Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he -- we feel certain -- felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren't enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.
Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
In October, a bank robber -- wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles -- eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.
Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
Late in 2007, a Wellington, New Zealand man received a racy text message from two anonymous "ladies," giving him only an address and a request that he show up naked. Well, he indeed showed up naked... at the home of one appalled, unsuspecting New Zealander. Both the nude Romeo and the sadistic texter were arrested, though neither were prosecuted.
Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home -- on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse -- he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.
17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual 'Furniture'
When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site 'Habbo' in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime -- whether actual or virtual -- does not pay.
Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend
Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones' fertile frontier. The result? "Vishing." Get it? Voice mail phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn't sound like a James Bond villain saying, "Wishing."
Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into -- that's right, into -- a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they -- apparently uninterested in the cash register -- stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We've all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation's thieves, too?
Trust us when we say we can relate about the horrors of trying to end your cell phone contract early, but also trust us when we say there are better ways to do it than the way Chicago consultant Corey Taylor chose. After reading online that cell phone companies will terminate contracts without a penalty if the person named on the contract dies, Taylor whipped up a fake death certificate and had a friend fax it in to Verizon Wireless. 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
CCRAIG said 9:25PM on 8-20-2007
WHATEVER IT TAKES.
Reply
ActAdvGirl said 11:42PM on 8-20-2007
I don't blame him! A few years ago, my mother died and even though I followed their instructions to fax her death certificate and letters testamentary, AOL continued to debit her checking account. The only way to disengage them was to close the account.
Reply
Dave said 12:42AM on 8-21-2007
Verizon ? It would have been smarter to say that you spend a lot of time at your friends apartment near Belmont & Central where they have poor service and request to cancel since the problem will never be resolved without them adding a new cell site!
Reply
Cathy Edwards said 12:43AM on 8-21-2007
When my Dad passed away, cellular one wanted all kinds of information after submitting a copy of his death certificate. He wasn't even under contract with them anymore, and was on month to month and we even paid the last bill!
Reply
Anibethc40 said 3:33AM on 8-21-2007
That idiot who signed up for verizon only to fake a death to sign himself out of a contract will be warned that people won't be taking his death seriously. His complete wacko behavior will not tempt me to leave Verizon. I am staying with Verizon forever and ever, and I hope this quack will not be tempted to sign up with AT&T because he will even regret making this stupid decision. Verizon is the BEST and it will always be the Best wireless provider from then on. Verizon has the best service and it will continue to outshine AT&T.
Reply
Happy said 12:07AM on 8-28-2007
I've been a Verizon subscriber for over 4years....never had a problem with service...but on the other hand my sister is with AT&T....she has problems with dropped calls....I always kid her and say---Ver-iz-on........I don't care if AT&T has that Iphone.....their service doesn't match Verizon's......
Reply
Syed said 10:42PM on 1-25-2008
Oh please, Verizon is as good as it gets. You can't match their service. I have bits of service in the subway. If he was really that desperate to lose something so good maybe he shoulld've really done it.
Reply
LM said 7:56PM on 3-20-2008
AOL doesn't charge you to cancel an account - all you have to do is call and cancel and they will stop billing/debiting. Why would you send a death certificate?
Reply
Nancy H said 11:46AM on 3-26-2008
LM: While you may not have had problems canceling your AOL account, I've heard far too many stories of pitbull-type resistance on their part not to believe there's a big hunk of truth in them.
One of my closest friends spent 6 months trying to cancel her AOL account because she couldn't get online to cancel the account!
In our faceless business world, some people have found it nearly impossible to find someone, ANYONE to agree to end their subscription, and often the only recourse is to dry up the money well, i.e., close either the bank account or credit card it's being charged to, but some have faced legal action after doing that.
Just don't assume that because your case was handled simply and easily, that everyone's experience has been the same. It hasn't.
Reply
Colleen Whitlow said 8:44PM on 3-27-2008
I happen to like Verizon as my wireless provider. I had Cingular and I had a lot of dropped calls and no signal in a lot of places that I had a signal with ATT.I cancelled my Cingular on the day they told me to,since it was the last billing day & then they charged me for another month, because they said I had to cancel it at midnight of that day to avoid paying another month. Nice! Thanks for crappy reception & service Cingular!
Reply
Wendy said 11:29AM on 3-29-2009
If you have a legitimate complaint and don't get help from a company, submit a complaint to your state's attorney general. They have an online form to fill out. I did and won my complaint against Verizon/Directv.
Reply