scam

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Nigerian Scams Purposely Sound Unbelievable
Nigerian Scams Purposely Sound Unbelievable
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Jun 24, 2012 10:55 AM CDT

Nigerian Scams Purposely Sound Unbelievable

Scammers want to rein in only the very gullible: study

(Newser) - "Nigerian scams" are so well-known that we call them, well, Nigerian scams. So why don't the scammers update their tactics a bit, rather than coming right out and admitting they're from Nigeria right there in the body of the email? The answer, according to a Microsoft researcher...

Toll Booth Worker Skims $7,500: Cops

Kicker: It was during his probationary period

(Newser) - Toll booth workers can make a decent living, but maybe not this decent. A temporary bridge and tunnel officer at a Staten Island bridge allegedly skimmed $7,500 from tolls paid by drivers, reports the Staten Island Advance . Between January and March, Richard Betancourt, 22, took the $13 toll from...

Feds: AT&T Put Fraud on Government Tab

Service for the deaf was abused by Nigerian scammers

(Newser) - The Justice Department has accused AT&T of bilking the government out of more than $16 million by purposely allowing Nigerian fraudsters to abuse a service intended to help deaf Americans. AT&T says it's just following FCC rules requiring it to offer a free IP Relay service, which...

Woman Scams Nigerian Scammers

 Woman Scams 
 Nigerian 
 Scammers 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 26, 2012 7:00 AM CST

Woman Scams Nigerian Scammers

Aussie was supposed to keep 8% of scam, kept 100%

(Newser) - Most of us just want to throttle the scam artists that line our spam boxes with get-rich-quick schemes and pleas for help with million-dollar bank transfers, but Sarah Jane Cochrane-Ramsey went one better: She scammed the cons who were using her in their scam, reports the Courier-Mail . Seems the 23-year-old...

Google, Yahoo, 13 Others Declare War on Phishing

New set of standards could make email more trustworthy

(Newser) - A new anti-phishing effort, backed by the big email service providers as well as banks, PayPal, social networks, and other companies, could dramatically reduce the number of scam emails you get in your inbox. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL are backing the new plan; 15 companies in total have come...

How to Get 5-Star Reviews on Amazon? Buy Them

Watch out: Such scams might be on the rise

(Newser) - Anne Marie Logan was shocked when she received the new leather case she'd ordered for her Kindle Fire. Packaged with it was a letter urging her to write a review for the product—and promising her a refund if she did. "I was like, 'Is this for...

Fake Death Scam Surfaces in Cruise Ship Case

Ship sinks, can rats be far behind?

(Newser) - The first scam has emerged in an apparent bid for compensation from the operators of crippled cruise liner Costa Concordia. A woman and her boyfriend were arrested in Hungary after falsely reporting two people missing on the ship, according to officials. The scheme was spotted by a New York lawyer...

Woman Fakes Own Kid's Death for Vacation Time

But Joan Barnett is done in by a shoddy fake death certificate

(Newser) - Today's lesson in stupid schemes: If you're going to scam your boss for vacation time with your kid's fake death certificate, at least make sure the fonts match. It seems one Joan Barnett, a parent coordinator at a Manhattan school who, it's worth noting, was eligible...

Gift Card Scam Warning Issued
 Gift Card Scam Warning Issued 
Dec 19, 2011 3:50 AM CST

Gift Card Scam Warning Issued

Fraudsters are recording activation codes, Schumer warns

(Newser) - People buying gift cards for friends and family this Christmas should make sure that the concealing measures haven't been removed, Chuck Schumer warns. The senator from New York says fraudsters have been visiting stores where the cards are on the shelves and recording access codes in order to drain...

10 Travel Scams You Must Avoid

Extra fees and useless 'deals' abound in travel business

(Newser) - Travel agencies and other travel organizations pull many schemes that are unethical without being illegal—so be wary. The Daily Beast presents 10 of the most common scams you should watch out for:
  • Travel clubs. They can cost thousands of dollars, and give you little but a few discounts to
...

Iran Uncovers Biggest Financial Scam Ever

19 arrested for alleged role in $2.6B bank fraud

(Newser) - Iran has arrested 19 people suspected of being involved in a $2.6 billion bank fraud scheme that is considered the largest in the country's history, reports the AP . Prosecutors say that more arrests are coming. The fraudsters allegedly used forged documents to get credit at a leading financial...

Feds: Hospital Scammer Sold Patients' Prostheses

Health worker replaced working artificial limbs, sold them online: probe

(Newser) - Seeing this health worker could literally cost you an arm and a leg. A hospital official may have tricked his patients into replacing quality prostheses so he could trade the originals for cash on eBay, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The FBI is looking into whether the head of prosthetic...

Scammers Sell Woman iPad Made of ... Wood

Imagine her surprise when it turned out to be a wood block

(Newser) - Ashley McDowell probably should have been suspicious when two guys approached her in a South Carolina McDonald’s parking lot and offered to sell her an iPad for $300. She almost certainly should have gotten suspicious when, after she explained she only had $180, the pair still agreed to the...

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...

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