Friday, August 16, 2013

5.4 Earthquake Shakes Mexico

A 5.4 earthquake shook Mexico, on Friday morning.

The quake occurred six miles northeast of Ometepec.

No damages or injuries were reported, due to the quake.

Several government buildings in Mexico City were evacuated while inspections took place.

17 Dead More Than 100 Missing After Ferry Sinks in the Philippines

Seventeen people are dead and over a hundred are missing after a ferry sank in the Philippines.

A cargo ship and the ferry collided on Friday night, within half an hour the ferry had sank.

Six hundred and ninety-two people were on the ferry, when the accident occurred.

The cargo ship did not suffer serious damage or any injuries to it's crew of thirty-six.

6.5 Quake Rocks New Zealand

A 6.5 earthquake rocked New Zealand on Friday afternoon.

It happened on the eastern tip of the southern big island.

Several aftershocks followed the main quake.

Buildings on both of the main islands, knocking out power to some areas, but causing no major damage.

As a precaution, train services were suspended while all tracks were checked for damage.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Southbound Interstate 25 Closed After Truck Fire in Colorado

Southbound Interstate 25, just north of Fort Collins, was closed Thursday after a truck fire.

Just before noon, two semi trucks collided, leaving one of them in flames.

Firefighters were able to put out the fire before it spread too far, through the grass along side the freeway.

Neither driver was severely hurt, in the accident.

Cleanup crews expected to take several hours to cleanup the interstate.

Til that time, traffic is being detoured around the site of the crash, causing long back ups.

3 Arrested After Shooting at Denver's Civic Center Park

Part of downtown Denver was shut down, for part of Thursday, due to a shooting at Civic Center Park.

The shooting occurred along Colfax Avenue, between Broadway and Lincoln Street, less than a block from the capitol building.

Witnesses say that a man was walking along Colfax when a man on the other side of the street fired two shots at him.

The first man then pulled a gun and responded with four shots of his own.

Police quickly responded before more shots could be fired or anyone could be hurt.

At the time of the shooting, dozens of people were in the park, eating lunch and enjoying the weather.

They arrested both shooters and a third man, though it is unclear at this time why the third arrest was made.

For a short time the surrounding area, including the capitol, were placed on lock down, but it was lifted as quickly as possible.

South Africa Town Shutting Down Schools Due to Gang Violence

Officials in Manenberg, South Africa have made the decision to shut down sixteen schools.

They are shutting them down due to the high levels of gang violence, in the area.

According to the Western Cape Education Ministry, teachers had refused to continue going to the area, due to fears for their safety, forcing the closures.

Provincial and local government officials say that they have asked the national government to send in federal police and even the military, to enforce safe areas.

However, the national government says that the local police blocked that decision from being made.

The police say that they are capable of dealing with it themselves, and are implementing new plans to do so.

Egypt's Government Authorizes Use of Deadly Force as Death Toll Reaches 638

In response to increased violence from the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's government authorized police to use deadly force when dealing with rioters.

The announcement was made shortly after several government buildings and churches were set on fire, by mobs.

Leaders of the Brotherhood called for revolution against the government, which they have called illegal since it removed former president Morsi from office.

Both statements follow Wednesday's violence, in which six hundred and thirty-eight were killed and more than forty-two hundred injured across the country.

About ten percent of the casualties were security forces.

Thursday saw a lot of quiet, especially in Cairo, which saw the brunt of Wednesday's violence.

14 Killed 212 Injured in Beirut Blast

An explosion tore through Beirut on Thursday, leaving fourteen dead and two hundred and twelve injured.

It was caused by a car bomb, parked between two apartment buildings, in a Shiite part of Lebanon's capital.

A terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, and stated that it was a response to Hezbollah's continued involvement in the Syrian civil war.

Hezbollah has been aiding the Syrian government in it's fight against Sunni rebel forces, causing increased tension in Lebanon.

7 Bombs Kill 21 in Baghdad

Seven bombs exploded throughout Baghdad, on Thursday, killing twenty-one.

Seventy-three people were injured in the explosions.

No one claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Al Qaeda is heavily suspected as being responsible.

The six car bombs and one roadside bomb show the ever increasing tensions and violence, that Iraq is facing.

More than a thousand were killed in July's violence, leaving it the deadliest month in over five years.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Secret Shopper Scam Stealing Your Money

Our investigative team uncovered one of the latest schemes trying to rip you off.

It starts off with a Craigslist ad for secret shoppers. Then it moves to an email asking you to confirm that you are able to carry out the job requirements.

If you move past that stage they then ask for your home address so that they can send you funds for the purchases. That's logical enough and it all sounds great. That they want your phone number, not too off enough to make you think twice.

The first check comes.. Wow! They've sent you a check for nearly two thousand dollars. Their last email said to message them when you had received and deposited the check. After you've sent the confirmation email they send you the instructions for your first assignment.

A three hundred dollar commission, excellent. Spend seventy-five dollars at Walmart, and report on how the store did. Well that's more than easy enough, you're likely doing that anyways for groceries. Twenty-five for gas, sweet that's half a tank, unless you're driving an SUV.

It's the next part that hopefully grabbed your attention. Wire the remainder to a third party, another secret shopper, via

Do not do that, never do that. Wire transfer scams are still one of the most common means of fraud. In a few days, somewhere up the line, the funds simply won't be there and everyone who spent them gets caught short. Had the "secret shopper" done their assignment, instead of getting suspicious, they would've found themselves out nearly two thousand dollars. For many, in today's economy, that would've put them well in the negative. A hole they might never recover from.

At one bank alone, they were able to trace at least nine checks to this scheme. Only the one we first were made aware of wasn't used. The other eight people, who had been sent checks, went ahead and wired the money on, without questioning it.

In this case, the company sending the checks is based out of Alabama, using a bank in Utah, a phone number from Manhattan, and asking for the money to be sent to New Jersey. Further investigation quickly showed links to an internet address out of Russia.

When we corresponded further with them, informing them that the bank had placed a hold on the check, they asked for any funds available to be wired to them.

Sometimes you need to be smart and look the gift horse in the mouth. Too often it might not even be a horse at all.