Wow, those iPhones really are amazing. Chris’ iPhone can make a call from Nicaragua the same time it’s incurring a data roaming charge in Mexico—all without leaving Chris’ side in the U.S. Some skeptics will probably just say there’s a problem with AT&T’s records, or the phone’s SIM card was cloned or something, but AT&T believes. That’s why they want Chris to pay that bill each month it keeps happening.
crime
5 Scams To Watch Out For During A Recession
By 10.6.08
The LA Times says that recessions are boom times for scammers looking to take advantage of desperate people. They’ve listed 5 common scams that do well in a poor economy. They include bankrupcy scams, foreclosure scams, and fake home-based businesses.
Scammers Pose As Grandchildren Pleading For Emergency Cash
By 10.2.08
The BBB has issued a warning about a distressing telephone scam that’s increasing in popularity. The target? Grandparents. Scammers based in Canada are thought to be randomly dialing US phone numbers until they reach someone who sounds like a senior citizen. They then pose as a grandchild who has been in a car accident and needs emergency money.
GameStop Takes Buying And Selling Stolen Goods Seriously
By 10.2.08
THE QUOTE: “GameStop takes this situation quite seriously,” said Rory Rhoads, GameStop’s Regional Vice President of Stores. “We are pleased to partner with the ALERT Unit and have taken very deliberate steps to improve our operations. Specifically, we have suspended our cash-for-trade transactions in Shelby County and DeSoto County, Mississippi until February 2009.”
This Inflatable Walmart Decoration Is Adorable. And A Murder Scene!
By 10.1.08
We’re trying to figure out who this inflatable crime scene is meant for. With its puffy cuteness, built in lights, and “castle” style walls, it looks like it would be a perfect entrance to a backyard Halloween party for kids. But with its “crime scene noises” and someone-is-being-murdered vibe, it seems more appropriate at a celebration for short police academy graduates. Either way, it can be yours for $125 and a relinquishing of any sense of good taste. [Update: this post is meant humorously—I belly-laughed when I first saw the product.]
The Video That Got A Grandmother Escorted Off JetBlue In Handcuffs
By 10.1.08
JetBlue really doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone! Remember Marilyn Parver, the grandmother who was arrested for videotaping a fight between two other passengers, and then refusing to delete it? Well, it seems that after the whole thing had blown over — JetBlue had to go and send the woman a nasty email in which they accused her of being “argumentative, condescending and belligerent” and refusing to obey the instructions of crewmembers. Dumb! Now Parver has released the tape in question and we can’t see anything wrong with what she did. The fight is one of those basic “I’ve been on a plane for a really long time with your out-of-control child and I’m having a nervous breakdown” altercations. Nothing cookies and hugs wouldn’t fix!
Idiot Comcast Door-To-Door Salesmen Cause Neighborhood Panic
By 9.19.08
Yesterday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the police were looking for two men who were posing as Comcast employees as a ruse to steal social security numbers. The men were driving an unmarked car, wandering around a neighborhood knocking on doors and telling residents they needed to fix some wiring issues. One resident refused, claiming that she didn’t have an appointment. She then saw the employees start knocking on other doors and, finding it unlikely that her entire neighborhood could have “wiring issues,” called the police.
UltimateBet Poker Site Admits Players Cheated, But Won't Name Names
By 9.18.08
Here’s a mystery story to distract you from the U.S. Banking Apocalypse. UltimateBet.com, “one of the top 10 poker sites,” has admitted that employees manipulated the software to cheat from at least January 2005 to January 2008, when some players started noticing an unusually high rate of wins for a certain user name. An Australian player mapped that user’s wins against accounts that had played a similar number of hands, and realized that “NioNio’s” wins were “less likely than ‘winning a one-in-a-million lottery on four consecutive days.'” But NioNio is just one part of the mystery.
Verizon Refuses To Help Locate Body Of Missing Woman For Four Days
By 9.17.08
Verizon, which has no problem helping the government spy on its customers, suddenly turned stupid in June when a police department asked them for help finding the body of a woman who had been abducted on camera. Despite pleas from the woman’s parents, the police, and the FBI, it was four days before a technician was sent out to the appropriate cell tower. When that technician gave the police the location info, they found Kelsey Smith’s body within 45 minutes. Verizon won’t respond to requests for an explanation of why they couldn’t help sooner.
Capital One Mails Fraud Claim To The Person Committing Fraud
By 9.17.08
“Lisa” writes, “I recently found out that I was a victim of identity theft.” What shocked her, and us as well, is that after Capital One notified her that they’d approved the card with another address, they followed up by sending their fraud claim to the criminal’s address instead of Lisa’s.
Verizon Tech Made 5,000 Sex Chat Calls On Customer Accounts
By 9.11.08
The next time you’re disputing a 900 number call to a sex hotline and the CSR tells you nobody else could have made that call, remind them of this story. Over the past 10 months, a Verizon technician made 5,000 calls to sex chat hotlines, totaling 45,000 minutes of dirty talk at a cost of $220,000. He placed the calls from over 950 tapped residential and commercial accounts throughout Bergen county in New Jersey. He has since resigned, and been charged with theft by deception and theft of services.
AT&T: Being Robbed At Knifepoint Will Not Help You Qualify For The Cheaper iPhone
By 9.2.08
Reader Anthony was robbed at knifepoint by a jerk with a 10″ blade, but his real complaint is that he feels that AT&T is robbing him again. After he filed a police report and told AT&T that his new iPhone had been stolen, they told him that since he already bought an iPhone he no longer qualified for the subsidized price of $199.
Who's Smiling Now? Enzyte Scammer Gets 25 Years In Prison
By 8.28.08
Steve Warshak, founder of the company responsible for “Enzyte,” has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $93,000, says the AP. U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel also ordered the company, along with other defendants, to forfeit more than $500 million that it bilked from consumers.
Former Best Buy Manager Arrested For Stealing Identities From Mailboxes
By 8.27.08
It’s always fun when you spot people you know in the paper. Like when one reader saw an article about his former Best Buy manager, charged with seventeen counts of third-degree identity thief. Mariusz Paliwoda of Conneticut was arrested recently for stealing over 100 pieces of mail from rural folks’, then using the information to create credit card accounts. Only the cream of the crop, or former Domino’s managers, make it to the top of Best Buy!
Milford man charged in ID theft operation [New Haven Register] (Photo: Getty)
FBI Saw Mortgage Crisis Coming, Didn't Stop It
By 8.26.08
The LA Times says that FBI agents told reporters that low interest rates and “soaring home values, [were] starting to attract shady operators and billions in losses were possible.” According to the report, Chris Swecker, the FBI official in charge of criminal investigations, told reporters that the FBI thought it was going to prevent a crisis similar to the S&L debacle.
Best Buy Employee Arrested For Using Customer Credit Cards
By 8.23.08
A Customer Associate for a Best Buy in Las Cruces, New Mexico, was indicted on Thursday for credit card fraud—three counts of making fraudulent purchases over $2500, three counts of making fraudulent purchases over $500, over 20 counts of falsely signing credit card slips, and 1 count of disposing of stolen property.
Fake Debt Collectors Are Trying To Intimidate You Out Of Your Money
By 8.21.08
ABCNews says that the West Virginia Attorney General is warning people about fake debt collectors who will call you repeatedly at home and at work, threatening you with arrest for not paying a debt… that doesn’t even exist.
