Have you purchased a computer from Best Buy, only to find that it had no internal parts? No hard drive. No video card. No motherboard? If so, you (allegedly) have Joseph Denice of Silver Spring, MD to thank for your gutted PC. His hobby is buying computers from Best Buy, removing the parts, and then returning the empty shell. Best Buy’s employees would then put the computer husks back on store shelves where they would be repurchased by unwitting consumers such as… you.
scammers
Case Closed: HSBC Won't Tell You Someone In Bulgaria Is Stealing $2,000 From You
By 2.29.08
Last week reader Keith told us how scammers in Bulgaria siphoned $2,000 from his account, and his story snowballed into an entire HSBC class breach. Now Keith tells us that he has all the money back. He writes:
Once I was able to get in touch with Robert Olejniczak of corporate security he was extremely helpful, concerned and empathetic. The missing money was credited back to my account on 2/25, 6 business days after it went missing. I just received a letter in the mail stating that the “investigation is complete.” I guess they figured they didn’t need to do much investigating to determine that I couldn’t be swiping my card at a diner in Manhattan and in Bulgaria withdrawing large sums from an ATM at the same time.
They even gave him $.02 in interest, how nice.
HSBC Fraud Story On WNBC4
By 2.28.08
If you live in the New York Metro area, tune into NBC channel 4 like right now to see a followup on the widespread HSBC fraud story we broke. They interview Corey, the fiance of Emily, a Consumerist reader and HSBC fraud victim. WNBC tells us that the FBI said they they were generally aware of fraud in the area, but not this specific HSBC matter, and will be looking into the case. It’s par for the course that the bank would be more interested in avoiding bad publicity quiet than going after the scammers stealing your money. UPDATE: Just watched it, HSBC is saying that a credit card payment processor lost the customer data and so other banks could be affected too. However, when WNBC contacted other banks, Chase and Citi said they had not heard of missing money, Mastercard said they have not issued a system-wide alert, and VISA said they’re looking into it.
Man Fakes Death For Three Years To Avoid Debt Collectors
By 12.11.07
Man fakes death for three years to avoid debt collectors. Hides in in house and flees via secret compartments whenever guests are over. When he finally resurfaced, he did it by walking into a police station and claiming to be suffering from amnesia. He was arrested on suspicion of fraud. Debt makes people do crazy things. That’s why we’re allergic to it when it comes to buying depreciating assets (unless they’re needed to make more money.
Who Should Play Kevin Trudeau In The Inevitable TV Movie?
By 11.28.07
More than one reader noticed a remarkable similarity between FTC repeat offender and infomercial king Kevin Trudeau and Dallas do-gooder Bobby Ewing—er, Patrick Duffy. Which makes us wonder: if there’s a TV movie in the works about Trudeau, and there certainly should be, who should play him? Share the wisdom of a crowd and cast your vote.
Shady Magazine Seller Ordered To Pay Over $7 Million
By 11.27.07
Kevin Trudeau isn’t the only one writhing in the icy grip of justice this week—one-time magazine subscription entrepreneur Richard L. Prochnow was ordered to pay over $7 million a few weeks ago when the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a judgment from July of 2006. Prochnow ran Direct Sales International (DSI), a bad magazine company that lied to customers and trapped them in a “buying club” that charged monthly fees and was very difficult to cancel.
Infomercial Scammer Kevin Trudeau Found In Contempt Of Court
By 11.27.07
Kevin Trudeau, well known for all sorts of cons over the years—his most recent one was this diet book—was found in contempt of court last week by a U.S. District Court judge for violating his permanent 2004 injunction.
Scammers Arrested After Claiming They Could Multiply Money With A Secret Potion
By 9.26.07
Some scams are clever and some are not. This is one of the not-so-clever ones. Jean-Luc Mbilli and Constant Yao were arrested in Fort Lauderdale, FL after trying to convince Samith Ghazawi, an convenience store employee, that they could use a special potion to multiply money.
Class Action Suit Drives Scammers Into Bankruptcy
By 9.9.07
Missouri florists have bankrupted a New Jersey telemarketer accused in a class action suit of tampering with phone book listings to siphon callers away from local businesses. The telemarketer, TTP, purchased phone book listings under the same names as local florists, but did not provide an address; the listings appeared side-by-side, but when local callers dialed the number without an address, they were directed to an out-of-state call center that tacked on a handling fee and submitted the order to a different area florist.
“The primary objective of both lawsuits is to get TTP out of Missouri,” said Gregory Leyh of Gladstone, the attorney for both class-action lawsuits. “TTP cheats by pretending to be a local florist so it can fool consumers and steal the legitimate business of Missouri florists. At least for now, TTP is no longer in the floral business in Missouri.”
IRS Still Warning People About Email Phishing Scams
By 8.28.07
The new IRS email phishing scam involves a fake customer satisfaction survey that asks for sensitive personal information such as your SSN, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and even the security code from the back of the card.
Scammers Target Monster.com Users
By 8.22.07
Some scammers have weaseled their way into Monster.com and are using email addresses gleaned from the site to run a phishing scam.
Jeweler Caught Selling Fake Tiffany Items
By 8.6.07
Tiffany said that according to the judgment issued by a federal court in New York, Starglam Inc., and its principal, John Shamir, should not engage in any further counterfeiting of Tiffany-branded items or infringing on its trademark.
Illinois Charges You Twice As Much For "Online" Driving School Because Of "Scammers"
By 7.20.07
Reader Orwell writes us with a complaint about the “driving school” program. In Illinois, if you get a ticket you can choose to pay extra to attend “driving school.” This will prevent the state from ratting you out to your insurance company. A nice little racket, but not uncommon. The cute part is that in Illinois they charge an extra $25 for the online version of the course. Why? When Orwell asked, the CSR told him it was because of “Scammers.” She also told him to “Watch his mouth.”
Ask The Consumerist: Ebay Laptop, Without The Fraud?
By 10.26.06
“Whatever IT is, you can get IT on Ebay,” goes the promise. Unfortunately for reader Wil, “it” has meant, “almost being scammed.”
Scammers Won’t Accept Credit Cards
By 6.6.06
These days, when I want to use my credit card, it isn’t enough to just sign the slip and be done with it. I have to sign the slip. Then I have to show some ID. Then I have to stand stock still as a clerk scrutinizes my face. And then I have to type in an arbitrary 5 digit pin number. Only then will Mastercard be convinced that I am not some brown-toothed Russian lottery scammer.
Thomas Kinkade: Kitschy and Kinky
By 3.8.06
Thomas Kinkade, the painter of mega-kitschy religiously themed and militantly bourgeois schlock, tchotchkes and knickknacks bearing his imprimatur, may be a freakin’ dirty bastard.
