A glitch at AT&T is causing some mobile phone used to be randomly shuffled into other people’s Facebook accounts. Apparently the carrier has confused which phones should be logged into which accounts. Whoops. [More]
whoops
Tiger Woods' Off-Road Adventure Cost Shareholders $12B
By 12.30.09
A new study says that Tiger Woods spectacular fall from grace has cost shareholders of the firms that used him as a spokesperson to lose $12 billion in value. [More]
Amazon Ruins Christmas Even When You Ask It Not To
By 12.14.09
Reader Shane has an Amazon Wish List that he tells people to look at because he’s apparently impossible to shop for. Amazon lets you choose whether or not you’d like to be informed if something has been purchased from your list, then apparently tells you even if you asked it not to. [More]
Charged With Felony After Taping 4 Minutes Of "New Moon"
By 12.3.09
The Sun-Times is reporting that a 22-year-old Chicago woman has been arrested and charged with a felony after taping 4 minutes of “New Moon” during her sister’s surprise 29th birthday party. (Update: the charges have now been dropped.) [More]
Why A Live Twitter Feed On Your Billboard Might Not Work Out
By 12.1.09
The folks at WPMI-TV in Alabama had an idea. They decided to rent an electronic billboard and stream the station’s live Twitter feed to it. What could possibly go wrong? [More]
British Airways Won't Fly You To India For $40
By 12.1.09
If you happened to log onto British Airways’ site Oct. 2, you could have bought a $40 flight to India. Well, you could have bought the flight, but wouldn’t have been able to use the tickets because the airline said the offer was a mistake. [More]
Yankees Fans Celebrate Championship By Giving Away Your Private Information
By 11.9.09
In case the unlimited payroll, overpriced stadium, and everything else weren’t enough, here’s another reason to dislike the Yankees: their celebratory parades are havens for white collar crime.
Bank Of America Forces Man To Pay $11,000 In Fraudulent Credit Card Charges
By 9.2.09
It’s important to note that the Fair Credit Billing Act caps your liability at $50 for unauthorized credit card charges — but you have to notify the bank in a timely fashion that someone is using your card. (You should notify your bank in writing within 60 days of the first incorrect bill.) One Colorado man is finding out the hard way that not noticing an $11,000 charge to your account for months is really, really bad.
American Airlines Misplaces Your Grandmother, Twice
By 8.13.09
Every once in awhile we post a sad story about someone’s 85-year-old grandmother being left at the gate because nobody came to push the wheelchair. This is one of those stories. The difference, however, is that in this case American Airlines left the woman at the gate, apologized, got her a hotel, brought her back, and left her with a Skycap. She missed the second flight too.
Bank's Fix For Erroneous Charges: Disclose Personal Information To Other Customers!
By 7.27.09
Taking outsourcing to an extreme, Bank of New Zealand decided that instead of figuring out why one woman’s charges ended up on another customer’s account, they would just give the customer the woman’s name, home address, work address, email address and cellphone number so they could settle things for themselves.
State Department Admits RFID Passports Are Insecure
By 7.18.09
The State Department is advising travelers using super-secure RFID-enabled passports to buy a “radio-opaque” holster, because it turns out that RFID chips aren’t so super-secure after all. Don’t fret if “radio-opaque sheath” isn’t on your holiday shopping list, this is thankfully one of those rare problems that you can solve with a hammer…
Frontier's Computer System Lands Unaccompanied Minor In Security Room For An Hour
By 6.30.09
Ok, here’s a crazy idea: if you’re an airline, and you have a form with room to list two adults who are authorized to pick up an unaccompanied minor, wouldn’t it make sense to have room for both names in your computer system? Because whoever is running Frontier Airline’s system doesn’t seem to think so! Kayla’s mother spent a frantic hour, IDs in hand, trying to prove that she was authorized to meet her 13-year-old daughter at the gate. The form accompanying her daughter clearly had both her and Kayla’s father listed, but the computer listed only the father’s name. While Frontier sorted out the confusion, Kayla spent an hour waiting in Denver Airport’s security room.
This Harry Potter Blu-Ray Set Requires A HD-DVD Player
By 6.21.09
Best Buy is still selling a defective Harry Potter Blu-Ray set that contains a HD-DVD version of the Goblet of Fire. The bumbled bundles were first discovered in 2007, but reader Bill found one sitting on a Best Buy shelf in Grand Junction, CO.
Lawsuit: Lowe's Cabinet Installers Drill Into Water Lines Three Times
By 6.5.09
Here’s an interesting little lawsuit from West Virginia. A customer is suing Lowe’s, claiming that installers contracted by the hardware giant drilled into his water lines. Not once. Not twice. Three times.
The IRS Isn't Sure Who They Hired Or Why Your Sensitive Tax Documents Are Filed In Dumpsters
By 5.24.09
Here are three things you didn’t want to know: 1) The IRS doesn’t always conduct background checks on the employees contracted to handle your sensitive tax documents; 2) Those contracted employees regularly toss your sensitive tax documents into dumpsters without first shedding them; 3) The IRS doesn’t really know who’s in charge of conducting background checks on contracted employees, or who’s responsible for keeping your sensitive tax documents shredded and out of dumpsters. At least that’s what the Treasury Inspector General‘s office uncovered when it audited everyone’s favorite auditors.
Returning These Games To Best Buy Could Get A Little Awkward
By 5.4.09
Reader Charlton went to Best Buy to buy some games. He successfully accomplished his task, only to find that opening his purchase was going to be a little difficult.
Greyhound Accidentally Charges $1,000 For A $70 Bus Ticket
By 3.14.09
Greyhound tickets from Raleigh to Asheville cost $67.50, unless you’re Meg Stivison. Then they cost over $1,000. Greyhound repeatedly charged Stivison’s debit card while insisting that she didn’t know the address on her bank statement. Meg ended up driving down to the bus terminal to buy a ticket, but that was just the start of her nightmarish journey…
This Office Depot Coupon Apparently Applies To Everything
By 3.14.09
Tipster Paul quips, “perhaps they should invest in a ‘techonology’ like spell check…” [Office Depot]
