UT Man Steals $15K in Self-Checkout Skip-Scanning Theft

Photo via Best Life

What investigators say happened

Michael Alan Williams, 46, was charged on September 21, 2026, with two counts of second-degree felony retail theft in Utah. Investigators accuse him of stealing more than $15,000 in merchandise from Lowe's and Home Depot through a form of self-checkout fraud known as "skip-scanning" — ringing up only some items while walking out with the rest.

Court documents allege the shoplifting played out from more than 100 separate store visits. 

From February 18 through May 26, 2025, Williams allegedly visited Lowe's 38 times and took $6,075.44 in merchandise without paying in full. According to investigators, every one of those transactions was paid with a card in Williams' own name, and the store's organized retail crime investigator matched receipts against surveillance footage to confirm he left with items he never scanned. Police later compared the footage to his driver's license photo.

The alleged scheme didn't stop there. From March 22 through June 7, 2026, Williams allegedly hit Home Depot 66 times, taking $9,159.93 in merchandise the same way. A Home Depot asset protection associate identified his vehicle — which was registered to Williams' wife — and officers who contacted her on June 10 reported seeing items consistent with the stolen merchandise. Investigators obtained a search warrant for the couple's home, and Williams was arrested.

All of these are allegations; Williams has been charged but not convicted.

How scammers exploit home-improvement stores

Cases like this matter to shoppers because fraud around big-box retailers rarely stops at the exit doors. Criminals also run return-fraud schemes — bringing stolen merchandise back for gift cards or cash — and blast out phishing emails pretending to be Lowe's or Home Depot, dangling fake receipts, "warranty renewals," delivery notices, or rebate offers to steal payment details.

Red flags: fake Lowe's and Home Depot messages

• Emails or texts about orders, deliveries, or refunds you never placed
• Links that don't go to lowes.com or homedepot.com — hover before you click
• Urgent warnings that your "account will be suspended" unless you verify payment info
• Requests for gift cards as payment — a classic scam tell
• Attachments labeled as "receipts" or "invoices" from senders you don't recognize

How to protect yourself

• Go directly to the retailer's site or app instead of clicking email links
• Check the sender's full email address, not just the display name
• Never pay to resolve an "account problem" with gift cards
• Report phishing attempts to the retailer, and forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM)

Scam alert: if a deal, refund notice, or account warning about your home-improvement store arrives out of the blue, treat it as guilty until proven innocent.

Powerball Winner James Farthing Arrested a Fifth Time Since $167 Million Jackpot, Found Asleep in Walmart Parking Lot

Photo via WVLT

James Farthing, 51, of Kentucky, won a $167.3 million Powerball jackpot in April 2025 — the largest Powerball jackpot ever won in Kentucky, according to People. Since claiming that life-changing prize, he has now been arrested five times. His latest arrest came on a public intoxication charge after deputies found him asleep in a running car in a Walmart parking lot.

The Fifth Arrest: Asleep in a Walmart Parking Lot

Farthing was taken into custody around 4:04 a.m. on Sunday, September 20, 2026, in Georgetown, Kentucky, and charged with alcohol intoxication in a public place, per WHAS11 and LEX 18 News, citing an arrest citation.

According to People (via Yahoo News, published September 21, 2026), the incident began shortly before 3 a.m., when a passerby reported a white Ford Mustang with a temporary tag stopped in the intersection of Cherry Blossom Way and Connector Road. The vehicle later moved to a nearby Walmart parking lot and stopped near the EV charging stations.

Deputies found the Mustang still running with Farthing alone inside, asleep in the passenger seat. They had to knock on the window repeatedly to wake him. Deputies alleged he had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech, difficulty maintaining balance, and that they smelled alcohol and marijuana. He was described as "manifestly under the influence of alcohol" and believed to pose a danger to himself and others because he could operate the vehicle while impaired.

Farthing claimed a woman drove him to the lot and left him there — but surveillance footage reportedly showed the Mustang arriving with no one getting out before police arrived. He was taken to the Scott County Detention Center.

Four Prior Arrests Since the Jackpot Win

All four of Farthing's earlier arrests came after he claimed the lottery prize:

1. Days after claiming the prize: arrested in Pinellas County, Florida, after an altercation at a resort — charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest after police said he kicked an officer trying to break up an altercation involving Farthing and another person.
2. February 2026 (Kentucky): arrested and charged with intimidation of a participant in the legal process.
3. March 2026: arrested on second-degree burglary and marijuana possession; police alleged he entered a Lexington home and took about $12,000 in cash.
4. July 2026: arrested in Scott County after an alleged domestic violence incident — charged with first-degree strangulation and fourth-degree assault causing minor injury. The alleged victim said they had argued after returning from a boating trip and accused him of putting both hands around her neck, restricting her breathing. He pleaded not guilty at a July 28 court appearance; bond was set at $15,000 and he was ordered to avoid contact with the alleged victim and wear a monitoring device, per LEX 18 News.

How Scammers Exploit Lottery Winner Headlines

Stories like Farthing's go massively viral — and scammers know it. Every time a huge lottery jackpot makes national news, fraud artists blast out fake "you've won the lottery" emails, texts, and social media messages designed to look like the real thing. They borrow details from real headlines — real jackpot amounts, real winner names, real lottery brands like Powerball — to make their phishing messages sound legitimate.

The setup is almost always an advance-fee scam: you're told you've won a prize, but you must pay "taxes," "processing fees," or "delivery charges" before you can collect it. The prize doesn't exist. Once you pay, the scammer disappears — or keeps inventing new fees.

Red Flags of a Lottery Scam

• You can't win a lottery you never entered. If you didn't buy a ticket, any "win" notification is a scam.
• You're asked to pay money upfront to claim a prize — real lotteries deduct taxes from winnings; they never demand gift cards, wire transfers, or crypto payments first.
• Pressure and urgency — "claim within 24 hours or lose it all" is designed to stop you from thinking.
• Contact from unofficial channels — real lotteries don't notify big winners by random email, text, or Facebook message.
• Requests for personal or banking information to "verify" your win.

How to Protect Yourself

• Never respond to, click links in, or call back numbers from unexpected "lottery win" messages.
• Never pay fees to collect a supposed prize.
• Verify claims only through the official state lottery website or by calling the lottery directly.
• Report lottery scams to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.
• Warn older relatives — they are disproportionately targeted by these scams.

Source: People via Yahoo News, "167 Million Lottery Jackpot Winner Arrested for the Fifth Time Since His Win," by Angelique Brenes, published September 21, 2026. All charges described are allegations; Farthing pleaded not guilty to the July 2026 charges.

Tennessee Farmer's $20,000 IRS Refund Nightmare Ends After John Rich Steps In

Photo via johnrich.com

When Jimmy Jones, a farmer in Middle Tennessee, received an unexpected $20,000 tax refund from the IRS in 2021, he didn't question it. He put the money toward a down payment on a tractor to replace one lost in a fire. A year later, the IRS told him the refund was a mistake and wanted the money back — and so began a four-year fight just to give the money back.

Four Years, $20,000, and $4,000 in Penalties

Jones wrote checks to the IRS, but the agency returned them — multiple times. Meanwhile, penalties and interest kept accumulating, climbing to about $4,000 in fees. In June 2025, he received a letter saying his account was under investigation, and that September he met with an IRS examiner in Nashville who said there was no record of his prior payments. Jones paid the amount again on the spot and got a receipt. Still, IRS records kept showing the $20,000 as owed. Over four years, he had contacted the agency three times, and the dispute simply would not end.

How Country Singer John Rich Ended the Dispute

The deadlock finally broke after Jones was featured on a podcast and his story reached country singer John Rich. Rich texted the farmer personally, promising to do everything he could to help — and to make sure this didn't happen to anybody else. Rich then contacted Tennessee's U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty and Representative John Rose. With the lawmakers' offices pressing the agency, the IRS called Jones and confirmed by phone that his account balance was back to zero, ending an ordeal that had consumed four years of his life.

What This Teaches You About IRS Refund Scams

Jones's nightmare involved a real IRS error — not fraud. But it shows exactly why scammers love IRS refund confusion: anyone who has owed or received money from the IRS is a prime target. Criminals run a classic refund scam by sending fake "overpayment" checks and demanding you wire back the difference; they mail bogus IRS debt letters; and they cold-call taxpayers claiming immediate payment is required. If you have ever dealt with a surprise IRS refund, you are precisely the kind of person a tax scam artist hopes to reach.

Keep these red flags in mind:

• The IRS always makes first contact by mail — never with a threatening phone call, text, or email demanding instant payment.
• The IRS never demands payment by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency.
• The IRS does not threaten to have you arrested on the spot.
• Watch out for phishing emails or texts posing as IRS notices — the agency does not send unsolicited messages asking for personal or financial information.

Jimmy Jones spent four years trying to return money to the real IRS. Don't send yours to the fake one in four minutes: always verify through official IRS channels before paying or sharing anything.

UGA Student Loses $105,000 in Deportation Threat Scam — How the Phishing Scheme Worked

Image: H. Y. Shin 000, released into the public domain (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons.

A 29-year-old University of Georgia student lost more than $105,000 in a months-long scam that began with a single phone call and threats of deportation. According to an Athens-Clarke County police report, the Chinese national — who lives in Athens, Georgia — reported the fraud to police on September 14, 2026.

How the Scam Worked

Back in April 2026, the student received a call from someone claiming to be with “Costco Member Services,” who told him a credit card had been opened in his name in China. He was then transferred to another person claiming to be a Chinese police officer.

The fake officer told him he was a suspect in a child trafficking and money laundering case — and that unless he cooperated with the “investigation,” he would be deported to China and criminally prosecuted.

Believing the threats, the student followed the caller’s orders. He was told to transfer money as part of an “asset clearance and security review.” From April through the end of August 2026, he made six transfers from his bank account to various banks in China and Hong Kong. The money had been sent by his father in Taiwan to support his studies.

To make the scheme more convincing, the scammers also sent spoofed emails designed to look like legitimate Costco order confirmations.

This case shows how a coordinated Phishing attack can combine fake phone calls and forged emails to wear a victim down over several months.

He only reported the crime after realizing he had been scammed. Police advised him to file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

The Red Flags

• No legitimate company or police force will ever demand that you transfer money to “clear” an investigation. An “asset clearance and security review” is not a real legal process — it is scam language.
• Real law enforcement does not threaten deportation or arrest over the phone to pressure you into sending money.
• The scammers manufactured authority by name-dropping — first Costco Member Services, then a “Chinese police officer.” Spoofed caller ID can make any call look official.
• Spoofed emails can look identical to real order confirmations from companies like Costco. Always check the sender’s actual email address and log in to your account directly instead of clicking links.
• Scammers often isolate their victims, warning them to keep the “investigation” secret and cooperate without telling anyone.

Scammers often blend an Email Scam with a follow-up Phone Scam so the victim hears a convincing voice behind the fake message.

What to Do If This Happens to You

• Hang up immediately. Then call the real organization directly using a phone number from its official website — never one the caller gives you.
• Never transfer money or share bank details because a caller demands it. No legitimate investigation works that way.
• Report the scam to your local police department and file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
• Tell someone you trust — a friend, a family member, or your school’s international student office — what happened. Scammers count on silence.

Reporting Consumer Fraud helps authorities track patterns, and every report of Cybercrime gives investigators more data to work with.

Source: Athens Banner-Herald, September 18, 2026

Have you or someone you know ever received a call like this — someone claiming to be from a company or the police, demanding money or threatening arrest? What did you do? Share your experience in the comments to help warn others.

Alabama Utility Loses Nearly $1 Million in Phishing Scam — Then Gets It All Back

Madison Utilities in Madison, Alabama lost nearly $1 million earlier this year after falling for a phishing email — and in a rare twist, got every dollar back.

How the Madison Utilities Phishing Scam Worked

The utility was paying a contractor working on a capital project when an email arrived that looked like it came from the exact address they'd always sent payments to. There was just one change: the message asked them to change the routing number and bank account for the transfer. They complied — and the money went straight to scammers instead of the contractor.

This is a textbook case of business email compromise (BEC): criminals impersonate a trusted vendor, slip a single fraudulent instruction into a legitimate-looking thread, and redirect a payment.

This is why businesses should always be vigilant when responding to and conducting bank transactions based on emails.

A Rare Happy Ending

CEO Emory DeBord said the utility recovered the full amount after working with investigators, Regions Bank, and a cybersecurity firm. The FBI joined the investigation, and Madison police continue to look into the case.

Cybersecurity expert Shanon Driver of the Covenant Training Center called the recovery remarkable — in most cases like this, the money lands in an offshore account and disappears for good.

It Wasn't the Only One

DeBord compared the incident to what happened in Arab, Alabama earlier that same month, when the city lost over $400,000 in a similar scam.

How to Protect Yourself From Payment-Redirection Scams

• Never change payment details based on an email alone. Verify by phone using a number you already have — not one from the email.
• Look closely at the sender address for subtle spoofing or lookalike domains.
• Treat any "urgent" banking-change request as a red flag and slow down.
• Train everyone who handles payments to recognize business email compromise.

Reported by WAFF 48 (Huntsville, AL)

Airline Passenger Restrained with Duct Tape After 'Unruly Behavior' on American Airlines Flight

 A 67-year-old man was restrained to his seat with duct tape after acting unruly on American Airlines flight AA 618 to Newark, NJ on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026.

Passenger restrained with duct tape; credit: Richard Olenick

Juan Mejia and his friend Richard Olenick heard a disruption on their flight headed toward Newark, NJ. He knew that they needed to take action, so he got into the seat next to the passenger and began working to restrain the unruly passenger. That passenger is 67-year-old Arthur Lundeen (seen in the photo). The two men stayed with the passenger until law enforcement officials took custody of him.

The flight was diverted to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Airport around 10:15 p.m. After Lundeen was removed from the plane, the flight resumed to Newark, NJ.

Although these two men felt brave enough to take control of the situation, not everyone should act this way on an airline flight.

Here are some tips if you find yourself in that same situation.

What to Do If a Passenger Acts Unruly on an Airplane Flight

Most airplane flights are uneventful, but occasionally a passenger may become disruptive, aggressive, intoxicated, or otherwise unruly. Whether someone is yelling at a flight attendant, threatening another passenger, refusing to follow crew instructions, or creating a disturbance, it can be an uncomfortable—and sometimes frightening—experience.

The most important thing passengers can do is stay calm, avoid confrontation, and let the flight crew handle the situation.

Don't Confront the Unruly Passenger

Your first instinct may be to tell the passenger to calm down or stop causing a disturbance. However, confronting someone who is already angry or aggressive can make the situation worse.

Keep your distance and avoid arguing with the individual. Do not threaten, insult, touch, or attempt to physically restrain the passenger unless there is an immediate emergency and there is no safer alternative.

Remember that flight attendants are trained to deal with disruptive passengers and have procedures in place for handling these situations.

Notify a Flight Attendant

If the crew has not already noticed the behavior, quietly alert a flight attendant. Give them specific information about what you observed, including the passenger's seat number and what the person is doing.

You do not need to make yourself part of the confrontation. Simply provide the information and allow the crew to determine what action is appropriate.

If the passenger is threatening someone, attempting to enter a restricted area, fighting, or creating an immediate safety concern, notify a crew member as quickly as possible.

Move Away If You Can

If there is an unruly passenger sitting near you, ask a flight attendant whether you can move to another available seat. Creating physical distance can reduce the likelihood of becoming involved in the incident.

Do not move into an area that the crew has restricted or interfere with their ability to manage the situation.

Follow Crew Instructions

During an in-flight disturbance, listen carefully to the flight attendants and follow their instructions. The crew is responsible for maintaining order and passenger safety.

If you are asked to remain seated, move seats, or avoid an area of the aircraft, comply with those instructions.

What If the Situation Becomes Violent?

A disruptive passenger can sometimes become physically violent. If that happens, prioritize your own safety and the safety of those around you.

Avoid becoming involved unless necessary to protect yourself or another person from an immediate threat. If you can safely do so, alert the crew and follow their directions.

Once the aircraft lands, law enforcement may meet the flight and investigate the incident. Depending on the circumstances, an unruly passenger could potentially face serious consequences.

Remember: Don't Be a Hero

The best response to an unruly passenger is usually simple: stay calm, keep your distance, notify the crew, and follow instructions.

Trying to personally handle the situation can put you and other passengers at greater risk. Flight crews have procedures for dealing with disruptive behavior, and your cooperation can help them resolve the situation as safely and quickly as possible.

A passenger's bad behavior should never turn into an even more dangerous situation because another traveler decided to confront them.