While we don’t condone theft of any sort, we are aware of the notion that having a baby with you while you shoplift might help create the illusion that you’re not a petty criminal who needs to be watched by store security. But if you get spotted trying to take advantage of some five-finger discounts, leaving that infant behind is incredibly uncool. It will probably also lead the police right to your doorstep. [More]
Crime & Fraud
This Is Getting Old: Another Flight Diverted Over Reclining Seat Spat
By 9.2.14
First it was that United flight where a passenger used an illegal device to prevent the person in front of them from reclining. Then an air marshal on an American Airlines flight arrested a traveler who wouldn’t give up on his complaint about the woman in front of him putting her seat back. Delta now continues this trend, diverting a flight that was almost at its destination because one passenger thought her tray table was for napping. [More]
After Denial, Dairy Queen Admits It Was Victim Of Hack
By 8.28.14
After initially denying reports of data breaches at a number of its stores, soft-serve royalty Dairy Queen has finally admitted data breaches at a currently undisclosed number of locations. [More]
JPMorgan Chase, At Least Four Other Banks Hit By Hackers In Coordinated Attacks
By 8.28.14
No one is too big to get hacked — and that includes JPMorgan Chase and at least four other banks that were hit by hackers earlier this month. The FBI is investigating the blitzes, which seem to be sophisticated, coordinated cyberattacks that grabbed gigagbytes of data. [More]
A Bunch Of Meanies Are Stealing Corn From Nice People In Connecticut
By 8.27.14
Just because something isn’t sitting in a store with a price tag on it doesn’t mean it’s free, people. Which is why it’s quite rude that big old meanies have been swiping corn at Connecticut corn farms, not because they’re hungry and in need of a snack, but to sell for 100% profit off the back of a truck. [More]
Your Next Fraudulent E-Mail May Come From Your Boss
By 8.26.14
If I received an urgent e-mail from Boss Meg telling me to send a $9,000 wire transfer to Consumerist’s fedora vendor, I would know that it was some kind of scam. Paying our bills isn’t part of my job, so clearly that isn’t an e-mail that I would receive. What if that were my job, though? Companies have reported losing an average of $55,000 to a scam exactly like this, wiring money to mysterious entities who forge e-mails from the boss. [More]
Couple Accused Of Stealing $16K By Exploiting Debit Card With Magically Increasing Balance
By 8.26.14
To my knowledge, there has never been an established, official “opposite day,” whereby spending money on products you actually magically increase how much money you have, much less an “opposite bunch of months” where this happens. So when a couple using a debit card that made them richer with every purchase realized what was happening, the legal thing to do would’ve been to pipe up. [More]
Taco Bell Bosses Accused Of Forcing Worker To Give Customers Fake Money As Change
By 8.25.14
We would all be a lot richer if we could each invent our own money but alas, that’s just not how it works (I’d be a millionaire if only I could buy stuff with high fives, sigh). Which is why officials are none too pleased with the operators of two Taco Bell locations in New York, after a worker claimed she was forced to pass fake cash to customers as change. [More]
PlayStation Network Crashes, Hackers Make Bomb Threat Against Plane Carrying Sony Exec
By 8.25.14
After claiming responsibility for a denial-of-service attack that took down the Sony PlayStation network, a group of hackers tweeted that there was a bomb onboard an American Airlines flight carrying the president of Sony Online Entertainment, John Smedley. That plane was diverted, and all passengers on it safely removed. [More]
AirBNB Squatter Brothers Quietly Leave Their Ill-Gotten Condo
By 8.22.14
The AirBNB squatter nightmare is over…as far as we know. The owner of the property filed an unlawful detainer notice, which is part of the legal eviction process. While the squatters didn’t respond to that notice before their Monday deadline, instead they quietly left the condo, leaving surprisingly little damage. [More]
Asian Restaurant Would Really Like Its 800-Pound Wok Back
By 8.21.14
If someone tries to sell you an 800-pound wok, the police in Wichita, Kansas would like to hear about it. The Associated Press reports that earlier this week, the massive piece of cookware was stolen from the Bamboo Express Asian Cuisine restaurant while it was sitting outside. Moving the wok most likely required more than one person, and police could really use some leads. [Associated Press] (Thanks, Derek!) [More]
Norway Marks The Legalization Of Segways With First Drunk-While-Segwaying Arrest
By 8.20.14
As my cool cousin Charlie once said, laws are made to be broken, man. That’s certainly true in Norway, where someone already got arrested for driving a Segway while under the influence of alcohol a month after the country legalized the electric scooters. This is why you can’t have nice things, Norway. [More]
Let’s Guess What Happens If You Drive A Stolen Shopping Scooter To Meet Your Probation Officer
By 8.20.14
There are many things you can do to make sure you don’t go get in trouble with the law for another go around, but a surefire way to hop right into that hot water again? By boosting a ride and driving it to a meeting with a probation officer. [More]
Woman Accused Of Faking Cancer To Get Donations Arrested On Her Way To Film TV Show
By 8.19.14
An Illinois woman who’s been accused of pretending both she and her son have cancer in order to scam people out of money was reportedly on her way to film an interview for the Dr. Phil show when cops caught up with her, warrant in hand. [More]
Reminder: It’s Impolite To Shoot A Deer With An Arrow At Your Local Car Dealership
By 8.15.14
So you’re at the car dealership perusing vehicles and mulling the difference between Space Ghost Gray and Ghost Rider Gray when fwiiiiiiip! — an arrow zings past and takes down a nearby deer. What an awfully rude customer, you might think. And you’d be right, one car dealership was none too happy when a guy allegedly shot a deer with a bow and arrow on the premises. [More]
Traveler Arrested At Airport Because Breast Implants Should Not Be Packed With Cocaine
By 8.15.14
Though there are plenty of horror stories out there about people getting crazy or dangerous substances implanted by way of dubious medical procedures, stuffing breast implants with cocaine brings things to a whole new level of nuttery. And as it turns out, it’s not a good way to smuggle drugs, as one traveler recently found out. [More]
There’s Really No Way Twitter Can Stop Some Users From Being A-Holes
By 8.14.14
As you’ve probably heard, in the wake of actor Robin Williams’ death earlier this week, his daughter Zelda Williams was subjected to some particularly nasty messages on Twitter, causing her to close her account on the service rather than have to sort through hurtful, nasty statements from strangers. This is not good news for Twitter, which now has to answer to stockholders. And so the company is saying it’s looking into how to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future, but there’s a bigger question — is that even possible? [More]
Police Looking For Couple Who Stole 5-Year-Old’s iPod At Frozen Yogurt Store
By 8.13.14
In the updated-for-the-digital age version of taking candy from a baby, police in Colorado say an adult couple walked off with a five-year-old’s iPod, you know, just because it was there. Yes, we live in a world where there are people who will steal electronics from a kid. Yes, I meant iPod. Yes, people still have iPods. [More]
