While we certainly understand and appreciate the idea of employing older Americans as greeters at Walmart, we cringe every time we come across a story of another elderly worker injured after being put in the position of trying to prevent shoplifting. [More]
crime news
Video Shows 78-Year-Old Walmart Worker Injuring Hip Trying To Check Shoplifter’s Receipt
By 12.23.14
Verizon Customer Gets Police Involved After Phone Disappears Into FedEx Vortex
By 12.22.14
So Verizon sends you a new phone worth hundreds of dollars. FedEx claims it was delivered and that you signed for it, though that’s impossible because you were miles away from home when the delivery allegedly occurred. Neither company will do anything about the issue and both blame you. What’s a decent human being to do? [More]
More Horrible People Caught On Camera Stealing Packages From Porch
By 12.22.14
This is why I never have any packages left at my door without a signature. Yet another person’s holiday has been spoiled by sticky-fingered thieves swiping packages left on someone’s porch, and once again the crime is captured on security camera footage. [More]
Bank CEO Rips Walmart For Allowing ID Thieves To Spend $12K Without Anyone Noticing
By 12.10.14
How do ID thieves spend $12,000 in just a couple of hours at Walmart without anyone noticing? Quite easily, apparently. Which is why one CEO of a Texas-based bank is criticizing the nation’s largest retailer. [More]
ID Thieves Use Domino’s Ordering App To Check Stolen Card Numbers
By 12.8.14
Let’s say you’re a criminal who has just purchased a bunch of credit/debit card numbers stolen from one of the data breaches that occur every day. How do you check to see if the numbers you’ve purchased are any good? For ID thieves in Brooklyn, the Domino’s Pizza ordering app provided a quick and easy way to run through those numbers — and get pizza for people. [More]
For-Profit College Hired Exotic Dancers As Admissions Reps
By 12.5.14
The operators of a now-defunct for-profit college in Florida allegedly told its admissions directors to do whatever it took to sell the school to potential students. Among the tactics used by the school is one straight out of a wacky, low-budget, late-night college movie you might see on Cinemax. [More]
Man Arrested For Using McDonald’s McChicken As A Weapon Against Pregnant Wife
By 12.3.14
An ungrateful person complains when their spouse gives them a fast food sandwich they don’t like. A truly horribly human being assaults that spouse with the sandwich in question. [More]
Sleep Inn Manager Accused Of Redirecting $873K In Credit Card Payments To Personal Account
By 11.26.14
A former manager at a Sleep Inn hotel in Michigan is accused of taking advantage of the chain’s credit card payment system to issue nearly $900,000 in bogus refunds to her credit card accounts. [More]
Cops Pose As Pizza Delivery Guys To Arrest Robbers Using Stolen Credit Card
By 11.25.14
Consumerist’s Tip For Criminals #872: If you rob a guy, don’t then use his stolen credit card to have pizza delivered to your home, because the driver dropping off your pie might just be a police officer in disguise. [More]
Someone Sent $270K Worth Of Pot To The Wrong Clothing Store
By 11.19.14
I’ve never mailed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of marijuana to anyone, but if I were going to do it, I’d at least make sure that it was properly addressed. But that’s apparently not the case for whomever sent 90 pounds of pot to one Philly-area clothing store over the course of two days. [More]
4.5 Years Later, Restaurant Owner Pleads Guilty To Serving Whale Meat
By 11.18.14
Way back in March 2010, we brought you the story of The Hump, a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles charged with violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act by serving the meat of the Sei Whale. The eatery has since closed, but the case against its owner has lingered, until yesterday, when he entered a guilty plea in federal court. [More]
Don’t Use That Stolen Debit Card In Front Of Woman You Stole It From
By 11.11.14
We’ve heard numerous stories over the years of someone having their debit card stolen and then watching online in horror as their account was drained while waiting for someone at the bank to pick up the phone. But here’s a story of a woman who was able to nab the thief of her debit card — because he tried to buy $200 worth of toys with it right in front of her. [More]
Man Arrested For Stealing House Moves Back In After Posting Bail
By 11.5.14
If I get arrested for stealing a car, that boosted vehicle probably isn’t waiting outside the police station for me to drive away in when I make bail. But a man in New York City who was recently arrested for stealing a home from its rightful owner was able to move back into the house he’s been accused of taking. [More]
Hackers Now Stealing Your Loyalty Rewards & Points
By 11.4.14
While we hear almost daily reports of retailers having their payment systems hacked and customer records stolen, it looks like cybercriminals are increasingly realizing they can turn a profit by stealing assets many consumers treat as an afterthought — loyalty rewards. [More]
Does Using Someone Else’s Costco Card To Steal From Store Count As Burglary?
By 10.31.14
When you leave a store without having paid for something, you’ve likely committed the crime of theft, but if you use someone else’s card to get into a warehouse club like Costco or Sam’s Club and then walk out of the store without paying for items in your bag, have you also committed the crime of burglary? A New Mexico appeals court says no, but it depends on where you live. [More]
Walmart Shoplifter Threatens To Infect Employee With HIV
By 10.31.14
A wannabe shoplifter at a Dallas Walmart somehow thought it would be a good idea to threaten a store employee with HIV infection rather than get in trouble for trying to pilfer $11 worth of frozen food from the retailer. [More]
Passenger Arrested For Groping, Kissing, Putting Headlock On Flight Attendants
By 10.30.14
A Delta Air Lines passenger on board a flight from Atlanta to Denver apparently didn’t get the memo that the days of people looking the other way while you sexually harass a flight attendant are far in the past. Furthermore, if you double-up on your creepy actions by messing with two (2) attendants — and you put one of them in a headlock while trying to kiss her — you’re going to be arrested when that plane lands. [More]
Town Creates Nation’s First “Craigslist Transaction Safe Zone”
By 10.30.14
While the vast majority of purchases made via Craigslist go down without a problem, those don’t make the news; it’s the rare case of people getting scammed or attacked that earns the headlines. In an effort to reduce the chance of those sorts of incidents, one Pennsylvania community has created what it claims is the nation’s first Craigslist Transaction Safe Zone. [More]
