Classic

An author posted shitty reviews of his colleagues' books on Amazon and praised his own. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8641515.stm I can't tell you how many times I've seen the same behavior at my job.

Some schmoe will come onto the boards and trash company A while saying company X is totally fawesome. He'll say he used company X for these deals nobody else could do, blah blah blah, and of course he actually owns company X. Sometimes he'll get five or six usernames all pretending to be clients of his company then freak out when he gets banned for violating our Rules of Conduct.

In the article the historian first pretended his wife wrote the reviews, which is another tactic I've seen from people who got caught. "I didn't write those post! My secretary did!" Or "My wife did!" It's ridiculous.

Even if either of those statements are true your wife and or secretary aren't exactly clients are they? Honestly, it boggles the mind.

Prison sentence for eBay fraud

Here's an interesting press release up at the FBI site.

CANONSBURG MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR INTERNET FRAUD SCHEME

What exactly did he do?

According to information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Dennis P. Kissane, Semulka, from on or about August 14, 2001, to on or about January 22, 2002, engaged in a wire fraud scheme using the internet auction services known as eBay Auctions. Semulka offered various high-priced items for sale on those services, including RCA DSS satellite dish receivers, but, after receiving payment from would-be buyers, failed to deliver the merchandise.

Good news for anyone who's been stiffed by an fraudulent seller.