When it was first revealed that the hackers who compromised Target’s in-store payment processing system had used stolen vendor credentials to breach the retailer’s network, many probably assumed that the vendor was some sort of IT or security consultant. But a new report from cybersecurity expert and journalist Brian Krebs says it appears that the entry point into the system was through a refrigeration, heating and cooling company in Pennsylvania. [More]
crime news
Judge Stops Town From Punishing Drivers Who Use Headlights To Warn Others Of Speed Traps
By 2.5.14
Flashing your headlights is a well-established means of communicating any number of things to other drivers on the road. It could be a reminder for the other driver to turn on their lights (or turn off their brights). Maybe it’s a call to your traveling partners in another car to pull off at the next exit. It’s also a way for some people to alert other drivers about a police speed trap up ahead. Some towns have outlawed that practice, but a federal judge says that’s going too far. [More]
Travel Club Scammer Sentenced To 7 Years Behind Bars
By 1.31.14
We told you last summer about the New Jersey couple who pleaded guilty to charges they swindled millions of dollars from consumers through bogus “travel clubs” that promised discount travel deals but never delivered. Today, the husband was sentenced to seven years in prison while his wife got off with five years of probation. [More]
Target Says Hackers Used Stolen Vendor Credentials To Breach System
By 1.30.14
Two months since criminals first began stealing credit and debit card information via Target’s in-store payment system, the retailer is providing the first details on how the breach may have been made possible. [More]
Hacker Hijacks Website In Extortion Attempt, GoDaddy Refuses To Talk To Actual Owner
By 1.29.14
It’s the modern-day bureaucratic nightmare — Someone steals something that belongs to you, and the one party that could easily do something about it refuses to listen to you because its records show that the thief is the rightful owner. According to developer Naoki Hiroshima, someone lusted after his Twitter handle (@N) so badly that they went to great lengths, hijacking his personal website in a (sadly successful) extortion attempt. [More]
Laptops Stolen From Coca-Cola HQ Compromise Personal Info For 74,000 People
January 24, 2014
The Wall Street Journal reports that someone stole laptops from Coca-Cola’s Atlanta headquarters that contained unencrypted personal information for upwards of 74,000 people. Among the info compromised by the theft: names, Social Security numbers, and other personal data like driver’s license numbers. The beverage behemoth says the laptops have been recovered and has no evidence that this information was misused. [WSJ.com] [More]
Trio Charged With Running “One-Stop Shop” For Blank Bogus Credit Cards, Holographic Overlays
By 1.24.14
All that credit and debit card information that gets stolen when criminals hack places like Target and Neiman Marcus is only worth so much to an ID thief. Sure, one could use that info to place online orders, but you’re just asking to be tracked down and caught that way. The real prize comes when you take that information and create real-looking credit cards with it. [More]
FBI Warns Stores To Prepare For More Credit Card Hacks
By 1.24.14
The recent malware attacks on payment systems at Target and Neiman Marcus may be getting all the headlines, but they weren’t the first such breaches, and they won’t be the last. This week, the FBI issued a warning to retailers, telling them to prepare for the inevitable hack attempts to come. [More]
Scammer Does A Decent Job Of Making Floor Tile Look Like An iPad
By 1.22.14
We’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: When you’re buying an iPad at a deep discount from a complete stranger off the street, don’t be surprised when you end up with a box of useless junk. And even when that friendly back-alley retailer shows you what appears — through layers of bubble wrap — to be the real deal, be warned that it’s probably just a tarted-up floor tile. [More]
Two Men Arrested For Using Credit Card Numbers Stolen From Target
By 1.21.14
While most ID thieves are wisely staying away from the more than 100 million credit and debit card numbers compromised by the recent data breach of Target’s in-store payment processing system, two Mexican citizens apparently thought they could get away with using some of these leaked numbers to make illegal purchases. [More]
Flight Attendant Blows .258 On Breathalyzer, Pleads Not Guilty To Working While Drunk
By 1.17.14
A flight attendant on a Delta commuter route appears to have imbibed a little more than she thought, after a breathalyzer test determined her blood alcohol content was three times over the legal limit. [More]
If Walmart Won’t Take Your Printer Back, Don’t Throw It At The Customer Service Rep
By 1.17.14
When we advise unhappy consumers to escalate their customer service complaints, we mean to take your issue to a store manager or someone at corporate HQ. We don’t suggest that you ramp up your anger by smashing things and tossing printers at store employees. [More]
77-Year-Old Walmart Shopper Attacks Man With Cart For Having Too Many Items In Express Lane
By 1.14.14
We’ve all been in the express checkout line, grumbling about the person in front of us who has more than the maximum number of items in his or her cart. We may have even said something to this person, or complained to the cashier. But I’m guessing that most of us have not been charged with assault for attacking that other customer with a shopping cart. [More]
Taco Bell Franchisee Doesn’t Tell Social Security About Dead Mom For 23 Years, Collects $200K
By 1.13.14
In the process of dealing with the death of a parent, it might be forgivable if you overlook some paperwork and the Social Security folks send out a benefits check meant for the deceased. But when you deliberately hide this death for two decades while collecting nearly $200,000 that doesn’t belong to you, you’re probably going to jail. [More]
Beer Thieves Drive Off With Walmart Manager In Back Of Truck
By 1.2.14
When a Florida Walmart manager followed a couple of suspected beer thieves out into the parking lot, he probably wasn’t expecting he’d end up going on a 12-mile ride in the back of their truck, tossing beer cans toward passing cars in the hopes of getting someone’s attention. [More]
Armed Mugger Disappointed By Victim’s Old Phone, Returns It
By 12.30.13
Dear criminals of the world: Stealers can’t be choosers. If you’re going to go around indiscriminately robbing people of their phones in public, you can’t always expect to walk away with a spanking new Galaxy S4 or an iPhone 5S. No, sometimes you’re going to get a 3-year-old LG Windows phone that is so much of a letdown you’ll feel compelled to return it to your victim. [More]
Target Confirms PIN Data Also Stolen In Credit/Debit Card Hack
By 12.27.13
After days of denying a report that hackers had stolen encrypted PIN data from some 40 million Target shoppers, the retailer has finally admitted that yes, this information was indeed collected during the 3-week-long data breach. [More]
Cops Play Santa, Hand Out Lotto Tickets Along With Speeding Tickets
By 12.26.13
A speeding ticket can be awfully expensive, but police in Melbourne, FL, were giving some lead-footed motorists a chance to win enough money to pay off their citations by handing out scratch-and-win lotto tickets and speeding tickets on Christmas day. [More]
