Snapchat Photos Stolen, Company Blames Users Of Third-Party Apps

http://ift.tt/1qzFHU2

Snapchat is a mobile app that allows users to communicate through photos that self-destruct after ten seconds. Taking advantage of this feature, many people use it to take photos of their private parts. However, there are third-party apps that you can use to sign in to Snapchat, then send and receive files.

The source of the photos was apparently a Web-based Snapchat app that was hacked, and the photos have now done the exact opposite of self-destructing. A cache of 13 gigabytes of stolen selfies, belonging to about 200,000 Snapchat users out of the tens of millions of people estimated to use the app, was available to download and linked on the online mischief hub 4chan, but the site where it was hosted is now down. That may be because the people in some of the sexier snaps might be underage, which would technically make the files child pornography.

Snapchat has acknowledged the hack, but points out that it’s users’ own darn fault for sending their photos through outside apps. In a statement to VentureBeat, the company said:

Snapchatters were victimized by their use of third-party apps to send and receive Snaps, a practice that we expressly prohibit in our Terms of Use precisely because they compromise our users’ security.

The company does know something about security breaches, having made its systems more secure after one at the beginning of this year. Snapchat wants to assure users that their service has not been breached, and users’ passwords haven’t been stolen, either. That said, be careful which outside apps you use to access certain sites, especially if you send photos that you’d rather have self-destruct.

Snapchat blames users of ‘illegal third-party apps’ for nude photo hack [VentureBeat]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Do You Know This Mysterious Man Who May Be A Lottery Winner?

http://ift.tt/1smi3zA

The Hot Lotto is a Powerball game that’s available to lottery fans in fourteen states and the District of Columbia. Somebody won $14.3 million in Iowa in December 2010, but here’s the problem: nobody knows who. A mysterious company based in Belize tried to claim the ticket, but the original ticket purchaser has to claim the cash. He never has.

Lottery winners have one year to come forward and claim their prizes. Shortly before the deadline, a lawyer in New York representing a corporation in Belize tried to claim the prize, but the ticket was bought in Iowa, where the lottery won’t hand over winnings unless the ticket holder or ticket holders are identified. The state wouldn’t turn over their winnings to charity as requested, either: the money went back to the states that are part of Hot Lotto.

State authorities suspect some kind of fraud in this situation, though it isn’t clear exactly what kind of fraud that would be or how it works.

After investigating this case for years, Authorities recently released surveillance camera footage of the man who bought the winning ticket (and two hot dogs) to find out whether anyone recognizes him. His face is obscured by a hat and a hood: he may have been trying to avoid being recognizable on the camera, or it may be that he was in the Midwest in December and was trying to keep his ears warm.

Why are they turning to the public for help now? There’s a three-year statute of limitations on fraud in Iowa, and the end of this year will mark three years since the trust tried to claim the lottery prize. Investigators have no idea whether the man was part of the scheme (if there even was a scheme) or whether he may be the victim of a crime. He could be from Iowa, but the store where he bought the ticket is near the interstate, so he could be a traveler or a truck driver.

If you recognize the man in the video, or if you know anything else about this case, Iowa’s Division of Criminal Investigation would like to hear from you.

Investigators need help finding lottery ticket purchaser [Des Moines Register] (Warning: auto-play video!)

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Mitsubishi Recalls Small Cars, SUVs For Engine Stalling Issue

http://ift.tt/1126vaj

It seems like just hours ago that we wrote about a vehicle recall. Oh yeah, that’s because it was. This time around Mitsubishi is recalling nearly 166,000 small cars and SUVs for issues that could cause the vehicles to stall.

The Associated Press reports that Mitsubishi issued a recall for 165,923 model year 2008 to 2011 Lancer and Lancer Evolution vehicles, model year 2009 to 2011 Lancer Sportback, as well as model year 2008 to 2011 Outlander and model year 2011 Outlander Sport vehicles.

The affected vehicles have pulleys that can experience unusual wear and damage the drive belt. If the belt is damaged it can detach, preventing the battery from charging or disabling power steering.

Officials with Mitsubishi report they are unaware of any crashes or injuries related to the issue.

Owners of affected vehicles will be notified and dealers will replace worn belts and pulleys at no cost.

Mitsubishi Recalls Cars, SUVs for Stalling Problem [The Associated Press]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Brands Are Scanning Your Selfies And Party Photos To Look For Their Logos

http://ift.tt/1yi70Lb

(funky_abstract)

Let’s say that you’re a brand, like Nabisco or the North Face, and you want to see what people are saying about you online. You could do a text search of Facebook and Twitter, but that’s soooo 2009, and you can’t guarantee that people will always label the photos they take. Instead, third-party companies are slurping up every public photo that you upload online and scanning them to see what you’re eating, drinking, and wearing.

So Starbucks knows that there’s a picture of me holding one of their cups and smiling that I posted to Instagram. So what? People who are savvy about the Internet and about privacy simply assume that any picture they post online can be used for any purpose. Not everyone is that savvy, though, and even people who are that savvy probably don’t suspect that their photos are being scanned and analyzed to find smiles, trends, and “influencers.” This week, the Wall Street Journal broke down how this works and how your photos might be repurposed.

When you agree to the terms of service for a social media site, you might be agreeing to third-party use of your photos, but you may not have thought that sites like Tumblr were selling “firehose” access, or a blast of every picture posted on the site to be scanned for facial expressions and brand logos. Well, they are, to Ditto, a company that helps companies analyze how they “look” online.

Smile! Marketing Firms Are Mining Your Selfies [Wall Street Journal]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

“Don’t Flush Feminine Products” Signs In AirBNB Rentals? $10,000 In Damages Makes A Good Case

http://ift.tt/1q9iJne

(frankieleon)

A Los Angeles AirBNB host probably wishes she had hung one of those “Please place feminine products in the trash” signs up in her condo’s bathroom. Doing so may have saved her more than $10,000 in damages after a renter allegedly repeatedly flushed the products down her toilet causing a blockage and massive leak.

Business Insider reports that the pipe back up caused a leak that poured water into the hallway and lobby of the woman’s condo building, eventually seeping into her neighbor’s apartment.

The woman, who rents several units through AirBNB, says she didn’t learn of the damage until a second group of renters called to tell her the toilet was clogged.

Between hiring an emergency water cleaning crew and fixing damage to both the host’s apartment and the neighbor’s apartment costs for the stay reached more than $10,000.

Despite AirBNB’s Host Guarantee, which promises to pay for up to $1 million in damages, the woman says she’s left footing the bill.

According to the woman, an email she received from AirBNB said the company would only pay for the $78 plumber’s fee.

The email details that the woman’s claim was denied because the Host Guarantee only covers the actual rented unit and is void if more guests stay after the damage is incurred.

A spokesperson for AirBNB tells Business Insider that problems are rare when it comes to rentals.

“We were incredibly sorry to hear about this matter and we’d encouraged the host to use our resolution tools to work with her guests on this matter,” the spokesperson says.

As a result of the damage allegedly caused by the AirBNB renter, the woman’s condo association has banned its owners form renting through the service.

Additionally, the woman says she’ll stop renting through AirBNB once her current reservations are finished.

“We’ve been using it since 2011. We were an early adopter,” she says. “AirBNB sent us great people for two years. They appreciated the concept of sharing and staying in an at-home-like environment. Then things start to get bad from last year and especially this year.”

Airbnb Banned From Condo Complex After Guest Caused $10,000 Of Damage [Business Insider]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Amanda Bynes Twitter Rant ReShare By @balleralert: “🌾👀🌾...

Amanda Bynes Twitter Rant ReShare By @balleralert:

“🌾👀🌾 #amandabynes”

#officialplugmagazine #pluggedinentertainment #officialplugmag

via Tumblr http://theplugmag.tumblr.com/post/99663982696

IKEA: Where You Can Buy A Bookcase And Now Insurance

http://ift.tt/111A3Vu

(Steve)

A trip to IKEA could soon include a lot more than just buying shelves, bedding, and other home items. The retailers is reportedly rolling out trial sales of range of insurance policies.

The Wall Street Journal reports the company began selling child and pregnancy insurance at select stores in Sweden last week.

Currently the Omifall plans are targeted to the 2.5 million members of IKEA’s loyalty program. In the future the company could expand offerings to the company’s 59 million global members.

The pregnancy and child insurance plans cover accidents while women are pregnant and then transform into child accident protection after birth. According to the Omifall website, the plans are “valid even if you have other insurance. OMIFALL pregnancy and child insurance will be combined with any existing coverage you may have. This means that the amount paid from us will be paid in addition to any other compensation given from other insurance.”

The plans are handled by an entity within the IKEA empire called Ikano Group, which is owned by the three sons of 88-year-old IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad.

In the past, IKEA used its large customer base to expand into other businesses. The WSJ reports that in 2012, the company launched an trial for selling televisions and loudspeakers. That program was later expanded internationally.

IKEA Gets Into Insurance Business [The Wall Street Journal]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

New Vaccines May Have Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Under Control

http://ift.tt/1uRomvS

(Adam Fagen)

We’ve been discussing porcine epidemic diarrhea on the site in the past, mostly in the context of it causing an increase in pork prices because millions of piglets have died. Good news for bacon-lovers and newborn piglets alike: there are two new vaccines conditionally approved to prevent PEDv, and another on the way.

The disease is exactly what it sounds like: a highly contagious disease that causes severe diarrhea in pigs. While adult pigs usually survive the disease, piglets do not. Until now, there were no treatments or vaccines for the disease, and farmers’ best hope was that sows either wouldn’t be exposed to the virus, or would already be immune before having a litter.

The senseless death of millions of piglets is causing an unanticipated problem: millions of piglet corpses. Piglets normally grow up to be pigs who are eaten, after all, so pig burials aren’t a normal occurrence. Environmentalists are concerned that the unprecedented numbers of pig burials could contaminate groundwater as the animals decompose.

Pigs that have had the virus pose no known risk to the pork-eating public: the disease is not communicable to humans.

Farmers Gain Weapon Against Devastating Pig Virus [New York Times]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

A Brief History Of Car Colors — And Why Are We So Boring Now?

Nissan Recalls 220K Altimas Because Hoods Are Only Suppose To Fly Up In The Movies

http://ift.tt/1vUglES

(Russ Swift)

The only time you might expect to see the hood of a car fly up while driving down the road is in an action movie. But for hundreds of thousands of Nissan Altima owners that scenario could happen at just about anytime, and that’s a big problem.

Nissan recently announced the recall of about 220,000 model year 2013 Nissan Altimas, USA Today reports.

Officials with Nissan say the problem involves an inner panel on the hood and the secondary latch lever of the vehicle.

The combination of debris and corrosion could cause the secondary latch lever to bind and remain in the unlatched position when the hood is closed.

If for some reason the primary latch is inadvertently released and the secondary latch is not engaged, the hood could open while driving.

Nissan will contact owners of affected vehicles. Dealers will be instructed to modify the bend angle on the hood actuation lever to eliminate potential interference with the hood inner panel.

If dealers view significant corrosion is observed, the latch assembly will be replaced.

Recall: Hoods can fly open on 220K Nissan Altimas [USA Today]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Olive Garden Overhaul: Darden Loses Board Seats To Breadstick Police Investors

http://ift.tt/1qxM9L4

(David Buchwald)

There might be fewer breadsticks in the basket next time you visit Olive Garden. Okay, fine we don’t really know if that’s true, but we do know that Darden Restaurant Inc., the parent company of the Italian restaurant, lost all of its board seats to investors turned breadstick police Starboard Value LP today.

Reuters reports the entire Darden board was ousted at a meeting in what they call a rare victor for dissident investors.

While we don’t exactly know what the takeover by Starboard means, you might remember that just last month Starboard publicly criticized the performance and mismanagement the Olive Garden chain.

The investors issued a nearly 300-page proposal outlining a plan to turn around the Italian chain, while criticizing the restaurant’s employees of straying from policy – including overloading customers on breadsticks.

The proposal included plans to sell Darden’s real estate, franchise its restaurants, spin-off The Capital Grille, Yard House and other chains.

As for Olive Garden, the investors said in the proposal that they plan to boost the chain’s alcohol sales, use technology to eliminate “false waits” for tables and implement more cost-effective marketing.

Following Starboard’s presentation, Darden shot back a shorter, 24-page analysis that included defending the policy of giving customers as many breadsticks as they can shove down their throats.

The company said that “Olive Garden’s salad and breadsticks have been an icon of brand equity since 1982″ and that passing out the free baskets of dough conveys “Italian generosity.”

Darden loses full board in activist sweep [Reuters]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Family Abandons Home Due To Massive Spider Infestation

http://ift.tt/1vbWu7g

Actual house and spiders not pictured. (Scott Lynch)

There’s a lovely home near St. Louis that was once worth around $450,000, and now sits abandoned and in foreclosure. The last owners won a lawsuit against the previous owners for failing to disclose one really, really important thing about the house: it is infested with thousands of brown recluse spiders.

That’s a species of spider that is venomous, but rarely lashes out and attacks people. You know, that’s why they’re called “recluses.” Still, no one wants six thousand roommates, venomous or not, and the family was not happy about the infestation and less happy that the previous owners of the house hadn’t warned them.

The first hints of trouble were when the family noticed large spider webs on the light fixtures that hadn’t been there when they did their final walk-through before purchase. After they moved in, they began to find spiders everywhere: falling from the ceiling, crawling out of the walls, scampering up the window treatments.

Here’s where things get kind of weird: the previous owners’ insurance company, State Farm, defended them when the new owners sued them. There was a trial with a jury, and the new owners won an award of $472,110. However, they weren’t able to collect: the previous owners declared bankruptcy, and State Farm refused to pay the claim. Why? A spider infestation doesn’t count as actual damage to a home. Also, the policy rules out some very specific things, which include infestations of insects. The scientific argument that spiders are not “insects” didn’t work on State Farm.

Fannie Mae owns the house now that it has gone into foreclosure. This week, the house will be tented and fumigated, a pest control method normally associated with termite infestations, or with a plotline from the fifth season of the TV show “Breaking Bad.” Will this work where other pest control methods haven’t? “There’ll be nothing alive in there after this,” the man tasked with killing the spiders told he St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Tenting houses is a new method for dealing with brown recluse spiders that wasn’t in use three years ago when the family abandoned the house.

Extreme case of brown recluse spiders drives owners from Weldon Spring home [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Women Claim Their McDonald’s Iced Tea Came With A Free Worm

http://ift.tt/1qxyy6t

(Steve)

Typically when you order a drink at the local fast food drive-thru, the only surprise you get is maybe the wrong type of soda in your cup. A Virginia family says they received a much more slimy shocker: A small worm.

The ordeal began last week when two sisters paid a visit to the local McDonald’s drive-thru and ordered iced tea, The Charlottesville Newsplex reports.

When the women returned home, one sister says she took a drink of the tea only to feel something hit the back of her throat.

“I turned the light on and I seen something going like this [gestures worm motion] and it was a worm in my tea,” one of the women says. “I sipped it up through my straw.”

The sisters visited a doctor as a precaution and were prescribed antibiotics.

An inspector for the Virginia Department of Health visited the fast food restaurant following the incident and found no worms inside the drink machine or the ice dispenser.

However, the inspector did find a worm living under one of the pieces of equipment inside the building.

The inspector also noted in the preliminary inspection that there were “rodent droppings under front counter and throughout facility,” the inspector writes. “Premises are not being routinely inspected for evidence of pests.”

In a statement McDonald’s says their main focus is on providing high quality food for customers.

“We take matters concerning the safety of our food very seriously,” the statement reads. “The Health Department has informed us that upon inspection, they came away with no findings regarding this matter. While this claim is unsubstantiated, we will continue to cooperate with the Health Department in their investigation.”

WARNING: Video contains wormy grossness.

Update: McDonald’s Responds to Claim of Worm Found in Iced Tea [Charlottesville Newsplex]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

College Students Pitch In To Tip Delivery Driver $1,268 For Two Pizzas

http://ift.tt/1qxxyzs

Reading through notes given to him by the students. (WISHTV.com)

Tipping a lot for pizza isn’t unusual — how else can one adequately express thanks for delivering a cheesey piece of heaven? — but in most cases, “a lot” means maybe $10. But when a bunch of college students pooled their resources to make one pizza guy’s night, they managed to drop a pretty hefty chunk of change on just two pizzas, giving him a $1,268 tip.

Students at Indiana Wesleyan University surprised the pizza delivery guy when he showed up to the university’s chapel service, reports WISHTV.com. He figured it was just a normal delivery, totaling $12.50 for the two pies… until he was invited up on stage by the chapel’s speaker.

The speaker had handed out note cards to students to write the man a note, and encouraged them to pitch in to give the man “the biggest tip of his life,” which also included $70 in gift cards.

“I was just in awe I really couldn’t say too much,” the delivery driver explained.

“We can do little things and when we’re gathered together, that little thing becomes a big thing of encouraging other people,” said a faculty member.

The students were pretty happy to see immediate effect of their efforts.

“You got to be able to see what his reaction was — complete shock. It was so cool,” said one student.

The driver says his kids will have a good Christmas now, and he’ll pay off bills, fix his car and roof, and remember that day forever.

“It just, I just couldn’t believe it that somebody could be so nice to people out there,” he said.

Indiana Wesleyan surprises pizza delivery man with once-in-a-lifetime tip [WISHTV.com]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Pepsi Introduces A “Craft” Soda Made With Cane Sugar

http://ift.tt/1oXUt7m

Crafty.

PepsiCo is hopping on the ye olde bandwagon and going back to the days when soda was sweetened with sugar, and free of artificial sweeteners or high-fructose corn syrup. Dubbing its new craft soda Caleb’s Kola, Pepsi says the drink is made with cane sugar, “a special blend of spices” and a kola nut extract.

The beverage is named after Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist who came up with the Pepsi formula in the 1890s, reports the Associated Press, further rooting the drink’s image in the sepia-toned past.

Each 10-ounce bottle comes with 110 calories and 29 grams of sugar, as well as an entourage of marketing hashtags meant to position this drink among the other old timey sodas known as craft drinks — #craft, #mixology, #honorincraft, you get the point. Gotta get those millenials!

Caleb’s Kola will hit shelves at certain Costco locations in New York, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, with plans to expanded wider later.

Pepsi Is Launching A ‘Craft’ Soda [Associated Press]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Barcelona Comedy Club Charges Customers Per Laugh

http://ift.tt/1tKmWit

Tablets equipped with facial recognition software records how often customers laugh during comedy shows.

I love comedy clubs. From well-known venues like the Upright Citizen’s Brigade in New York to the smaller haunts like Sanford’s in Kansas City, step foot any one of the hundreds of comedy clubs around the country and you’ll likely laugh – a lot. That’s usually not a problem, but if you’re heading to a club in Barcelona either come armed with a lot of cash or a straight-up poker face, because you’re about to be charged per laugh.

The BBC reports that a comedy club in Barcelona is currently experimenting with the new payment system that uses facial-recognition technology to track how much visitors enjoy the show.

The facial recognition software is installed on tablets attached to the back of each seat in the club. For each laugh customers emit they’ll be charged 0.30 euros, or $0.38, up to a maximum of 24 euros, or $30.45 per visit.

Officials with the club say the pay-per-laugh system was a project developed to combat falling audience numbers after the government increased taxes on theater tickets.

So far, the club says, the experiment has proved to be a positive experience, with overall ticket prices up.

Comedy club charges per laugh with facial recognition [BBC]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

12-Year-Old Girl Writes Letter To Dick’s Sporting Goods Explaining That Women Also Play Basketball

http://ift.tt/1xy6zsY

(MGChan)

While it’s all well and good for us adults to stand up for gender equality in kids’ products, there’s something about kids themselves taking retailers to task for not giving both boys and girls a fair shake. Leading the pack of girls who aren’t about to take a boys-only view of the sports world this week is a 12-year-old who was so disappointed in Dick’s Sporting Goods for not featuring women in a recent basketball catalog, she took the company to task in a scathing, informed and otherwise wonderful letter.

Showing everyone else how it’s done in a letter addressed to Dick’s Sporting Goods and posted by her dad on Twitter — sports writer Chris Peterson — the middle school basketball player lays it on the line (h/t Jezebel).

She points out that she herself, plays basketball, and enjoys watching the sport so much, she had season tickets for her state women’s team, the Phoenix Mercury.

“I don’t know if you are keeping track of the ladies sports world, but they are the Western Conference Champions AND the League Champions of 2014,” she points out, rattling off some other key players in the sport.

Her point, however, is that “There are NO girls in the catalog!” Except, she adds, the girl sitting in the stands on one page, some cheerleaders on coupons and a reference to women on one page for shoes.

“It’s hard enough for girls to break through in this sport as it is, without you guys excluding us from your catalog. Girls buy stuff from your store,” she very eloquently adds. “In fact, my last two pairs of basketball shoes were purchased at Dicks, as well as my hoop and practice equipment. Maybe my dad will take me to some other store that supports girls to actually PLAY basketball and follow their dreams and not sit on the sidelines and watch the game to get my next pair of shoes and equipment.”

OH SNAP, MCKENNA! Here’s where we high five.

She goes on to say that she looks forward to seeing girls in the next basketball catalog, and is considerate enough to compliment Dick’s staff for being “very friendly and kind” when she goes there to get new shoes.

She signs it, adding, “The Fabulous Basketball Player.” Fabulous, indeed.

Her dad’s tweet:

My 12yr old basketball loving daughter got the latest @DICKS catalog & had a big problem with it. She wrote a letter. http://ift.tt/1w3K8KU

— ChrisPetersonTCS (@TheCheapSeatsTV) October 9, 2014

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Ice Cream Hack: Dairy Queen, Orange Julius Latest Companies Hit By A Data Breach

http://ift.tt/1smjzTw

(Paxton Holley)

A trip to the local Dairy Queen usually ends in a tasty, cool treat, but customers are nearly 400 stores it ended with a decidedly less delicious surprise: A security breach.

CNN Money reports that 395 Dairy Queen locations and one Orange Julius location have become the latest victims of a security breach.

Officials with the ice cream store say in a news release that between August and October malware called Backoff accessed systems through a third-party vendor’s comprised account credentials.

While the company says the breach has been contained, customer names, payment card numbers and expiration dates were vulnerable through the hack.

The company says there is no evidence that personal information such as Social Security numbers, PINs or email addresses were compromised as a result of the malware.

A full list of stores affected by the hack has been posted online.

Dairy Queen is offering customers who used a credit or debit card at one of the hacked restaurants during the affected time period one year of free identity repair services.

Dairy Queen customers get hacked [CNN Money]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Consumerist Friday Flickr Finds

http://ift.tt/110cyMD

Here are twelve of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

(Thorsten Mimel)

(Studio d’Xavier)

(Joe White) Hint: read the sign.

(Dave Bloom)

(Renee Rendler-Kaplan)

(Freaktography)

(Chri S)

(Photonguy2009)

(Great Beyond)

(Andrew Mallner)

(Bjarne Winkler)

(Kevin Cardosi)

Our Flickr Pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Want to see your pictures on our site? Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Do You Ever Shop Anywhere? Congratulations: Your Data Will Be Hacked

Colin Kaepernick Fined $10K For Wearing The Wrong Headphones

http://ift.tt/1q7GD2w

As we mentioned earlier this week, the NFL has banned players from wearing any non-Bose headphones on the field, in the locker room or while talking to the press after the game. Which is why San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick is being hit with a $10,000 fine for sporting a pair of the Beats headphones (that he gets paid a lot more than ten grand to endorse).

NFL.com writes that Kaepernick, who is seen above in a still image from one of his TV ads for Beats, confirmed on Thursday that he’d been fined for wearing the decidedly non-Bose headgear while chatting with the press after last weekend’s victory against the Kansas City Chiefs.

No one likes to scoff at being fined $10,000, but since Kaepernick signed a deal in June that could pay him upwards of $126 over the next six seasons, it’s a fine he can afford to pay.

It’s also possible that Beats, which is now owned by Apple, could reimburse Kaepernick. After all, the mere coverage of this story is probably worth more publicity than any more-expensive TV ad could have given Beats.

But Kaepernick isn’t saying who will pick up the tab for the fine, telling reporters, “We’ll let that be unanswered.”

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

No, Virgin Atlantic Is Not Going To Give You A Free Plane Ticket

http://ift.tt/1EAlxU4

When you’re about to follow a company on your social media site of choice or share an image or status in the hopes of receiving free stuff, stop. Apply critical thinking. Is it likely that an airline will give free flight passes to twenty thousand of its Instagram followers? Twenty, maybe, but not twenty thousand.

That brings us to the sad tale of the fake Virgin Atlantic Instagram account. We can’t link to it because the account has now been taken down, but its legacy is still with us in the form of this post on the real airline’s real Instagram account.

What’s the value of twenty thousand Instagram followers who have subscribed to see something that you can’t give them? One common scheme is to collect “likes” or followers and then sell the account to someone else, who could use the account for good or evil. The important thing is that the person who gathered followers under false pretenses is selling you.

While we don’t know that the people behind this account were part of a like-farming scheme, we do know that they were imitating a well-known brand. Still, followers probably should have known better. The account had zero followers, and promised free tickets for Virgin’s airline in the United States despite being called “Virgin_UK.”

Why thousands of people are following this fake Virgin Airlines Instagram account [PandoDaily]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist