Tag Archives: scams

The Hill reports: Eventbrite sites posing as local Florida health departments have reportedly targeted seniors in the state by charging money for fake vaccination appointments, prompting local health officials to issue warnings to residents Monday. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an executive order on Dec. 23 mandating that those 65 and older would be among the first people of …

Salon reports: The right-wing trolls behind the baseless “Stop the Steal” election fraud movement have launched a political action committee (PAC) to cash in on the false claim that the election was rigged against President Donald Trump, according to a filing posted this weekend on the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) website. The organization, called Stop the Steal PAC, shows signs …

The Washington Post reports: The domain registrars have done little to prevent the sale of dozens of Internet domains with the potential to spread hoaxes related to covid-19, a three-month investigation by the consumer watchdog group Digital Citizens Alliance found. Scammers could use these websites to disseminate false information about the pandemic that could result in things like identity theft …

CNN reports: Donald Trump ally Kris Kobach said in an interview last year that he had spoken with the President three times about the private border wall project that is currently at the center of a federal fraud investigation, and that Trump was “enthusiastic” about the project and it carried his blessing. Speaking on an episode of the “We Build …

“I am not going to back down. This is a political hit job. Everybody knows I love a fight. I was called ‘honey badger’ for many years. You know, ‘Honey badger doesn’t give.’ “So, I’m in this for the long haul. I’m in this for the fight. I’m going to continue to fight.  This was to stop and intimidate people …

TechCrunch reports: A number of high-profile Twitter accounts were simultaneously hacked on Wednesday by attackers who used the accounts — some with millions of followers — to spread a cryptocurrency scam. @apple had its account hacked to push the same scam, as well as Amazon co-founder @jeffbezos and Democratic presidential candidate @joebiden. Many other accounts were quickly hijacked, including @elonmusk. …

The New York Daily News reports: The feds have disrupted hundreds of internet domains that cybercriminals have used to commit fraud and other crimes by taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. The FBI as of Tuesday received more than 3,600 complaints related to COVID-19 scams, “many of which operated from websites that advertised fake vaccines …

Via press release from Christian Newswire: Former Arkansas Governor and Republican presidential nominee Mike Huckabee has joined the Board of Directors at OneShare Health, an ACA-exempt Christian Health Care Sharing Ministry (HCSM) based in Irving, Texas. Huckabee, who maintains strong ties to the Christian church, said he was initially drawn to OneShare Health’s faithdriven vision. After joining OneShare Health’s Board …

The Philadelphia Tribune reports: In the Philadelphia suburbs, a document that’s mocked up to look like the U.S. Census, but is really a clever fund-raising ploy by the Republican National Committee, is once again making the rounds. The document started landing in mailboxes in Berks, Bucks and Montgomery counties, according to KYW-1060 AM, and the office of U.S. Rep. Madeleine …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump has paid $2 million in court-ordered damages for misusing funds in a tax-exempt charity he controlled, the New York attorney general said Tuesday. The payment was ordered last month by a New York state judge in an extraordinary rebuke to a sitting president. Trump had been sued in 2018 by New York, who alleged …

CNBC reports: The University of Phoenix, which is owned by Apollo Education Group, has agreed to pay $191 million to settle charges that it falsely advertised close ties with major U.S. companies that could lead to jobs for students, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday. The University of Phoenix will pay $50 million to the FTC to return to …

Law & Crime reports: A lengthy exposé by Quartz shows how Chase Metals used “fear and Facebook,” allegedly to scam the elderly out of their retirement funds. And all of that fear was transformed into financial security paranoia–keyed toward a certain ideological faction of late-aged Americans. Screenshots of Facebook ads show that Fox News viewers were specifically targeted. “Is Your …

Hemant Mehta reports at The Friendly Atheist: Who needs doctors, anyway, when you can just touch different parts of your body and heal everything yourself? That’s what televangelist Kenneth Copeland did during a sermon on Monday. Speaking at his “Washington D.C. Victory Campaign 2019,” he led the crowd in seven minutes of what appears to be a Christian version of …

Popular Information reports: The Trump campaign has held at least 15 contests since 2018 offering the chance to win breakfast, lunch, or dinner with President Trump. Supporters are enticed to donate to Trump’s campaign with promises of free travel, accommodations, and an “epic” meal with Trump at various locations across the country. An investigation by Popular Information, however, did not …

The Daily Beast reports: On Friday, a federal judge sentenced actress Felicity Huffman to 14 days in jail after she pleaded guilty in May to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. “Trying to be a good mother doesn’t excuse this,” Judge Indira Talwani said after handing down the sentence, which included a $30,000 …

Politico reports: After recruiting thousands of donors for the American Conservative Union — the powerful organization behind the annual CPAC conference — a Republican political operative pushed the same contributors to give millions to a PAC that promised to go after then-President Barack Obama, but then steered much of their donations to himself and his partners. The PAC, called the …

Courthouse News Service reports: They may not be able to prove racketeering, but victims of a purported multilevel-marketing scheme can sue President Donald Trump for luring them in without disclosing that he was being paid millions to do so. Four anonymous Americans brought the suit at issue last year, seeking to hold the Trump Corp., the president himself and three …

Wired reports: You’ve seen the ads in your email or online: Celebrities supposedly hawking miracle weight loss cures or galaxy brain supplements. They’re at this point endemic to the web, as deeply ingrained as hashtags and puppies. But even though plenty of people fall for them, no one ever really does anything about it. Of all the security threats online, …

NBC News reports: The ringleader behind a $25 million college admission scam that implicated dozens of people, including Hollywood actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, said he has worked with more than 750 families. William Rick Singer, who pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Boston federal court to racketeering, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges, said in a phone …

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it sent warning letters to more than a dozen companies the agency said are “illegally selling” products that claim to prevent or cure Alzheimer’s disease. Many of these products, which are often sold on websites and social media platforms, “have not been reviewed by the FDA and are not proven safe …