Angelenos, if a man and a woman knock on your door or approach you with a young child in tow and ask for your hospitality, direct the group elsewhere. A 89-year-old Glendora woman fell victim to a similar home robbery sham Tuesday. more ›

The FBI announced today that an infamous computer-related scam known as the "relative in distress" or "grandparents" scam is targeting elders in Los Angeles. Steven Martinez, the FBI's assistant director in charge of the L.A. field office, said that SoCal provides a "target-rich environment" for overseas scam artists. more ›

Angelenos apartment hunting on Craigslist became victims of a recent rental scam. More than two dozen renters were ripped off by the con artists, who preyed on suspects seeking inexpensive apartments. Three suspects have been detained. more ›

Three Lancaster women who profited from the kindness of strangers have been arrested for running a donation scheme involving a baby's funeral. The women were standing on the street corner asking for money to help pay for the funeral of an 18-month-old boy. more ›

Angelenos, if you receive a letter claiming that your home is slated for inspection by Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) personnel, feel free to shred, recycle or save it to show the police. The letter is part of a scam recently discovered by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). more ›

Every October, Americans are urged to "think pink" and do their part for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So how is this a bad thing? more ›

Four individuals have been arrested after toying with the emotions of passers-by by soliciting money under the guise of paying for the funeral of an infant. KTLA reports that Heather Nichols, 21; Catherine Mendez, 22; Chasity Doll, 20; and Jamari Carter, 26, allegedly held a sign on street corners with a picture of a baby and the dates "January 20, 2011 - June 4, 2011" written underneath. more ›

Forward thinking inmates have been running a *72 telephone scam that tricks a victim into unwittingly forwarding calls from their number resulting in collect fees and other charges, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department press release. more ›

One hopes that even scam artists would have a little respect for tragedy. But apparently, there are those out there who don't. The Daily News reports that "con artists" have been soliciting donations in the name of fallen LAFD firefighter Glenn Allen, 61, who died as a result of injuries he sustained on the job last week. more ›

Restaurants in the Antelope Valley and Glendale have become the target of a fake health inspector, reports KTLA, and police are warning restaurant employees to be mindful of the scam -- although they're not exactly sure how the scam works. Authorities say the man appears at restaurants, claims to be a health inspector from either the California Department of Public Health or the Orange County Department of Public Health, and "asks restaurant owner to call a phone number and enter a numeric code, according to police. more ›

Authorities say three women are facing criminal charges after investigators reported that the trio lied about a child's funeral to solicit money from drivers in Covina, reports ABC Local. The women, suspected of conspiracy and fraud, are thought to have collected nearly $1000. Covina Police were tipped off about the women appearing in the same place weeks earlier holding signs about a boy supposedly killed in a car accident. Investigators say no such crash occurred. more ›

A number of people in the Western San Fernand Valley have fallen victim to a ploy by two gun-wielding robbers who post cheap cars on Craigslist, arrange a time place to meet and ask the victim to bring cash. A number of them have occurred on De Soto Avenue and Vanowen Street between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The LAPD says if you do buy a car off Craigslist, do not take cash and to meet a public place such as a bank or DMV office. Both suspects are described as Hispanic males between 25 and 30 and 130 pounds. One is about 5'7" and the other 5'10". Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact robbery detectives at (818) 756-3523. During off-hours, call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247). Callers may also text “Crimes” with a cell phone or log onto www.lapdonline.org and click on Web tips. When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with “LAPD”. Tipsters may remain anonymous. more ›

Here's an interesting scam we heard via Jeff Berk of Watch2.org in Studio City. Last week, a resident of his neighborhood watch was on her way home from the grocery store and became the victim of an alleged car damage claim scam. From an e-mail to neighbors: [She] was returning home from Ralph's on Coldwater & Ventura when she was waved over to the side of the road at Dickens and Van Noord by 2 men in a car who claimed she had hit their car at Ralph's. more ›

"lol check this out http://tinyurl.com/dgk9dl" That was an instant message we received about 20 minutes ago from an LA Derby Dolls player. Minutes later, local business consultant/comedian Francisco Dao of The Killer Pitch e-mailed us and his friends with a warning not to fall for it. We decided to click just to see what happens: it led us to a page asking us for our gmail password. Oh hell no, don't do it. And if you did fall for it, change your password fast! So far, what we know is that it will IM all your friends asking them to click on the link. Any other damage reports out there? more ›

Via our inbox, from a Sherman Oaks resident: more ›

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They befriended homeless men, gave them life insurance policies for two years, killed them by running over them, claimed their deaths as hit and runs and collected on the insurance. Nearly $3 million was collected between the two men they setup before getting caught. After the second death in 2005 is when authorities became suspicious -- similar incident, similar injuries. more ›

Stealing $15 of Del Taco food for you and your buddies can land you a maximum of seven years in prison. That's what two accomplices are up against in a case where three men filmed themselves tricking Del Taco employees over the phone to give them a free meal and then posting it on YouTube. The video's "star," Robert Echeverria, who Rialto police said is a known gang member and was "crying like a baby" at the station before making a plea bargain to serve 30 days in jail with three years of probation. more ›

Once again, I have just received a slew of emails notifying me that I have won a contest, inherited a large sum of money, been chosen as a trustee for a wealthy gentleman, or that I am needed to assist someone in moving large sums of money out of a foreign country. Welcome to the era of the internet scam artists, who ruthlessly cheat elderly, disabled, and just plain gullible people out of their life savings. more ›

Nearly 12 years after his infamous acquittal in the criminal trial in which he was charged with murdering his ex-wife and her beau, OJ Simpson is locked up on multiple felony charges. View Simpson's in-custody status / charges (.pdf). This time there was no Brentwood stakeout, no Ford Bronco, and somewhere in heaven Johnnie Cochran isn't the least bit surprised. Friday he was questioned, earlier today he was booked, and tonight, ordered "held without... more ›

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and several smiles as well as lots of cash were raised by some plucky urban ironing. London is apparently full of lies and whales: one of these things is true. We leave that up to you to figure out. more ›

Were you dismayed and confounded by the iPhone madness of June 2007? Did it disgust and disturb you to see your friends and colleagues giddily wait in line to drop $600 for the most-hyped mobile phone in history? Well that sniveling trickster, Steve Jobs is back, and he may be the only one laughing this time. Jobs' announcement of a new iPod came as a surprise to nobody. It looks and functions exactly like an... more ›

Labor Day Related Accounts Payable Door to Door for Greenpeace 10 Tips to Get Ahead in the Business World Creating A Hostile Work Environment With Dirty Comics Slinging Sunglasses in Inglewood Graveyard Manager at Gorky's Russian Cafe Phone Scam Artist Street Spammers and Signwalkers High School Janitor Labor Day Recipes. Yum! First Film, Last Straw My Year Running Bootlegs Sex Why Dating/Hooking Up With Friends Isn't a Good Idea Media & Advertising Misadventures in... more ›

"Hi, this is Jackie Payne with Impact Distributers...I'm just calling to let you know that you have won one of FIVE fabulous prizes!" more ›

- That subtle whisper of apathy you didn't hear was the Ducks winning Game 1 - AP - For the man who has everything, wrecked pieces from Lindsay Lohan's f'ed up Mercedes - eBay - Speaking of... Linds was way more wasted this weekend than you were - X17 - Gotta say this about the Nigerians, they really are taking this Internet scam shit seriously - LA Times - The medical administrator of the... more ›

A Word or 49: Iggy Pop redeems Jimmy Kimmel tonight. For petessake when is the stupid 'house' gimmick ever gonna end on House? (new one tonight) I'm rockin' the slot with the Shield tonight though - now that Vic seems to be in the clear perhaps we're just back to some stellar violence. Today - Tuesday - April 24th, 2007 Rita Hayworth Marathon (TCM, 5- p.m.) Starting with Pal Joey, then Salome, etc. Check... more ›

I don't have the best track record for viral videos. I didn't like the LonelyGirl15 crap, since it was rotten acting and painfully obvious to anyone that it was a scam. I believed the freaked out self-haircutting bride. In fact I still stand behind it, believing that she only claimed that it was fake afterwards to make herself look better - Canadians aren't that good at acting. And I believed in LittleLoca for far... more ›

#106 Electricity is not restored to elderly woman's Cutler Bay home for 15 YEARS - CBS4 more ›

- The founder of Reason magazine wrote a column in today's LA Times entitled "Let them have their pot" about the feds cockblocking weed from sick people - LAT - The cost of getting a California medical marijuana ID card is going up almost 1,000% because not enough people are getting California medical marijuana ID cards. Which is interesting because we thought that marijuana dispensaries in LA were booming. So wtf? - Bay Area... more ›

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? Phillyist is concerned that the war on Trans fats could affect it's beloved cheese steak sandwiches, something for which we should all be concerned.... more ›