How relentless and cruel are online criminals? I recently heard a story about an elderly victim whose family took his phone and Internet access away so he could not longer talk to the criminals who were stealing his money. So they hired a taxi driver who traveled an hour to [Keep reading]
I spent last week interviewing the parents of a teenager who committed suicide after a terrible encounter with sextortion. The entire episode began and ended in a single, horrible night on Instagram. I’ll tell their full story another day, but the interviews are haunting me. Can’t something be done? Companies [Keep reading]
One of the worst parts of my job is hearing from people trying to help someone they know break free from an ongoing scam. They’ve tried everything to persuade these friends or family members to break off contact with online criminals — romance scammers, crypto scammers, timeshare scammers, it doesn’t [Keep reading]
I have long said that poor customer service is a massive cybersecurity and financial vulnerability. I realize that line doesn’t always click with people right away, so I’m devoted to sharing examples with you (like this dramatic story). Hewlett-Packard just offered up a slam dunk. The company recently deployed a [Keep reading]
You can invest in anything, so of course, you can invest in whisky. I was surprised to learn recently how “easy” that is, however. And, like all things that seem easy, there’s a catch. As with all non-traditional investments, there is little regulation. And when there’s little regulation, there are [Keep reading]
Rodney Baldus thought he was going to leave his daughter an inheritance so she could save the family farm. Instead, the 74-year-old man is sitting in a crowded jail cell in Mozambique with little hope of ever getting out. His daughter, Nicole, is terrified her diabetic father will die alone [Keep reading]
Chester Frilich is a lovely retired man who spends his free time helping pet owners train their puppies at the local dog park. He was the victim of a terrible scam recently that left him penniless, struggling to get by on Social Security alone. Then, he was told he owed [Keep reading]
Imagine loading up your shopping cart on Thanksgiving week, strolling to the checkout counter with a buggy packed with stuffing, turkey, cranberry sauce, apple pies….only to be told by the store clerk that your card won’t work. Crying baby in one arm, smartphone in one hand, you are ushered to [Keep reading]
Airline tickets* for sale! (*Seats cost extra). Major U.S. airlines brought in an extra $12 billion during 2018-2023 by charging seat fees, a Gotcha Capitalism practice that deserves its own wing in the Hidden Fee Hall of Fame. I’m sorry for those of you traveling this busy week, but it’s [Keep reading]
Facebook publicly acknowledged on Thursday that it’s engaged in a massive struggle with online crime gangs who abuse the service and steal from consumers worldwide. In a blog post, the firm said it had removed two million accounts just this year that had been linked to crime gangs, and was [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan