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?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rson said 11:54AM on 12-07-2008
some of the wording in your warnings is so bad they actually looked like scam messages...who's doing the editing for these?
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DarkLight said 12:52PM on 12-07-2008
Wording is OK... This is an informal blog
CARL said 1:45PM on 12-07-2008
JUST WAIT TILL THE SPAMMERS DISCOVER THE ON-LINE PAYROLL COMPANIES....
SteveM said 12:59PM on 12-07-2008
Why didn't AOL mention the AOL billing scam? It looks very real, with AOL Logos, you click on an AOL address provided by the Email. Tells you your credit card not working and wants you to re-enter all your credit card info D.O.B. mothers maiden name, ect. within 24 hours. PS they've known about it for over three weeks now, told AOL help desk over the phone and thru IM sent it to AOL.
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Dixie said 1:18PM on 12-07-2008
Watch for a scam that says the FBI is trying to get a hold of you. If you are not used to email scams and open this it looks official but first of all the FBI would come to you directly not contact you through email. The email goes as far as to put the picture of the head of the Washington office on the email letter even directs you to the FBI site. But if you look at the email who or what sent it it is an unofficial email address. Beware of this scam. Tells you that you have millions of dollars that was deposited in the Bank of America account in your name and to clear your name from illegal transfers call the FBI. First of all who the heck would be that stupid in the first place LOL.
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Mira said 1:23PM on 12-07-2008
Look at this one I got! No logo, no ID..nothing.
Dear:
We take great care to keep your personal information secure. As part of these ongoing efforts, we are notifying you that the computer you use for online bill payment may be infected with malicious software that puts the security of your computer's contents at risk. This letter will help you determine if your computer is actually infected and advise you how to fix the problem and protect yourself against future risk.
The malicious software affects some but not all customers who accessed online bill payment on Tuesday, December 2, 2008. For a limited period of time, some customers were redirected from the authentic bill payment service to another site that may have installed malicious software. Your computer may be infected if all of the following are true:
You attempted to access online bill payment between 12:30 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. Eastern time (GMT -5) on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, and
You were using a computer with the Windows operating system, and
You reached a blank screen rather than the usual bill payment screen when you attempted to navigate to online bill payment, and
After reaching the blank screen, your computer's virus protection program did not tell you via pop-up or other messaging that malicious software was detected and quarantined.
If all four of the conditions above are true, your computer may be infected. We have arranged with McAfee, the world's largest dedicated security technology company, to provide you with an assessment of your computer's hard drive and remove any malicious software. Please contact us at 877-800-4864 for further instructions. We will also offer you both advice and free services that can help you mitigate any risk you may face as a result of this incident or other everyday exposures you may encounter.
We value your business and your trust, and we apologize for any inconvenience this recent incident has caused.
Thank you.
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o.kruetzmann said 2:10PM on 12-07-2008
If these people need to reach me, they can call. I don't give any info like that teh internets. :)
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o.kruetzmann said 2:13PM on 12-07-2008
Whoops...I don't give information like that OVER teh internets.
My bad.
DarkLight said 5:06PM on 12-07-2008
It's OK to give any info over teh intertubes if you're careful enough
You know, they can also scam you over the phone.
That's exactly what's going on in Mexico (where not everyone has access to the tubes): http://sparksmex.blogspot.com/2008/08/cell-phone-scams.html
That example is of a cellphone scam, but they target any phone, and there are alot of scams of several types (including ones that gather information about you, to later threat with kidnapping).. I've "chatted" with those scammers (hey, the more time they spend with me, the less they will spend with someone more likely to fall for it)
Eshoes said 2:23PM on 12-07-2008
I sell things on eBay and recently had a very upset customer ask me why I had written her asking her to wire transfer the money to Spain! Someone had made a very real looking email and included all the information about our transaction! I had another seller warn me about this before with high dollar amount transactions. Beware of paypal scams like this or emails asking youto provide your info to update your account!
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Jane said 2:36PM on 12-07-2008
I just got 2 scam emails - they must think we are too busy during the holiday season to check things out. I got the one with CNN and just deleted it. The next one was one telling me I had money and just email a fedex address and then send them $120. and
they would send my package. I kept that - also emailed it to one
of the "Report scam" sites. Also filled out a report to them. It's
sad to think even one person is fooled by these crooks.
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