Ex-Employees Claim Intuit Let Fraudulent Tax Returns Through For The Money

(bradhoc/a>)

Are fraudulent tax returns the fault of the IRS, or caused by a weakness in the most popular software programs that consumers use to file their taxes? Former employees of Intuit, maker of TurboTax, allege that the company prevented security staff from flagging and shutting down obviously fraudulent accounts. Why? Market share. Fraudsters were ditching TurboTax and using other tax software when the company flagged their returns.

Depending on what state the person lives in, a fraudster must pay TurboTax $25-50 to file a state income tax return. They often use a service that deducts the filing fee from the victim’s refund, so Intuit doesn’t have to deal with the hassles of scammers using stolen credit card numbers to pay, which is often the problem.

It wasn’t difficult for Intuit employees to flag who the fraudsters are. “If I sign up for an account and file tax refund requests on 100 people who are not me, it’s obviously fraud,” former XX Robert Lee explained to Krebs on Security.

This wasn’t a case of Intuit being evil for evil’s sake. (Some customers would argue that their reshuffling of desktop software features was.) Lee explained that while Intuit’s security team noticed and reported fraudulent returns, the identity thieves simply turned to one of their competitors. Another former employee has filed a whistleblower complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging that the company delayed or didn’t send fraud reports over to the IRS so the fraudulent returns would go through.

Tax software publishers are not required to screen for fraud and report it to the Internal Revenue Service. That means there was money out there to be made from fraudulent returns, and someone was going to make it.

An Intuit spokesman countered the whistleblowers’ arguments, pointing out that it’s the IRS that ultimately decides which tax returns are fraudulent, and if a return is officially flagged and not processed, there’s no refund from which Intuit could collect its fee. “When it comes to market share, it doesn’t count toward our market share unless it’s a successful return,” the chief communications officer explained to Krebs. Neither the IRS nor Intuit wants to hold up legitimate tax returns and refund checks in bureaucratic hell when that return is flagged for possible fraud.

TurboTax’s Anti-Fraud Efforts Under Scrutiny [Krebs on Security]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

West Coast Port Workers Have Contract, Backlog Will Take 2 Months To Clear

(Corey Templeton)

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association have come to an agreement over a new five-year contract for port workers. This ends their nine-month dispute and a slowdown of traffic at ports that has affected everyone from auto workers in Ohio to fast food fans in Venezuela. The U.S. Secretary of Labor stepped in to help the two sides come to an agreement, and now everyone is working hard to clear the backlog.

A little less than half of all imports that come to the United States by sea enter the country through ports affected by this dispute, including the super-busy ports at Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Now it’s like shipping companies have turned on a “firehose,” the CEO of the port of Long Beach told Bloomberg Business. Yet it will still take a while to put out the fire: he told CNBC that it will take about two months to catch up with the backlog, since unloading slowed since fall 2014.

There are more jobs than usual posted in union halls, and presumably plenty of overtime to go around as all parties try to clear the backlog. Ships full of toys and car parts are quite literally lined up off the coast.

West Coast Ports Face Several Months’ Backlog [Wall Street Journal]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Detroit Business Owner Unhappy To Be Featured In “Bullsh*t Comcast-Powered Sh*tfest” Video

In addition to the many, many ads for Comcast during the hour-long video, the company is a named sponsor on the video’s title cards.

Imagine you own a business that’s gotten some good press for the work you do. Now imagine finding some of that press repurposed into a video sponsored by a company that you really, really dislike, and which is trying to spend billions of dollars to dump your entire area off into the hands of a brand new company that may be even worse.

That was the situation that Andy Didorosi of Detroit Bus Co. found himself in over the weekend when friends told him that his business was featured in this hour-long, Comcast-sponsored infomercial called “Detroit: Another Chance.”

The Metro Times reports that Detroit Bus is featured in the video during a segment on all the good work that Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert has done for the city.

“Without my permission, I now appear in a bullsh*t Comcast-powered sh*tfest of fake sunshine Detroit boosterism that claims our existence as a company is due to the generosity and genius of Quicken Loans et cetera,” wrote Didorosi on Facebook, “rather than hard work and investment in our own city. I did not choose to endorse a sh*tty, evil, manipulative company like Comcast that actively works to take our information rights away and I won’t abide by them lifting our image for their gain. I’m mad as hell and pursuing this to the furthest extent the law will take me.”

When the Metro Times spoke to Didorosi, he was no less upset, calling the video “one big wank-fest for Comcast.”

The footage of Detroit Bus was originally shot for a Whole Foods video magazine feature, but has been repurposed for this newer video. It’s possible the producers of this “documentary” got permission from the Whole Foods folks, but no one asked Didorosi whether he’d like to have his name on a video sponsored by Comcast.

“[A]ny big company — even good ones — need to ask permission of the little guys who appear in their adverts,” Didorosi he explains to the Metro Times. “We have to have the ability to choose what we’re appearing in. I think they do this because they think that no one will say anything, they think we’ll be so happy to appear in their advert. But that’s not the case.”

What’s strange is that Comcast would spend any money marketing in the Detroit metro area at all, since — as part of its plan to make the $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable more palatable — it currently plans to spin off its cable/broadband control of the region into a company called GreatLand Connections that will be partly owned by Charter.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Twitter Decides It Loves Net Neutrality, Endorses Proposed FCC Plan

(Tom Raftery)

With the FCC set at long last to vote on strong net neutrality protections later this week, everyone is getting their last digs in. While many tech companies have previously spoken out on the issue, both for and against, the big social networks have been slow to plant their flags. That changed today, when Twitter came out swinging, cheering on the FCC’s plan.

Twitter made their announcement today in a rare communication greatly in excess of 140 characters. In a blog post called, “Why Twitter faves #NetNeutrality,” public policy manager Will Carty called net neutrality explained the platform’s outlook.

Calling true net neutrality “critical to American economic aspirations and our nation’s global competitiveness,” Carty laid out the economic argument for net neutrality, saying:

This openness promotes free and fair competition and fosters ongoing investment and innovation. We need clear, enforceable, legally sustainable rules to ensure that the Internet remains open and continues to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. This is the heart of Twitter. Without such net neutrality principles in place, some of today’s most successful and widely-known Internet companies might never have come into existence.

Opponents of Title II have framed the issue as one that would create a tightly regulated environment in which new companies would be unable to invest freely in new innovations and technologies, so Twitter’s framing is important. The company went public late in 2013, and so is one of those new, innovative businesses that counts on unfettered internet access to grow and survive.

Carty’s post also alludes several times to the reputation Twitter has gained over the past years for being a catalyst connecting and enabling protest movements, from far flung events like the Arab Spring to domestic movements like the one that began in Ferguson, MO in 2014.

Net neutrality, Carty writes, has “important implications for freedom of expression.” Under net neutrality protections, consumers themselves get to decided what they want to do, make, access, or share.

“Empowering ‘lesser’ or historically less powerful voices to express themselves and be heard globally is at the core of Twitter’s DNA,” says Carty. “Currently, the Internet provides an almost frictionless experience for an individual to communicate with the world, and it also provides the lowest barrier to competitive entry for businesses the world has ever seen. It serves as a great equalizer in the access to information and in reaching a global audience.”

For all those reasons, Carty concludes, Twitter “strongly supports” the FCC’s action.

The FCC will vote on the proposed new net neutrality rule on Thursday, February 26.

by Kate Cox via Consumerist

State Lawmaker Says Cable Company Blocking Broadband Legislation

(Jeremy Schultz)

While we all know that companies don’t spend piles of cash on campaign contributions and lobbying just to support candidates they believe in, it’s rare to hear an in-office politician openly calling out his colleagues for bending to the will of a corporate backer.

But that’s exactly what happened last week when West Virginia delegate Randy Smith spoke publicly about opposition he’s faced trying to get two pieces of broadband-related legislation through the state assembly.

One bill would forbid ISPs in the state from advertising “high speed broadband” for anything slower than 10 Mbps. That’s still lower than the FCC’s recently revised 25 Mpbs definition, but given the number of rural users in West Virginia, supporters believe it’s a reasonable standard. His second bill would allow consumers to take broadband billing disputes to the state’s attorney general’s office.

The two pieces of legislation are doomed, says Smith, because they could mean more rules for Frontier Communications, which he dubs “the only game in town for many rural communities in West Virginia when it comes to Internet service.”

“After introducing the legislation, I spoke with someone in leadership and was told it’d go nowhere because it would hurt Frontier,” wrote Smith in a Facebook post last week. “In other words, Frontier has its hands in our state Capitol. The company knows how to play ball with the legislative process.”

Speaking to the Charleston Gazette, Smith said one member of the assembly leadership told him the bills would not get support “because they feel like it’s targeting Frontier.”

But the delegate says these bills are not meant to single out Frontier, but are “intended to protect the consumer from all companies.”

Additionally, he points out that the 10 Mbps bill doesn’t require Frontier or any other broadband provider to increase speeds, only to be more honest in their ads.

“They could still sell the slower service, but they couldn’t advertise it as high-speed Internet,” explained Smith. “Companies are advertising high-speed Internet, but not providing it.”

A rep for the company, which was sued last year by West Virginians for allegedly failing to deliver promised broadband speeds, said Frontier sees the legislation as “having a negative effect on further development of rural broadband services.”

And, unlike too many other things in politics, this particular standoff is not about party lines. Both Smith and leadership allegedly blocking the bill are all on the same side of the aisle.

The state’s Majority Leader tells the Gazette that there is no blanket policy where the state assembly sides with Frontier, while also openly defending the company.

“Frontier has been trying to spend money to upgrade service, but it hasn’t been easy for those guys,” he explained. “We’re trying to expand broadband and improve the speeds everywhere we can. We try to nudge Frontier when we can, push them when we can, while we respect their investment.”

[via DSLreports.com]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Passenger Rights Group Calls For Cap To Airline Change Fees For International Flights

(Eric Spiegel)

Under certain circumstances – like significant weather events – airlines allow passengers to change their travel plans at no extra cost.But generally travelers can expect to pay upwards of hundreds of dollars to revise their travel plans. Now a group of passenger rights advocates are asking U.S. regulators to adopt a more reasonable change fee cap of $100 for international flights.

The Los Angeles Times reports FlyersRights has petitioned the U.S. Department of Transportation to adopt a fee cap for the often exorbitant fees consumers must pay to airlines when changing a reservation.

The group contends that airlines are now making record profits but continue to increase change fees for simple flight changes.

Officials with the group say that just a few years ago change fees were as low as $50 to $100 for a nonrefundable international ticket, but now those charges can be as high as $500.

Airlines have also increased their change fees for domestic flights.

In 2013, a number of airlines such as United and American hiked their change fee by $50. Those fees now range from nothing to up to $200.

FlyersRights says that while the Dept. of Transportation no longer has the authority to regulate domestic flight change fees, it can make a difference when it comes to international charges.

The Times reports that the industry brought in $2.8 billion for reservation change fees in 2013, and that the figure is only expected to grow in Dept. of Transportation’s 2014 report.

“They are enormously profitable now and it appears they are engaging in rampant cartel-like behavior,” Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights, tells the Times.

Unsurprisingly, the airline industry group Airlines for America contends that the current change fees aren’t excessive.

“FlyersRights’ petition fails to demonstrate that there has been a market failure when it comes to what airlines charge for changed reservations,” a spokeswoman for the trade group tells the Times. “Airline pricing is extremely transparent and customers are aware of what they are purchasing and at what price before they buy their air transportation.”

While airline fees don’t appear to be changing just yet, passengers can attempt to avoid add-on charges and fees in a number of ways.

Passenger rights group calls for a cap on airline change fees [The Los Angeles Times]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

As McDonald’s Turns 60, Burger King Reminds Everyone That It’s Slightly Older

Burger King’s trademark application seems to indicate the company’s intention to remind consumers that it’s 4 months older than McDonald’s Corp.

Though the McDonald brothers opened their first restaurant in 1940 in California, the McDonald’s Corp. company that came to dominate the fast food market was born on April 15, 1955, when Ray Kroc debuted his first McDonald’s in Des Plaines, IL. But as the Golden Arches turns 60, the competition at Burger King is reminding people that it’s a few months older.

The first Burger King was opened in Miami on Dec. 4, 1954, but unlike McDonald’s — which has played up its origin story with overseas offerings like the “1995 Burger” — BK rarely mentions its history (unless you count the misguided Yumbo idea).

However, as BurgerBusiness.com noticed, BK recently filed a trademark application for the phrase “Since 1954,” with an illustration of a muscly, apron-bedecked man flipping burgers. The company also trademarked the similar phrase/illustration combination in Spanish.

The mark has already been spotted on a press release from BK Japan, and BurgerBusiness’s Scott Hume expects that we’ll be seeing it a lot more going forward, especially if McDonald’s makes a big deal about its 60th anniversary.

Of course, both of these aging statesmen of fast food are relative youngsters compared to White Castle, which will hit the 95-year mark in 2016.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

The Very Last Bugatti Veyron Has Been Manufactured And Sold

(Axion23)

If you’ve been dreaming of a fresh-from-the-factory Bugatti Veyron, there’s some bad news: the last of the super-super cars has been assembled and sold, and the money-hemorrhaging production supercar line shut down. Yes, a line of cars that sold for more than $2 million each still lost money, because of the amount it costs to develop such a super supercar.

A total of 450 Veyrons were made during the 10 years that the model was manufactured. One expert estimates that Volkswagen, owner of the Bugatti brand, lost more than $5.2 million euro on each car that they sold. This wasn’t the questionable business decision that it might appear to be, of course: Volkswagen’s plan all along was to sow that it could make super-powered supercars and affordable cars in its other brands. Yet having a high-end corporate cousin benefited, say, Audi.

About half of those 450 Veyrons went to homes in Europe, and about 25% were exported to the United States. The final car was exported, as it turns out, to an anonymous buyer somewhere in the Middle East.

Bugatti Sells 450th and Last Veyron [Bloomberg Business]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

American Airlines Leaves Travelers Stranded Around Globe Without Luggage

(Adam Fagen)

Beyond just getting you through security and into your seat on the plane, there are a lot of systems that have to work together to get a flight off the ground with all its passengers and all their stuff. But when one important system went down at a major airport on Friday, American Airlines decided to fly a bunch of planes without luggage rather than delay or cancel flights.

The problem, reports IBTimes.com, was that the baggage conveyor belts at Miami International glitched out for eight hours on Friday, meaning thousands of pieces of checked luggage could not get out to the waiting planes.

Not only is MIA a large airport, it’s also a hub for American, meaning delayed or canceled flights out of Miami could cause a ripple effect that slowed down the airline’s global network.

“What would you expect them to do? We had to get passengers to where they were going,” a rep for the airline tells IBTimes.

So it’s understandable that AA would tell passengers, “Sorry, we’ve gotta go now, but your luggage will catch up to you.” Problem is, the airline didn’t let customers know their planes were in the air without all their bags.

It wasn’t until travelers arrived at their destinations and were greeted with empty baggage carousels that they were told about the snafu.

And there was further confusion as American couldn’t get its story straight. One traveler says she called AA to find out where her bags were and was told they’d been left behind because the plane had been overweight.

“That was completely ludicrous, because no one on the flight got their luggage,” says the passenger.

Some travelers were told to file claims for their delayed luggage, while others waited seven or more hours for their bags to finally arrive in destinations from Boston to Cozumel.

Thanks to Adam for the tip!

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

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