../../../..//2009/06/23/it-turns-out-x-ray-glasses/
It turns out X-ray glasses don’t work, at least not the ones this guy in Korea was selling. [Korea Times] (Thanks to Andrew!)
crime
Meet The Virtual ATM Skimmers
By 6.22.09
Just when you thought that you and your ATM card data were safe from criminal eyes, Scientific American brings a different sort of threat. This time, the skimmers are inside the machine. Malware within the ATM itself harvests enough data to do some very bad things.
Man Uses Geek Squad Badge To Impersonate Cop, Coerce Sex Out Of Prostitute
By 6.22.09
If a man says he’s a police officer and flashes a badge at you, then tells you to have sex with him or he’ll arrest you, make sure the badge doesn’t say Geek Squad on it first. That’s what a woman says happened to her in Parsippany, New Jersey last week.
On The Rise: People Blowing Up Their Own Cars
By 6.8.09
Nothing salves buyer’s remorse like a match in a fuel tank. Citing National Insurance Crime Bureau figures, a Los Angeles Times story says car owners are resorting to nefarious means to put an end to burdensome car loans. In the first quarter of the year, suspicious fires or arson were up 27 percent for the first quarter of the year and cases of intentionally destroyed cars shot up 24 percent.
By 5.28.09
../../../..//2009/05/28/looking-for-updates-in-the/
Looking for updates in the New Zealand bank error fugitives case? According to various news reports. the couple have split up to evade capture, the sister who posted the fateful Facebook message is back in New Zealand, and the couple face seven years in jail once they are caught.
Credit Card Processors Launch A New Strategy To Defeat Theft
By 5.26.09
This fall, credit card processors will being rolling out a new approach to preventing data theft, based on the assumption that it’s impossible to thwart every attack. Instead of keeping 100% of criminals out, they’ll segment and encrypt the data into such small chunks that it will no longer be a cost-effective crime.
New Zealand Bank Error Fugitives Foiled By Facebook Status Update
By 5.25.09
You know how it goes. You go out and have too many beers, then post a Facebook update with a bit too much information about your evening. Maybe you take it down once you sober up the next day, but not before the damage is done.
Man Who Poisoned Children In Campbell's Soup Fraud Sentenced To 100 Years
By 5.22.09
In January 2006, William Cunningham laced soup with lighter fluid, peppers, and eventually Prozac and Amitriptyline, then fed it to his 18-month-old daughter and 3-year-old son. He then claimed the soup had been tampered with and threatened to sue Campbell Soup if they didn’t pay up. Yesterday he was sentenced to 100 years in prison.
Sprint Customer Receives Fake-Looking Phone Bill
By 5.21.09
Update: Lloyd, a Sprint “Customer Experience” Manager, wrote in to let us know that the bill below is indeed legitimate:
Here's A Phishing Site Disguised To Trick Wells Fargo Customers
By 5.13.09
Freddie writes that his friend was tricked by a phishing email. All the warning signs were there to tip off his friend—an email saying he needed to click a link, a suspicious url, a page asking for his login info—but he clicked and entered the info anyway. Please do not be like Freddie’s friend, who is now probably on the phone with the real Wells Fargo trying to get his account number changed.
Frontline Investigates Bernie Madoff
By 5.13.09
PBS’s documentary show FRONTLINE took on Bernie Madoff this week, exposing the history of his operation and how the SEC let him slip through their fingers.
New York ATM Skimmer Crooks Stole $1.8 Million
By 5.12.09
Four Romanian nationals in Florida have been charged in a series of ATM skimmer frauds that targeted banks in New York City, Cicero (near Syracuse), NY, and Rochester, NY. They are charged with, among other things, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit credit card fraud. According to the Syracuse office of the Secret Service, they stole $1.8 million overall.
Breaking $20 $50 At McDonald's? Get Ready To Show Some ID
By 5.9.09
Who pays for a six-piece McNugget with a $20 $50 bill? Counterfeiters, that’s who, and the McDonald’s near Madison Square Garden is ready for them. Sorry guys, you’re going to have to ask Wendy’s to anonymously break your shadily large bills.
Former Domino's YouTube Gross Out Girl Can't Get A Job Now
By 5.6.09
Kristy Hammonds, the woman who filmed her friend Michael doing inappropriate things to the food they were supposed to be preparing, needs a job to feed her two kids. She says she’s been trying to get work at other fast food restaurants, though, which might be part of the problem.
8 Million Patient Records Stolen From Virginia State Database, Held For Ransom
By 5.5.09
The Washington Post says that a hacker encrypted 8 million patient prescription records from a Virginia state website last week, deleted the backups, and replaced the home page with a ransom note. If the state doesn’t pay $10 million within 7 days, the hacker has threatened to sell the data to the highest bidder.
Is Kohl's Systemically Overcharging Customers?
By 5.3.09
Don’t walk out of Kohl’s without first double-checking your receipt. The store apparently has a penchant for overcharging customers, according to the Sacramento County Department of Weights and Measures, which fined the chain $2,000 for repeatedly failing surprise inspections. CBS sent an enterprising reporter to see how long it would take for them to uncover a pricing discrepancy of their own. Almost immediately, they found a woman who was charged $64.99 for a pair of shoes marked $59.99.
"Box Of Rocks" Scam Caught On Walmart Security Camera
By 4.30.09
Here’s another “I bought a box of rocks!” story, only this time there’s proof that the victim wasn’t pulling a dirty trick on Walmart. Instead, it was someone before her who bought and then returned a Nintendo DS, only they swapped out the unit with rocks before making the return.
Watch Out For Scammy Swine Flu Email, Websites
By 4.30.09
How can you tell you’ve made it on the Internet? How about if you’re turned into spambait? MSN Money reports that scammers are taking advantage of the sudden interest in swine flu by using it in subject lines to get people to open messages and download attachments. Don’t do it! Tell your friends and relatives not to do it, either!
