scam

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Feds: 'Psychic' Family Scammed $40M

Claimed they spoke to God, made a fortune

(Newser) - If only they were real psychics, maybe they would have seen this coming. A Florida family has been indicted for running a psychic advice business that scammed clients out of $40 million over two decades, reports the Miami Herald . In "Operation Crystal Ball," federal prosecutors charged 10 people...

Women Arrested After Cop Busts Baby Funeral Scam

Pair pulled in $700 in just a few hours

(Newser) - Two women in Modesto allegedly came up with a decidedly heartless way to score some easy money: They solicited “funeral donations” for a six-month-old who supposedly died of a heart condition while they were on vacation, racking up $700 in just a few hours on Saturday. A police officer...

Savvy Columnist Wreaks Revenge on Email Scammer

Nothing worse than being 'Embarrased' at Western Union, eh?

(Newser) - When a scammer hacked a friend of columnist Steve Alexander, he or she probably wasn't expecting to get scammed right back. The Minneapolis Star Tribune writer received a copy of the old “stranded in London” scam email from an acquaintance. The phishing scheme tells the sad tale of...

Pay Up and We'll Rid You of Demons: Alleged Scammers

Claimed a Rolex watch would allow them to cleanse one person of evil spirits

(Newser) - Three women are accused in Florida of scamming people out of thousands of dollars by promising to cleanse them of evil spirits. Federal prosecutors in Fort Lauderdale say 36-year-old Polly Evans; her daughter, Olivia, 22; and Polly's sister, Bridgette, 32, are facing federal fraud charges and being held without...

Woman Pretends to Be 20 People in Cruel Online Hoax

Janna St. James now faces lawsuit

(Newser) - Paula Bonhomme met volunteer firefighter Jesse Jubilee James on an online message board in 2005. Emails and letters led to near-daily phone calls, and in 2006, Bonhomme left her unhappy marriage and planned to move to Colorado to be with James, even though they'd never met face to face....

Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users
Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users
Feb 28, 2011 2:02 PM CST

Fake Soldiers Scam Facebook Users

Military warns women to beware of impersonators looking for love

(Newser) - Facebook users need to watch out for a shameful scam that appears to be becoming more widespread, military officials warn. Con artists have been using the photos and details of real soldiers to strike up romances with women on the social networking site, the AP reports. The phony soldiers declare...

Facebook Scam Plays Off Reporter Stroke Story

Click to watch the video of Serene Branson, and you get malware instead

(Newser) - One of the most-watched Grammy moments was the live-on-camera aphasia of entertainment reporter Serene Branson , whose commentary descended into a surrealistic gibberish soliloquy. But you might want to resist the urge to click on that Facebook link promising a look at the footage—a common link making its way across...

Internet Crusaders Wrongly Attack Legit Fundraiser

21-year-old supposed scammer harassed via Reddit

(Newser) - Reddit users are a bit red in the face after launching a crusade against an alleged scammer—who turned out to be a real 21-year-old college student fundraising for cancer. The student, who is shaving her head to raise money for children's treatments, had too many apparent red flags, including...

Feds: Firm Used Dementia Patients in $200M Scam

Health center charged with Medicare fraud

(Newser) - Federal authorities charged the nation's largest community mental health center today, alleging the Miami-based company billed Medicare $200 million in a scam that preyed on patients with severe dementia and altered their clinical files so the company could charge for more services. Prosecutors alleged that American Therapeutic Corp. paid the...

Search for Diaz, Biel at Your Own Risk

 Search for 
 Diaz, Biel at 
 Your Own Risk 

most dangerous celebs
Aug 19, 2010 5:40 AM CDT

Search for Diaz, Biel at Your Own Risk

McAfee ranks most dangerous celebrity search terms

(Newser) - Searching for Cameron Diaz, Julia Roberts, or Jessica Biel is risky business, warns online security company McAfee. The stars top the company's annual list of the most dangerous celebrities to search for online, the AP reports. The celebs are used as bait by scammers seeking to lure people to malicious...

The Facebook 'Dislike' App Is Bogus
The Facebook 'Dislike' App
Is Bogus
Aug 16, 2010 2:57 PM CDT

The Facebook 'Dislike' App Is Bogus

Spam malware preys on your desire to insult your friends

(Newser) - A Facebook scam is taking advantage of users who want to hate on posts, links, and pictures. The purported "dislike" app, ostensibly from a Facebook friend, forwards would-be curmudgeons to a page that promises "shocking video"—but instead prompts them to complete surveys, which the BBC notes...

Facebook Hit With 'Truth About Coke' Scam

Whatever you do, don't click on 'horrific video'

(Newser) - If one of your Facebook friends posts a link to a video that promises to reveal “the TRUTH about Coke!!!” do NOT click on it. The link has been spreading around Facebook, accompanied by a message that reads, “I am part of the 98.0% of people...

Scammer Invests in Canned Sandwiches
Scammer Invests in Canned Sandwiches 
Seriously
Jul 8, 2010 12:04 PM CDT

Scammer Invests in Canned Sandwiches

Man had promised to put dough in real estate, feds say

(Newser) - How do you get people to invest in a canned sandwich? You promise to invest in something else and steal their money, naturally. The SEC has filed a lawsuit against Utah money manager Travis Wright, alleging that he promised clients he’d earn them a 24% return with real estate...

Imposter Tricks Army to Become an Officer

26-year-old with no experience put in position to lead troops

(Newser) - A Texas man with no military experience managed to trick the Army into letting him enter a reserve unit as a noncommissioned officer earlier this year, putting an untrained soldier in a leadership position in a time of war, an AP investigation has found. Jesse Bernard Johnston III, 26, joined...

Heads, Torsos Found in Medical Waste Shipment

Company claimed it had cremated them

(Newser) - Police have arrested the owner of a company they say claimed to cremate bodies, but instead dismembered them and dumped them as medical waste. The saga began when seven human heads and torsos, which appeared to have been cut up with a chainsaw or something similar, were found inside of...

Runaway Calif. Prius Driver Has Sketchy Past

Bankruptcy, bad real estate deals have some thinking scam

(Newser) - The driver of the Toyota Prius he says went haywire and took him on a 94mph terror ride earlier this week has a checkered past that leads some to doubt his story. “Immediately I thought this guy has an angle here,” a dissatisfied client of real estate agent...

Offered a Free iPad? It's a Scam
 Offered a Free iPad? 
 It's a Scam 
ATTN. FACEBOOK, TWITTER USERS
Mar 2, 2010 8:45 PM CST

Offered a Free iPad? It's a Scam

Con artists will dupe you, friends in bogus cell charges

(Newser) - If you spend much time on Facebook or Twitter, chances are you’ve been given the chance to get a free Apple iPad by signing up to test the product. And if you’re at all familiar with the Internet, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that it’...

French Nailed for Selling Fake Pinot to Gallo

E and J Gallo unwittingly sold fake Red Bicyclette

(Newser) - French winemakers have been convicted in a massive scam to dupe unwitting Yanks by passing off 18 million bottles of a cheaper wine as Pinot Noir. The French producers sold the wine to major US buyer E and J Gallo for its popular Red Bicyclette brand. By calling a cheaper...

'Terminally Ill? $2K in CASH' Schemers Profit Off of Death

Investors recruit dying for no-risk death benefit

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors are investigating a Rhode Island lawyer who recruited terminally ill people so he could buy annuities in their names and cash in when they died. The lawyer, noted local philanthropist Joe Caramadre, began taking out ads in 2007 in the local Catholic diocese’s newspaper, proclaiming “Terminal...

HuffPo Blogger Unmasked as Fake Rothschild

'Stefan de Rothschild' is really Brit hoaxer Monty Roberts

(Newser) - Huffington Post editors were thrilled to find blogger Stefan de Rothschild, a wealthy heir whose $2.5 million donation to Haiti made national news. The only problem? None of it was true. Stefan "Monty" Roberts of Britain was unmasked by a group of flinty-eyed Wikipedia editors who noticed his...

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