Florida Woman Leaves a Cigarette Burning in a Tissue Box in back seat of BMW After Owner Won't Take Her to Miami

A woman in Palm Beach County, Florida tries to bum a ride with a random person filling up at a gas station. When he declines, she hops in his BMW anyway when he goes to pay for his gas. The BMW owner calls the police and they discover she left a cigarette burning in a tissue box in the back seat after departing from his car.

Photo by Jon Koop on Unsplash

Some people don't accept "no" easily, as a Florida woman in Palm Beach County still gets inside a stranger's BMW anyway, which she now likely regrets from behind bars.

The owner didn't want to drive her at least 70 miles south to Miami.

Guess what happened to the Florida woman?

Hint: She didn't make it to Miami.

More details about this story are below.

Florida Woman Almost Causes a Fire Inside BMW at Gas Station

CBS12 News reported that 27-year-old Antonina Pevzer (pictured below) tried to "hitch a ride to Miami" by jumping into his BMW at a Chevron gas station in Palm Beach, but was turned down by the owner.

She didn't like it, and she "cursed at him and flicked him off" as she exited his vehicle.

Antonina Pevzer

When the BMW owner went inside the Chevron to pay, she reportedly hopped back into the backseat of the BMW and lit a cigarette.

(Someone should probably tell her that gasoline is combustible.)

The owner saw her light up the cigarette in his vehicle from inside the gas station. He called the police.

Deputies from Palm Beach Sheriff's Office (PBSO) arrived on the scene, and Pevzer tried to flee when she saw a patrol car arrive. They told her to get on the ground, and they apprehended Pevzer.

At that point, authorities searched the man's BMW for evidence.

That's when they found her cigarette "actively igniting" a box of tissues inside the car. They quickly removed it.

It could have started a fire in the vehicle and been much worse.

Antonina Pevzer was booked into the Palm Beach County jail on Thursday morning. She was charged with unlawful disposal of a lighted object and burglary.

She was still "in custody" at the jail as of Tuesday, 26 December 2023 with a bond of $2,000.

Thoughts

Now it is time for the reader to share their thoughts on this story.

• Have you ever been approached at a gas station by a stranger asking for something?
• What would you say if you were asked to give someone a ride at the gas station?

Please share this article on social media so others can be informed about this story.

Sources

Chevron gas station locations: Find a Gas Station

Myers, Troy. "Woman asked for ride south from driver, was denied, then left lit cigarette in tissue box inside his car." CBS12 News. 26 December 2023.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

Chase Bank Won't Accept $5K Check Mobile Deposited by Georgia Woman. They Close Her Account, Claiming it is Fraud

A Georgia woman is upset after she claims she is being unfairly treated like a "criminal" after trying to mobile deposit a U.S. government refund check for $5,298 into her Chase bank account. The bank flagged the check for fraud and froze her bank account, eventually closing it.

Chase bank sign; by Mike Mozart, CC BY 2.0 DEED

Channel 2 News reported that Lois White from Atlanta is in shock after trying to deposit a check using mobile deposit into her Chase bank account.

She said:

"I feel like a criminal, like I've done something wrong... Apparently, they couldn't verify this check was real." -Lois White, Chase customer

US Government Forgave Lois White's Student Debt

Lois White received a letter in the mail from the U.S. Government forgiving her student debt.

The letter said, "Congratulations -- your student loan has been forgiven."

White was grateful that her debt was forgiven but had no idea that Chase Bank would flag the check as fraud.

Channel 2 News reported that Chase put a "fraud hold" on the check, and closed Lois White's bank account. The bank would not allow her access to her money.

Lois went down to the bank and took her letter. 

She said:

"I went to the branch. I gave them this letter. I gave them this check, gave them my ID, my birth certificate, [my] social security card." -Lois White, Chase customer

 Then Channel 2 News contacted Chase Bank. That's when the bank said they were "researching her case."

As of 8 December 2023, Chase Bank was still holding White's money.

She said:

"I'm devastated because I've always been able to pay my bills on time and handle my business. But I'm like couch surfing now." -Lois White, Chase customer

Texas Man Loses $49K in a Banking Scam. His Account was at Chase Bank

A Texas man received a call from a person claiming to be from Chase Bank and informing him that his account had been compromised and the only way to protect his funds was to transfer them to a "safe" account to protect his money.

Chase bank (stock image)

Texas Man Fell For a Scam Losing $49K at Chase Bank

CBS19 News reported that in December 2022, a Texas man named Angel Pineda received a fraudulent phone call, but said they were calling from Chase Bank, and that his bank amount with $49,000 had been compromised.

Angel Pineda; credit: CBS19 News

After the individual informed him that his account had been compromised and that he urgently needed to transfer his funds to a "safe" account in order to protect them. This is not standard operating procedure for a bank. That's because he was on the phone with a scammer.

The phone call didn't surprise Angel because he was used to getting fraud alerts from his bank, like when he made his regular car payment. 

He said:

"They were just like your account is not safe, it's compromised," said Pineda. "So we need to make sure your money’s secure and move it to a new account." -Angel Pineda, Chase customer

Feeling nervous and confused, Angel followed the instructions of the caller and transferred the funds to the account provided. It was only later that she realized she had fallen victim to a scam and that he had lost most of his savings because he trusted the scammer.

The scammer even asked for personal information over the phone to create a new Chase Bank account and he complied. 

"So there wasn't any reason for me to suspect anything," said Pineda. "Then I got the notification for fraudulent activity for a small amount and I was like no it's not me." -Angel Pineda, Chase customer

Angel says he finally got a call back from a legitimate Chase Bank associate who plans to review his case and call him up with an update. 

It is important to always monitor your bank account and statements for fraud activity. If possible, use two-factor authentication to log into financial accounts.

Florida Man 'Watched $27,000 Go Missing' From His Bank of America Account & His Bank Denied His Claim at First

A Florida man noticed that $27,000 was missing from his Bank of America account. He called his bank to file a claim and they denied his claim because they claimed there wasn't fraud after detecting "a device that was known to use bill pay."

Bank of America sign; credit: Mike Mozart CC BY 2.0 DEED

Bank of America Customer Loses $27K in Online Banking Bill Pay

In 2022, a chain of events led Luca Bencini to discover that $27,000 was missing from the bank account he had with Bank of America.

An email he received from Bank of America asked, "Did you open up a bill-pay to an unknown American Express card?"

This email prompted him to look into his finances with Bank of America.

That's when he logged in to discover a whole lot of cash was in fact missing.

He said:

“I went to my account, I saw that $27,000 was drawn to that American Express card. At that point, I immediately called the Bank of America for fraud, and that's where the whole thing started." -Luca Bencini, Bank of America customer

Bank of America Denies Fraud Claim Before the News Got Involved

He called his bank to file a fraud claim and they denied him a refund because they claimed his bill pay was accessed by a device that was "known to use bill pay" and deemed him liable for the money leaving his account.

Bencini then decided to contact the Broward County Sheriff's Office and WTJV 6 News. He was hoping that detectives could tell him if his bank account with Bank of America had been hacked.

Bencini said:

“But it wasn't my laptop nor my PC. Both of them were shut down while I was traveling, and nobody came into the house." -Luca Bencini, Bank of America customer

WTJV 6 News contacted Bank of America to ask about the situation, and then Bank of America executives decided to call Bencini and inform him they had a change of heart on the matter. They informed him that "they had decided to return the money or refund the money."

Did Bank of America only refund the money because they would receive negative publicity if they didn't choose to do the right thing?

Hindsight is 20-20

Luce Bencini noticed that he received a lot of spam emails flooding his inbox around the time that he received an email from Bank of America, which is a commonly used tactic called "email bombing."

Always pay attention to the fraud emails you receive from your bank, and identify the emails that are a form of phishing.

Always contact your bank at the trusted phone number and website, and never by the phone number or URL provided in the email.

Atlanta Man Claims That $14K Was Stolen from His Account, Paid to Mercedez Benz. Wells Fargo Denies Claim & Won't Issue a Refund

What happens when there is a fraud purchase on your account and a large sum of money leaves your bank account and when you dispute it the bank says it was authorized? 

This happened to a Georgia family banking with Wells Fargo. 

Mercedes-Benz car; credit: Jakob Rosen on Unsplash

According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Georgia was ranked as "the worst state for fraud" in Q3 2023. 

WSB-TV Channel 2 reported that Ken Pischke filed a dispute with Wells Fargo after $14K was paid to a Mercedez Benz Financial Services account, claiming his family didn't authorize payments to Mercedes Benz and they don't own a Mercedes Benz.

Wells Fargo Denies Fraud Claim and Closes Bank Account

Wells Fargo contends that there were three transfers from Pischke’s bill pay to someone’s Mercedes Benz Financial Services account. They have denied his claim of fraud, and have closed his accounts.

Wells Fargo wrote in a denial letter to Pischke:

“It was determined the transactions were authorized by you or someone you authorized. We have closed your claim.” -Wells Fargo

As a result, Pischke filed a police report, provided paperwork to Wells Fargo, and contacted Mercedes Benz to no avail. Wells Fargo is not convinced that these were fraudulent transactions. They believe that Pischke's wife is guilty of authorizing these transactions.

Pischke has lost almost $14,000 due to fraud and it's not a small amount of money to him.

“It was a total of about almost $14,000. We were shocked, absolutely shocked. So, they closed down all the accounts...I mean, it’s a large sum of money, I think to anybody, it is to me.  They just blow it off like there’s no big deal.” -Ken Pischke

Wells Fargo holds their position and will not budge on the matter.

Pischke said:

“They said, ‘That doesn’t make any difference. It’s still your wife is the one that actually did the transactions.’ Now, I’ve been married for 42 years. I would know if my wife would do something like that. And she doesn’t have a Mercedes in the garage either or anywhere else.” -Ken Pischke

Wells Fargo gave the following statement to WSB-TV Channel 2 News in response to their inquiry on the matter.

“While we can’t discuss the specifics of this customer’s situation for privacy and confidentiality reasons, we can confirm that we thoroughly researched the matter, and the evidence supports our decision.” -Wells Fargo

Questions for the Reader

Do you think it is unfair that Wells Fargo will not issue a refund?

Do you think that Ken Pischke's wife paid Mercedes Benz Financial Services without telling her husband?

Ken Pischke has lost almost $14,000 and says their family doesn't have a Mercedes Benz. He believes it is a case of bank account fraud. Wells Fargo will not issue a refund.

Pennsylvania Man Stole 70 Cellphones in the Mail While Working at the USPS Sorting Center

A Pennsylvania man stole 70 cell phones from the United States mail while he worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Lancaster County, according to local police. Now Lamar Wilson is on the run.

Lamar Wilson; credit WGAL 8 News

Lamar Wilson Stole 70 Phones While Employee for USPS

Lamar Wilson, 44, of York, PA stole cell phones in the USPS mail system while working at the USPS Sorting Facility located on Harrisburg Pike in Manheim Township.

He used an EcoATM to sell each of the phones he stole for cash. Each transaction included a scan of his ID and photos of him and the stolen phones. The total value of the stolen phones is estimated at $36,120.

The thefts occurred between January and July 2023, when the sorting facility manager reported an increase in missing phones from the mail stream. An undercover operation tracked an iPhone shipped to an agent that was emptied at the facility and sold by the suspect.

Here's how they caught him: The Office of the Inspector General sent an iPhone to an out-of-state special agent and routed it through the facility. According to investigators, the package was empty when it arrived at its destination.

Lamar Wilson is charged with theft by unlawful taking and is on the run.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Manheim Township police at 717-569-6401 or submit a tip through CrimeWatch.