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Sextortion scams come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes the victims are teens, sometimes women. Sometimes the perpetrators are hackers, other times its pedophiles. And then you have a couple hundred South Carolina prison inmates targeting over 400 active military personnel and fleecing them of half a million dollars. So how did the scam work? Most sextortion scams are pretty similar – they involve one party tricking the other into sending nude photos and/or leveraging those photos into either money or more photos....

Concerned about distracted driving on company time? Well, you should be. Whether or not an employee is in a company car, he’s at work. This means that his distracted driving may be your legal responsibility. And with distracted driving causing nearly 20 percent of harmful car crashes, it’s a big responsibility to bear. Enter ZoomSafer, an application designed to help you protect your business and target distracted driving amongst your employees....

Most people who are thrown under a train don’t live to tell the story. But Patricia Biswanga appears to be one lucky lady. The Delaware County, Penn. attorney claims that she was thrown under a train at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Train Authority’s (SEPTA) Eddystone station. As she struggled to pull her luggage from the car, she felt the train begin to move. She was thrown off-balance, and ended up falling into the train bed between the platform and rails....

Support for legalizing marijuana is growing, if recent statistics are any indication. According to a survey conducted by Gallup, 50% of Americans say that marijuana should be legal. This is up from 46% last year. And, historical trends show that in 1969 only 12% of Americans favored legalizing marijuana. What else do Americans think about marijuana? Marijuana support highest among younger Americans: 62% of 18 to 29-year-olds favored legalization. Only 31% of those older than 65 approved....

In the restaurant industry, it’s a big, beefy no-no for employers to take an employee’s tips. Generally, it’s not legal for managers to pocket a worker’s tips. Violations can be pricey. But laws on gratuities can be confusing. With terms like “tip credits” and “tip pools” floating around, managers may also need some tips on how to make sense of it all. Here are some general rules about tips – and some insight on what can potentially happen if those rules are violated....

The Human Resources software company, Zenefits, known for providing free HR software to small and medium sized businesses, will be prohibited from giving away free software in Washington State come January 1, 2017. The Washington Insurance Commission has ordered Zenefits to stop distributing their software in the state for free as doing so violates state laws against inducements. On top of a $100,000 fine, Zenefits has agreed to start charging its Washington state customers $5 per employee per month....

Love knows no bounds, especially not those of international borders in the Internet Age. It is now possible to meet and fall in love with a person on the other side of the world, all from the comfort of your couch and laptop. This might make you think that we sometimes call “mail-order brides” are a new phenomenon, gaining popularity as the world has become more interconnected. But getting a spouse via the mail dates back to the 1800s....

A CNN story published today raises the issue of how teens, sometimes as young as 13 or 14 years old, who commit serious offenses can become “lifers” sentenced to live out the rest of their days in prison. The case of Quantel Lotts, now 23 years old, was highlighted in the piece and described as follows: The debate is nothing new, with proponents of tough sentences arguing that they serve important goals in both deterring, and preventing, future crime....

Setting up a blog can be a great exercise, either as a way to keep track of your latest baking kick or even to bootstrap your fledgling small business. But you should be aware of some of the most obvious legal problems that occur when bloggers step into the chaotic realm of the blogosphere. The last thing you’d want is for your puppy blog to get you sued or to put your safety at risk....

Sometimes, a landlord and tenant will get along great. And even if they’re not best friends, some landlords and tenants can go years or even decades without any conflict whatsoever. Unfortunately, that’s not true for every landlord-tenant relationship. And the worst disputes can often end up in housing court. More often than not, a landlord will come to court with a lawyer. But the same isn’t always true for renters and that can have a big impact on the outcome of the legal dispute....

Even if Florida prosecutors never bring criminal charges against George Zimmerman, can Trayvon Martin’s family sue Zimmerman in civil court? This is the latest question being asked of Trayvon’s parents, even though they appear to be focused on finding criminal justice for their son. Nonetheless, it’s an important one – and one this blogger would ordinarily answer with a resounding “yes.” However, Florida law complicates the issue, and may just prevent such a suit....

Canceled health plans may now be revived under the most recent Obamacare fix. President Barack Obama announced today that health insurance companies may allow individuals with canceled plans to renew them for a year, The Huffington Post reports. These plans were being canceled because they didn’t meet the Affordable Care Act’s minimum requirements. This meant possibly tens of millions of folks would’ve had to scramble to get new insurance coverage; President Obama even apologized for breaking his assurance that Americans would be able to keep their insurance plans, McClatchyDC....

Have you heard about the declined debit card override scam? If not, a recent case involving a young Florida man offers an eye-opening lesson for business owners. How does the scam work, and what can you do to avoid being victimized by it? Scam Employs Fake Authorization Code Though by no means new, the scam employed by Parrish exploits a relatively obscure loophole in retailers’ debit and credit card authorization process....

A gay Iowa teenager’s suicide was preceded by bullying at school, the teen’s mom claims – including a cruel Facebook page allegedly created solely to harass the boy. Kenneth Weishuhn Jr., 14, of Primghar, Iowa, told family and friends he was gay about a month ago. The teenager received a barrage of hate for coming out: Classmates heckled him with anti-gay slurs, left death threats on his cell phone’s voicemail, and spewed hateful comments via social media, the Sioux City Journal reports....

Obtaining disability benefits can be a confusing process. Whether a person needs a lawyer to file for disability benefits really depends on the person, their individual circumstances, and their ability to complete the mountain of paperwork within the allotted time frames. While getting the process started is simple enough to do without an attorney, once a claim is denied, strict deadlines are triggered and an appeal must be filed in a timely fashion....

The recent mass shooting in San Bernardino was the 355th of its kind this year alone. Coming as it did – perpetrated on location at an office holiday by a fellow employee – it was a wake-up call to employers and small businesses regarding not only safety but also liability. And for concerned companies, an insurance broker is now offering “active shooter” insurance policies that can cover gun violence. Originally pitched to colleges and universities, businesses large and small are now looking into expanding their insurance coverage....

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force struck again this morning, raiding businesses and arresting dozens on Medicare fraud related charges, primarily in the Houston area. In all, 32 people were indicted and 12 businesses were raided. Medicare fraud is purposefully billing Medicare for services that were never received or provided, or that were provided by not medically necessarily. According to the DOJ, those busted this morning were involved in false billing to Medicare for “arthritis kits,” power wheelchairs and enteral feeding supplies....

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, clearing the way for an employer mandate that will require many small businesses to offer employee health insurance or face a penalty. In a 5-4 decision, the Court found the ACA’s individual mandate is constitutional under Congress’ taxing power, Reuters reports. The mandate requires individuals to buy health insurance or face penalties beginning in 2014. That’s also when the ACA’s employer mandate kicks in....

An Ohio man, along with 40 other individuals and four businesses have been indicted in what some are calling the largest mortgage fraud scam in the country’s history. Uri Gofman has been charged as the mastermind of the scheme, which involved 453 homes in and around the Cleveland area, and an alleged $44 million in fraudulent loans. Gofman has been charged with racketeering, theft, tampering with records, wire fraud and money laundering....

In yet another instance of digital drama, we have a lawsuit based on things posted on the internet, pitting school discipline against students’ rights of expresion. Wired Magazine reports that two teenage girls from Indiana have sued their school district after they were punished for posting provocative photos of themselves on their MySpace pages. The girls claim that the district violated their First Amendment rights and should not have punished them for activities done outside of school....