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More information about the Stanford International Bank fraud case, including, but not limited to: a bank panic in Venezuela, hugs from Nancy Pelosi, allegations of money laundering for drug cartels, and predictable vows to “fight with every breath to continue to uphold our good name and continue the legacy we have built together.” Still no word on where the $8 billion went. [Forbes]
The SEC has charged Robert Allen Stanford, a prominent Texas businessman, in connection with an $8 billion fraud in the sale of so-called certificates of deposit that promised unrealistic rates of return. Stanford guaranteed fixed-income investments by “promising improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates,” according to a statement by the SEC.
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There’s been another suicide in connection with the Madoff fraud case. The investor was a former British soldier who invested his life savings in two hedge funds who in turn put the money in Madoff’s fund. [MSNBC]
You may have seen the commercial where Montel Williams hawks some goofy collectible coins with President Obama’s face IN FULL COLOR OMG. If you were planning on ordering some, though, watch this video from KATU 2 TV in Portland, Oregon first.* A father and daughter bought the coins and discovered that they’re just regular money with color stickers applied. One of the news anchors even comments that she could see the face on the coin through the sticker when she looked at it from the side.
Will the Ticketmaster/Live Nation merger be good for customers? Why of course it will! Just take a look at this awesome purchasing experience Ticketmaster managed to provide recently:
Listen, HSBC Fraud Department, we need to talk. We know it sounds like a joke, but Phil is actually in Norway. We’re sure people call all the time and navigate your byzantine series of computer menus just to tell you hilariously absurd lies like “I’m leaving the country, here’s my forwarding contact information.” We’re sure labeling every foreign transaction as potential fraud isn’t nearly as fun as caring about the part of Phil’s account notes where it says “Travel advisory: In Norway.” The one joy of this endless runaround, the one nugget worth sharing, is that every time you flag a transaction, Phil gets to call you collect, and calling international collect makes a huge difference…
We’ve seen some misleading advertising before, but this one is a doozy. A company called “Property Tax Reassessment” is sending homeowners in California a fake tax document that looks official, and that attempts to con recipients into paying $179 before February 26th so that the company can file some paperwork on their behalf. There’s even a late fee threat for missing the deadline! It’s some of the most convincing looking junk mail we’ve ever seen, and it’s a total scam.
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Don’t give your friends money via Facebook without talking to them first. [CNN] (Thanks to Jamie!)
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Some brilliant jerk found an entirely new way to spread malware: he distributed fake parking tickets that prompted victims to visit a malicious website. [ZDNet]
Our sister publication, Consumer Reports, put together some video interviews with people who, for one reason or another, are facing foreclosure. They are the human side of this financial meltdown.
Another reader has contacted us to say that Moreno and Woods, the fake collection agency that likes to threaten and intimidate people into paying huge bills for collections they don’t owe, “called my house last night and left a threatening message on my phone for my son.” Luckily for Linda, she’s got a recording of their threat now.
A court filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan made public a 162-page document listing his various clients, which include Hall of Fame Pitcher Sandy Koufax, actor Kevin Bacon, and the Wilpon family, owners of the New York Mets.
The website Scam Victims United warned its readers about last week’s arrested ponzi schemer, Nick Cosmo, nearly four months ago, based on a visit one of its forum members made to Cosmo’s office. Reuters points out that this site and others like it—Fraud Aid and Scam Warners, for example—are enjoying healthy traffic spikes right now, which is great news in the fight against fraud.
Ralph discovered a mysterious $18 charge on his most recent AT&T bill. A little research turned up OSP Communications, which is apparently a front for a fraudulent biller that has repeatedly hit AT&T customers with a cramming fraud. Read Ralph’s email below, and be sure to check your own phone bill for charges like this each month.
The Secret Service has apparently “pinpointed” the location of a suspect in the massive Heartland credit card database breach. No surprise, it’s international. [Storefrontbacktalk]
As an apology to the millions of consumers who had their credit card info stolen, TJX (that’s T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, and A.J. Wright) is offering fifteen percent off all purchases in stores today only. We suggest that you pay with cash.
Justice has finally been served to the senior citizen who was not only ripped off on his trade-in vehicle (which is, frankly, to be expected), the dealership also got him to hand over his ATM card and just straight up stole $2000 from his bank account.
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