Leo Gao, the co-owner of a BP station in Rotorua, New Zealand, applied for a $10,000 NZD ($6,142 USD) overdraft line from Westpac bank. An error by a bank staff member somehow put $10,000,000 NZD ($6,139,614 USD) in his account. He and his business partner haven’t been heard from since.
criminals
Fake Dunkin' Donuts Employee Sneaks Into Stores, Steals Purses
By 5.14.09
If you live in Fall River, Massachusetts, and work at one of the town’s Dunkin’ Donuts stores, watch out for fake employees! A woman has been walking into the DD stores dressed in an employee uniform and going into the back, where she promptly steals real employees’ purses. When confronted at one of the stores, the thief told the workers that “she was there to pick up beans for another store and a note should have been left on the manager’s door.” When the employees went to look for the note, she left.
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.
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.
Reader Finds Card Skimmer On Bank ATM
By 4.6.09
Dan says over the weekend he discovered a card skimmer attached to the ATM at his local WaMu branch. He pulled it off and took photos of it.
Bad Idea: Confessing To Your $100,000 A Year Shoplifting Habit On National TV
By 4.2.09
All the clever shoplifting tricks in the world won’t save you from yourself if you decide to reveal your secrets on Dr. Phil. Last week a fraud task force raided the home of Laura and Matthew Eaton, who appeared on an episode in November to show the audience how they did it and to say they were going straight.
Best Buy Employee Arrested For Stealing Credit Cards
By 2.10.09
Uh oh, another Best Buy employee has been caught swiping data from customers. Unlike the woman last August who went on small time shopping sprees, this woman was caught using a card reader to swipe and store info on as many as 4,000 customers at the Best Buy store located at 1880 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd in Palm Beach, Florida.
Peanut Corp. of America Knowingly Shipped Tainted Peanut Butter
By 1.29.09
The news about Peanut Corp. of America’s complete abandonment of food safety gets worse: now it seems that the company knew its peanut butter had salmonella, but shipped it anyway. When the product tested positive, the company shopped around for another lab to provide “acceptable” results.
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.
My Wife Was Attacked In The Parking Lot And Rite Aid Won't Help!
By 6.1.08
Virginia police are unable to track down the creep who grabbed Michael’s wife in a Rite Aid parking lot because Rite Aid is refusing to hand over its security tapes. Even worse, the store manager apparently knows the creepy grabber guy and is also refusing to help. Michael wrote to Rite Aid’s corporate office begging them to cooperate with law enforcement. He hasn’t heard back in two days.
5 Ways To Avoid Check Fraud And Thwart Identity Thieves
By 5.31.08
Check-altering criminal mastermind Frank Abagnale has five ways to lockdown your checking account and secure your identity. Check fraud isn’t an anachronistic threat like Communism. Determined thieves can easily use your checks to steal your cash and your identity. Here’s how to stop them…
Payday Lenders Convince Elderly To Assign Social Security Checks To Them, Hand Back Allowances
By 2.22.08
This writer is quickly growing convinced that payday lenders are the modern version of indentured servitude, trapping consumers in cycles of debt that simply cannot be broken in their lifetimes.
When Shoplifting Videos From Target, Please Do Not Set Lingerie On Fire As A Diversion
By 1.13.08
Quick, you stuffed $195 worth of videos into your jacket and you’re rushing towards the exit when you spot Target’s menacing security force. What do you do? If you answered “set lingerie on fire as a diversion,” then you may be as bright as 19-year-old shoplifter Tabitha Bozman of Elyria, Ohio.
Time Warner Repairman Jailed For Sexual Assault
By 8.26.07
If a creepy Time Warner repairman says he wants to ‘be with you’ while on a service call, you probably shouldn’t let him back in your house. After making the comment, Steven James Hernandez was dispatched back to the house to fix a problem outside; instead, he decided to bang on the 28 year-old woman’s door. From KENS 5:
Police said the banging at the door lasted at least 15 minutes, and the man at the door was Hernandez.
The RIAA And MPAA Need To Lie
By 4.7.07
The RIAA and MPAA are telling California legislators that lies and deceit are an integral part of their anti-piracy strategy. The importance of lying, masterfully demonstrated by Jim Carrey in his 1997 hit “Liar Liar,” is at issue as California legislators mull a measure that would ban pretexting. Otherwise known as lying, pretexting involves the use of “false statements and other misleading practices to get personal information.”
Couple Bilks Target For $10,000 With Fake Coupons And Social Engineering
By 12.1.06
Bad consumer. Bad bad bad. — BEN POPKEN
