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31 Jan 2010 10:12

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Biz: Evil bastards decide that scamming the unemployed a good idea

  • Nobody sends you money for nothing, except maybe your grandmother. If somebody sends you money and wants a refund for part of it, ask yourself if you’re sure this check is good. Do I want to take a chance and risk everything?
  • U.S. Public Interest Research Group consumer program director Ed Mierzwinski • Regarding the latest permutation of a scam attempting to nail the unemployed. It’s a fake e-mail from a site like CareerBuilder for a job as a “trading assistant.” If you take the bait, con artist sends you a giant check, then asks for parts of the money back. Weeks later, they cancel the giant check (which seems unlikely due to the fact that you got paid for it already), leaving you on the hook for the money you already sent them. This is evil. source

24 Jan 2010 00:23

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World: A bunch of scammers tried to steal their own gross domestic product

  • seven dudes were behind the scheme – a mix of Europeans and Asians – and they’ve been arrested
  • $10.1 billion the amount they’re accused of trying to steal from the United Arab Emirates’ central bank source

27 Dec 2009 21:14

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Offbeat: Clever bastards invert the Nigerian 419 scam, actually pay out

  • Because there always must be exceptions to the rule, these guys decided it’d be funny/awesome to write an e-mail like a spam, and offer $10,000, only to pay out as a devilishly amusing Christmas present, presented by the court of awesome. And boy, was the guy shocked when he found out they were actually going to give it to him. He didn’t want it, so they gave it to a Nigerian charity instead. And the cycle begins anew …

08 Dec 2009 10:09

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Tech: The iPhone App Store looking lighter after scam developer removed

  • 1,000 apps from one company, mostly rip-offs of better apps, were removed from the store
  • 1% the percentage of apps they represented; they had inflated ratings and fake reviews source

14 Nov 2009 01:07

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Tech: If you see a PC-hawking BlueHippo headed your way, run away fast

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  • The hippo is cute, but the company’s a scam. You’ve probably seen the infomercials for BlueHippo on late-night TV, offering to finance your computer on layaway if you’re broke. Well, the FTC did, too, and they suspected it was a scam, something the company proved in years of dealings. After a court case last year, the company only got more brazen, only shipping one computer out of the 35,000 ordered. And that one was apparently by accident. When the FTC declares a company a “money pit,” stay away. source

22 Jul 2009 20:43

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Culture, Tech: Those who want to infect your PC follow Twitter trends too

  • What they wanted Internet nerds all around were looking for a leaked naked video of ESPN sports personality Erin Andrews, who 1) is easy on the eyes and 2) was apparently videotaped illegally.
  • What they got instead Those internet nerds hoping for virally-spread hotel nudity instead got a virally-spread trojan horse. Which goes to show you: Lookin for nudity on the internet never pays off. source

29 Jun 2009 11:45

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Biz, U.S.: For all those wanting to see Bernard Madoff rot in prison, here you go

  • 150 years in the slammer for the scammer source
 

22 May 2009 12:32

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Biz, U.S.: Warranty expired: A massive telemarketing scam, uprooted

  • scam In case you’ve ever gotten an automated call from a telemarketer telling you that your vehicle warranty is about to expire (even when it wasn’t), it’s a scam, one that the Federal Trade Commission shut down last week.
  • scale This was a big one. 30,000 complaints were received by the FTC. The Florida companies apparently called tens of millions of people a week. And it was completely an attempt to bilk customers out of money. source

15 Feb 2009 09:09

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Offbeat, U.S.: Utah got bilked by a Nigerian scam. Wait, what?

  • $2.5 million was stolen from the Utah treasury. Oof. source

27 Jan 2009 09:19

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Biz: Another goofily-named guy arrested in an alleged Ponzi scheme

  • $400 million, the size of Nicholas Cosmo’s empire source