We understand the desire to redecorate, but just because your budget is low doesn’t mean you should try stealing yourself a new patio set. A New Jersey husband-and-wife team is accused of exploiting a website glitch in an effort to scam $258,000 worth of merchandise from Lowe’s, including a gazebo and lawn mower. [More]
busted
No, IKEA Is Not Selling A Rainbow Pillowcase Called “PUTIN”
By 3.23.15
The Internet, while a vast and varied resource rich in information on innumerable topics, is also a rascally son of a boomerang and will often regurgitate fiction as fact. To that end: Though a photo circulating Twitter yesterday appeared to show a rainbow-striped pillowcase called the “PUTIN” on sale at an IKEA store, the company says it doesn’t sell that particular item anymore and oh yeah, it was never named after the president of Russia. [More]
Chrysler Workers Caught Drinking, Toking Up During Break
By 9.27.10
Last week, MyFoxDetroit showed footage it had secretly taped of at least 15 autoworkers at a Chrysler plant “drinking beer and smoking marijuana before heading to work.” Chrysler has told the television station that it has suspended the employees without pay pending an investigation, and that it will likely determine next actions today. Check out the video below. [More]
Fraudster Stole $900K From Best Buy
By 6.12.10
Is ripping off Best Buy destined to be this summer’s hot new felony? Just last week, an Illinois couple was convicted of bilking the retail giant of $41 million over a four-year period. Now, a Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to scamming Best Buy for a more modest $900,000, by submitting false invoices for electronics equipment. [More]
Cuomo: Banks May Have Misled Raters On Mortgage Securities
By 5.13.10
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has opened an investigation of eight major banks, to find out whether they gave misleading data to rating agencies to pump up the ranking of mortgage-backed securities. The companies in the crosshairs are Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Crédit Agricole and Merrill Lynch (aka Bank of America). [More]
Erotic Japanese Game "Cross Days" Tricks Pirates Into Posting Personal Info Online
By 3.31.10
If you’re trying to pirate the Japanese erotic manga game Cross Days–and I don’t care what people say, I love that I live in a world where I can type that phrase–you should know that the game’s developers are wise to you, and they’re going to do their best to shame and embarrass you. [More]
Sushi "Tuna" Might Be Endangered, Dangerous, Or Fake
By 11.23.09
Biologists testing DNA code identification technology discovered that the tuna they ordered at sushi restaurants was actually hazardous or fake fish, or even an endangered species.
Spirit Air Hit With $375,000 Fine For Really Screwing Up
By 9.18.09
Spirit Air, home of fees for everything from buying your ticket online to being a victim of a plane crash (OK, they dropped that one), has been hit with a record $375,000 fine from the Department of Transportation for, among other things, false advertising, adding extra fees to its fares (toldja) and taking as long as 14 months to compensate passengers for lost luggage. Spirit’s response? Some perks are bound to fall by the wayside when you’re an “Ultra Low Cost Carrier.”
Software Rescues Stolen Laptop From Porn Lover
By 9.17.09
When Florida businessman David Krop’s two laptops were stolen from his car back in February, he didn’t have much hope of getting them back. But he decided to try to log in using some remote access software he had installed on one of the computers. The software, LogMeIn, let him in, and he soon found himself seeing the world through new eyes. “Unaware that Krop was spying on his activities, the user of the Toshiba laptop visited porn site after porn site, taking breaks to check e-mail … and place ads to Craigslist.com for what Krop said appeared to be some kind of female modeling business, ” PC World reports. “My eyes just lit up,” Krop says. “Just the fact he was online at that moment was amazing.”
UBS Rats Out Thousands Of Potential Tax Evaders To The IRS
By 8.20.09
Bad news for tax evaders! UBS has reached an agreement with the IRS to turn over the names of 4,450 “U.S. account holders as part of a U.S.-Swiss tax-evasion settlement and investigation that could produce a total 10,000 account identities,” says the WSJ.
U.S. Marshals Seize All Of Clarcon's Products At Utah Facility
By 8.4.09
Back in June, the FDA sounded an alarm about potentially bacteria-laden Clarcon products, including some anti-bacterial lotions meant to be applied to open wounds. They urged the public not to use Clarcon products while Clarcon addressed the matter. Apparently Clarcon didn’t do enough, though, because this past weekend U.S. Marshals “seized all skin sanitizers and skin protectants, including ingredients and components, at Clarcon Biological Chemistry Laboratory’s facility in Roy, Utah.”
Court Shanks Spammers With $3.7 Million Decision
By 7.3.09
These are already times for spammers,and it looks like things are getting even tougher, since a U.S. district court has ordered an international spam ring to cough up $3.7 million for filling your inbox with annoying messages, violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.
Blockbuster Busted For Overcharging Customers, Must Pay $300k
By 5.19.09
What do you do when the foundation to your business is crumbling and bankrupcty lurks like the Grim Reaper just outside your drop box? If you’re Blockbuster, apparently you charge customers more at the register than what’s displayed on the product, at least in California.
Comcast Fined $900k, DirecTV $2.3 M For Do Not Call Violations
By 4.16.09
The FTC has announced that Comcast and DIRECTV, will be paying some fines for ignoring Do Not Call regulations. Ouch.
Target Will Pay $1.7 Million After Inaccurate Scanners Overcharged Californians
By 10.22.08
Target has agreed to pay a $1.7 million penalty after weights and measures inspectors found “numerous occasions where the price charged at the cash register was not the lowest posted price,” according to a statement from the Sonoma County district attorney’s office.
UnitedHealth Group Accused Of Fraud
By 2.13.08
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is going after UnitedHealth Group, accusing them of “rigging data” and systematically “under-reimbursing” their members for out-of-network expenses.
U.S. Marshals Seize Supplements Illegally Marketed As Treatments For Various Diseases
By 10.16.07
U.S. Marshals have seized approximately $71,000 in shipments of supplements that were being illegally marketed as treatments for a variety of diseases, including diabetes, anemia, and hypertension.
