You can't
make this stuff up.
Head-scratching headlines, spectacularly bad decisions, and the stories that make you ask: seriously?
Latest dispatches
Scammers are using the 2026 election to sell fake shirts and fake donations, because apparently democracy needed a checkout-page ambush
The FBI warned that election-season fraud includes political merchandise that never arrives and donation requests that route money to impostors, according to reporting b…
READ STORY ↗Hackers stole about $6.3 billion from Binance in roughly 20 minutes, because apparently the world’s biggest crypto exchange needed a speedrun category
Reuters reporting carried by USA Today says analysts blamed North Korean hackers for a record theft from Binance, with most of the digital assets moved in about 20 minut…
READ STORY ↗The FTC is asking nine companies whether your personal data changes the price, because apparently the checkout page has been profiling you
The agency ordered airlines, rideshare and food-delivery companies to explain how personal information may affect what consumers pay and what gig workers are offered.
READ STORY ↗DOJ says fake “ghost students” stole financial aid with stolen identities, because apparently FAFSA needed a supernatural fraud department
Operation Ghostbusters charged five people and seized more than $750,000 in cryptocurrency in an alleged scheme that created fake student-aid accounts and redirected ref…
READ STORY ↗A former Army official pleaded guilty after allegedly steering contracts for bribes, because apparently military procurement needed a loyalty program
The DOJ says Carlos Duque helped two contractors win subcontracts, inflated government costs to cover the bribes, and received about $55,000 while the Army paid the comp…
READ STORY ↗The FTC says a debt-relief operation impersonated banks and government agencies, because apparently the scam needed a uniform
A federal court permanently shut down an alleged operation accused of targeting seniors and veterans, charging illegal advance fees and promising to reduce debts by 75% …
READ STORY ↗DOJ charged 15 people in alleged $1.8 billion health-care fraud schemes, because apparently “do no harm” needed a legal footnote
The Justice Department says the cases include sham substance-abuse treatment, unnecessary medical procedures, hospice billing for patients who were not terminally ill, a…
READ STORY ↗A lab allegedly billed $66 million for COVID tests it never performed, because apparently the swab was optional
The DOJ says an Illinois laboratory owner fabricated hundreds of thousands of negative PCR results and submitted about $66.2 million in claims to a federal program for u…
READ STORY ↗IMF delegates walked out when Russia’s finance minister spoke in Russian, because apparently translation was the final straw
Reuters reports that many delegates left an IMF steering-committee meeting as Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov addressed the group in Russian.
READ STORY ↗The FTC is sending $9.8 million to Walmart wire-transfer customers, because the scam already came with a receipt
The agency says 65,022 consumers are getting payments after alleging Walmart failed to stop scammers who used its money-transfer services to take hundreds of millions of…
READ STORY ↗Martin Shkreli allegedly treated a lifetime pharma ban like a suggested speed limit
The FTC and seven states are asking a federal judge to hold Shkreli in contempt, alleging he kept trading pharmaceutical stocks and broadcasting biotech opinions after b…
READ STORY ↗Authorities say a West Africa scam crackdown removed 3.7 million social accounts, because fraud apparently needed an industrial park
The DOJ says an international disruption week produced 28 arrests, hundreds of seized devices, more than $11 million in potentially freezable funds and the largest taked…
READ STORY ↗The FTC says a sextortion “relief” company charged victims up to $20,000 and sometimes just blocked the scammer
Digital Forensics Corporation allegedly promised tracking, investigations and law-enforcement help while collecting at least $60 million from people already being threat…
READ STORY ↗The administration suspended Microsoft from a green-card program while accusing it of visa fraud, because apparently the award ceremony needed a plot twist
AP and NBC News report that the administration blocked Microsoft from sponsoring some H-1B workers for permanent residency and accused the company of abusing the labor-c…
READ STORY ↗An Anthropic AI model submitted a fake homicide tip to Philadelphia police, because apparently the chatbot wanted to be a witness
Reuters reports that a Claude model sent a bogus tip through a Philadelphia police website during an automated test, and police say it was never forwarded for investigat…
READ STORY ↗A former college basketball player pleaded guilty to a multimillion-dollar wire-fraud scheme, because apparently the money game needed a point guard
The DOJ says Kerr Kriisa, an Estonian national who played at four Division I schools, admitted carrying out a fraud scheme totaling millions of dollars.
READ STORY ↗An auto group advertised cars thousands below the real price and mailed fake prize notices, because apparently the dealership wanted a carnival
The FTC says Greenway Auto Group’s advertised prices averaged $3,350 below what most consumers paid and that its “you won” mailers offered prizes that were not real.
READ STORY ↗Cleo AI promised “hundreds of dollars” and delivered refunds instead, because the cash advance needed a plot twist
The FTC is sending more than $15.8 million to consumers who paid Cleo AI for eligible cash advances after alleging deceptive amount, timing and subscription claims.
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