Last week, a couple in Dallas discovered a Jesus-shaped Cheeto in their bag of Cheetos. They promptly named it Cheesus, which is a masterstroke of marketing (although not that original, it turns out), and are considering auctioning it off on eBay—with the implied threat that if it doesn’t sell, they may just eat it. The big question you may be asking yourself now is, “How can I get in on this racket?”
schemes
Amazon Deletes Reviews That Mention Pay For Play Review Schemes
By 4.23.09
After buying an anti-snoring mouthpiece from a third-party seller on Amazon, reader Bob received an email from the company offering him a free mouthpiece in exchange for a five-star review. He noted this attempted bribe in his Amazon review, and Amazon deleted it. Twice.
SEC Orders Cali Ponzi Scheme To "Disgorge" "Ill-Gotten Gains"
By 3.12.09
The SEC has busted another Ponzi scheme and ordered its operators to “disgorge their ill-gotten gains.” In this one, Anthony Vassallo of “Equity Investment Management and Trading” recruited investors through his church by saying he had a computer program that would guarantee a 3.5% return on stocks. Eventually he stopped trading and paid off investors using other investor’s money, while shoveling the rest of the funds into other schemes and scams. Vassallo was eventually busted when his investors ganged up on him and said his reports were phony-baloney.
Belkin Caught Paying For Positive Reviews
By 1.19.09
Belkin Business Development Representative Michael Bayard has been caught offering to pay anyone willing to leave perfect reviews of Belkin products on Amazon, Buy.com, and Newegg. Even worse, the highly unethical strategy seems to have worked—almost fifteen pages worth of Belkin products on Amazon have perfect five-star ratings.
Best Buy Also Falls Victim To Embezzling Buyers
By 12.31.08
Another electronics store was taken for millions by an invoice-fixing scheme: a buyer for Best Buy and a vendor have been charged with overcharging Best Buy $31 million over four years.
By 12.23.08
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Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was one of the biggest, but he’s got a lot of company. Here’s a list of the “9 Most Brazen Ponzi Schemes in History,” from Charles Ponzi (yep, that’s why we call it that) to Social Security. [Neatorama]
SEC Ignored Warnings On $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme Since 1999
By 12.17.08
SEC’s chief announced they had repeatedly received since 1999″credible and specific allegations” about Madoff’s $50 billion pyramid scheme…
Tax Runner Wesley Snipes Sentenced To Three Years In The Slammer
By 4.26.08
Gather round, tax kooks, and listen to the tale of Wesley Snipes. He’s the guy who didn’t pay his taxes while raking in millions, and then tried to collect $7.4 million in tax refunds. Now he’s going to jail for three years thanks to a federal District Judge who doesn’t care much for tax protesters and their zany theories.
Monsanto Is Trying To Ban Hormone Labeling At The State Level
By 3.5.08
Monsanto continues its attempts to hide the basic facts of food production from consumers, this time in Kansas. The Kansas Dairy Association, along with a suspicious “grassroots” dairy group that has the same public relations firm as Monsanto, has helped introduce a bill to the state Senate that would ban “growth hormone-free” milk labels. The bill’s supporters argue that growth hormone can’t be found in lab tests, and if a lab can’t verify it, consumers don’t need to be told about it.
Archivist Arrested For Stealing Historic Docs To Sell On eBay
By 1.29.08
Daniel Lorello, an archivist with New York’s department of education, was arrested this week and charged with “grand larceny, possession of stolen property and fraud” for allegedly “stealing hundreds of historic documents, many of which he sold on eBay.”
Retire Early By Suing Google For Anything
By 9.26.07
You’re likely reading The Consumerist in the middle of a workday, so we’re guessing you’re receptive to new ideas on how to make lots of money fast without actually doing any work. Here’s a great way: just make up some reason to sue Google.
How To Do Credit Card Arbitrage
By 6.25.07
“Credit Card Arbitrage” is when you take out a 0% balance transfer check from your credit card use it to make money. Here’s the basic gist of how to do it, and some of its dangers.
