Police in Akron, OH have been dealing with a messy issue since 2012, and it’s one they just can’t seem to wipe away: Cops say a mysterious serial pooper/bowel movement bandit has made area cars his own personal dumping ground, hitting up as many as 19 vehicles in the last three years. But now, police have his face on camera. [More]
vandalism
Tourists Suspected Of Adding Their Initials To Walls Of Rome’s Colosseum, Taking A Selfie
By 3.9.15
What is it about a 2,000-year-old famous structure that makes tourists think it isn’t yet complete without their initials joining the blood, sweat and tears of gladiators past on the walls? After a Russian tourist was fined $25,000 for carving his initial in the wall of Rome’s Colosseum last fall, two American visitors have been accused of leaving their initials behind — and of course, taking a selfie to capture the moment of vandalism. [More]
Police Can’t Crack Mysterious Case Of More Than 100 Egging Attacks On Cleveland Home
By 3.6.15
Anyone who’s ever had to clean up after an egging attack knows it’s no fun to wipe up a goopy mess of yolks, whites and cracked shells adorning your home or car. But one Cleveland house has had more than the usual isolated egging, as the target of about 100 incidents in the last year in a mysterious spate of attacks that have police stymied. [More]
Feds Searching For Graffiti Artist Vandalizing National Parks And Leaving An Instagram Handle Behind
By 10.23.14
The idea of leaving a place better than when you found it is a fine idea when it comes to things like tidying up a campground before you take off, but that does not mean painting graffiti all over our nation’s parks and wild places. But hey, leaving your Instagram handle on those paintings is a nice touch that should help out authorities when they come looking for you. [More]
Vandals Ruining Perfectly Good Pastries By Smearing Them All Over Cars In Oregon
By 7.23.14
As responsible consumers, we feel that the waste of delicious food in order to wreak havoc on others is a downright waste, if not a crime against cuisine. You have to respect the stuff we eat — there’s a reason your parents told you not to play with your food. Respect. Also, it’s gross. [More]
GameStop Customer Charged With Keying Employee’s Car
By 5.15.14
When we compiled our list of “9 Bad Consumers Who Make Things Worse For The Rest Of Us,” apparently there was one customer type we missed: “The Car-Keyer.” That’s what one woman in Nashville has been accused of doing to an employee, supposedly because she was jealous of items that other gamers received. [More]
Roving Band Of Miscreants Flipping Over Smart Cars Around San Francisco
By 4.7.14
Do you live in San Francisco? Cool, I hear it’s a nice city. Oh, do you own a Smart Car? You might want to check outside and see if it’s resting on all four wheels as it’s supposed to, after police say a roving pack of vandals has been going around the city overturning the teensy little vehicles. [More]
Someone Out There Really Hates This PetSmart Store
By 9.4.12
Just like most major retailers, PetSmart has been the subject of more than a few complaints. But though some of you may have wanted to do so, no Consumerist readers have taken out their PetSmart-related anger with the assistance of their car — and a baseball bat. [More]
Hey, Who Cut My Comcast Line?
By 8.1.12
Jim can’t prove that a technician working for Verizon cut his cable line. He didn’t see it happen, and the vandal didn’t leave a signature or anything. All the perpetrator left behind was a dug up, severed Comcast cable, some fiber optic cable, and a conduit. Less than a week before, Jim had booked a tentative FiOS installation a month ahead of time, pending the approval of his housemate. Instead, this turned out to be one of those very rare Consumerist stories where the hero is… Comcast. [More]
Marijuana Dispensaries In Montana Firebombed
By 5.11.10
Some residents of Billings, Montana are pretty upset at the burgeoning medical marijuana industry there–CNN says the town of 100,000 has had about 90 applications for storefronts since the state legalized it in 2004, and that the businesses operate with little regulation. On consecutive mornings this past weekend, someone spraypainted “Not in our town” on the sides of two establishments, then threw rocks through the front doors followed by Molotov cocktails. And then they probably chilled out for a while. [More]
Anonymous Protestor Leaves Pile Of Manure In Chase ATM Vestibule
By 3.23.10
Someone who was fed up at Chase made a special deposit on the floor of one of their ATM vestibules in NYC a couple of days ago. Fortunately for the clean-up crew, it looks like it was manure and not actual human poop. [More]
Anus Burgers Run Wild Across America’s Restaurant Signs
By 9.24.09 — Updated: 5.9.13
We got a tip from someone today with a funny pic of a misspelled McDonald’s sign at the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, MO. We thought we’d do a Google search to see if this was old news or not. What we found out was that “Angus” is too ripe a target for word vandals, or even just opportunistic photographers, to pass up.
Are You A Hotel Trasher? Don't Stay In Australia
By 9.23.09
Guests Behaving Badly (GBB) is an Australia-only customer blacklist that hotels there can use to weed out potentially bad guests. From their FAQ:
Vandals Stick It To Business That Cheat On Credit Card Rules
By 9.4.09
When businesses sign up to allow credit card use, they sign merchant agreements that say they won’t force customers make minimum purchases or, in some states, charge additional fees to credit card customers. As we’ve reported before, businesses don’t always hold up their end of the agreement.
Geek Squad Cuts The Cables Inside Your Computer Instead Of Backing Up Your Data?
By 7.31.08
Reader Kevin forwarded us this story from Dave, a I.T. consultant friend of his who helps people with their computer problems in exchange for hardware donations to the school he works at. Dave’s “propane guy” said he recently took a desktop computer to Geek Squad after it failed, and “great Geek Squad guys were AWESOME and had been able to retrieve all of his family pictures for him,” before selling him a new laptop. Dave offered to take a look at the desktop and try to retrieve the rest of the important files– the “7 years of QuickBooks 2005 data” that Best Buy wasn’t able to save, but when Dave opened up the computer he says he was surprised to see that someone had cut some important cables.
By 5.29.08
../..//2008/05/29/okay-who-decided-it-would/
Okay, who decided it would be funny to hack Comcast? DSLReports says, “Though there’s no indication that user privacy is jeopardized, you may want to avoid using Comcast webmail until things have been completely cleared up. [DSLReports]
Facing Foreclosure Some Owners Trash The House Before Leaving
By 3.28.08
The Wall Street Journal says that about half of foreclosed homes nationwide have “substantial” damage ,much of it inflicted by bitter former homeowners who tried their best to destroy the property before being forced to leave.
