it from heading off into the delicious pizza sunset it was destined for. That’s just wrong. [More]
Man Accused Of Pointing Laser Beam Into Cockpits Of Several Planes At LaGuardia Airport, Injuring Pilots
By 3.10.15
Because there isn’t already enough to worry about when piloting a giant piece of metal flying in the sky, law enforcement in New York say they busted a man accused of shining a powerful laser beam into the cockpits of several aircraft at LaGuardia Airport, injuring the eyes of three pilots. [More]
News Flash: Someone Will Probably Notice If You Try To Wheel A Jewelry Case Out Of Kmart
By 3.9.15
While we’ve heard of suspected shoplifters obscuring pilfered items on their person in unique ways in an attempt at subterfuge, police in Kingsport, TN say one woman accused of trying to steal from a local Kmart cut right to the chase in her effort, as she allegedly attempted to wheel an entire jewelry case out of the store. [More]
Forgot Where You Crashed Your Rental Lamborghini? Police In Texas Would Like A Word
By 3.9.15
Ever have that nagging feeling like you left something somewhere, but you can’t remember what it is or where you last saw it? Someone apparently suffering a memory glitch has abandoned a rented Lamborghini after crashing it in Texas. [More]
Tourists Suspected Of Adding Their Initials To Walls Of Rome’s Colosseum, Taking A Selfie
By 3.9.15
What is it about a 2,000-year-old famous structure that makes tourists think it isn’t yet complete without their initials joining the blood, sweat and tears of gladiators past on the walls? After a Russian tourist was fined $25,000 for carving his initial in the wall of Rome’s Colosseum last fall, two American visitors have been accused of leaving their initials behind — and of course, taking a selfie to capture the moment of vandalism. [More]
