Scam from fake Costco email promises free ice cream maker
A phishing scam claiming to be from Costco is making the rounds to some people's email addresses
Customers are promised a fake ice cream maker
Consumers are being warned about a phishing scam falsely claiming to be from Costco, the office of Sonoma County District Attorney announced on Thursday.
The scam involves an email offering a free ice cream maker in exchange for completing a survey, the press release noted.
The scam email, which appears to come from Costco, is actually an attempt to steal financial information or gain access to computers, officials said.
The message reads, "Dear Costco Shopper, We would like to offer you a unique opportunity to receive a brand new Ninja CREAMi Ice Cream Maker!"
What you can do
Officials advise checking the sender's email address to verify authenticity.
In this case, the email came from the domain "@handtoneed.net," not an official Costco address.
Scammers often create urgency with deadlines to pressure recipients into acting quickly, officials said. Consumers are urged to avoid clicking suspicious links and report phishing attempts to authorities.
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Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Yahoo
Spokane Valley voters to decide if additional law enforcement is worth paying more in sales tax
Jul. 15—Primary ballots were dropped in the mail in Spokane County on Wednesday, which means the Spokane Valley City Council's yearslong effort to strengthen public safety will soon be in the hands of the city's residents. Spokane Valley voters will decide in the Aug. 5 election if they're willing to pay more in sales tax in exchange for more deputies, law enforcement equipment and public safety costs. If approved, Spokane Valley Proposition 1 would enact a 0.1% sales tax on purchases throughout the city, bringing the total sales tax to 9%. While revenue from the tax would fluctuate annually depending on the economic climate, city estimates expect at least $2.6 million to be generated in 2026. The ballot measure dedicates the funding to public safety expenses, which includes the court system, detention services and law enforcement provided by Spokane County. Proceeds from the tax could be used to hire more police officers or for other public safety needs. Those in favor of the measure argue it's a fair trade-off that will result in a higher quality of life in Spokane Valley while ensuring the onus of paying for public safety does not fall solely on the city's residents since many Valley businesses, like Costco, are frequented by people who live outside the Valley. The measure's detractors, meanwhile, argue that the city council should find a way to fund additional officers without asking for a tax increase, with some arguing against the need for more law enforcement personnel. The council has said the first priority with the funding would be to add another 10 deputies to the Spokane Valley Police Department. It's part of the ongoing effort to improve staffing levels and police services, which are provided via contract with the Spokane County Sheriff's Office. In 2023, the city hired Matrix Consulting Group for $84,900 to review the efficacy of the city's police work. In its eventual report, the consultant group found police services have not kept pace with the city's growth, and recommended adding 25 deputies to the Valley's dedicated force, three deputies that would split time with the county and at least two civilian positions to handle administrative work. The council approved and funded the addition of 10 deputies and a civilian to the department last year by pulling funding from street maintenance and parks projects and cutting some city positions. In advancing the sales tax measure, the council said an additional revenue source would be needed to fund the remaining recommended deputies. Like many local governments, the city is dealing with a succession of tight budgeting years as sales and property tax proceeds have stagnated, state and federal programs are being reeled back and expenses are on the rise. City Manager John Hohman said internal forecasts project a budget deficit of $1.4 million by the end of the year, which follows 5% cuts across all departments last year enacted to balance the 2025 budget. "Now we're at a point where when you look at, 'How do we provide a balanced budget for 2026?' " Hohman said. "It really comes down to either needing to increase some type of revenue into the city, or we're going to be forced to cut additional items, and now we're going to get into potential service cuts to whatever program that council wants to tackle." Police services are the city's greatest recurring cost, totaling over $41 million, more than half of the city's 2025 general fund budget. That percentage climbs to nearly two-thirds of the city's general fund budget when factoring in other related public safety costs like public defenders, prosecutors and judicial and detention services. Adding to the fray is the sharp rise of those public safety costs, Hohman said, which have grown by around 5% annually since 2021. An increase of $4.7 million is forecast over the next three years, due in part to a recent collective bargaining agreement between the county and sheriff's office deputies. Valley resident Rod Tadlock, who wrote the election guide "against" statement opposing the measure, disagrees that an additional tax is needed to contend with some of the city's financial struggles. He believes the council should redirect existing funding streams toward public safety, but not necessarily to hiring more police officers. He'd prefer the city look at automating policing by investing in cameras, speed readers and more. "There's a lot of things that we have laws on the books for that could be done easily with automation and technology," Tadlock said. "A lot of those things could be monitored and taken care of without having a police officer roaming around." Tadlock had support from Spokane Valley City Council candidate Mike Kelly in preparing the against statement, and at least one sitting council member stands in opposition to the measure alongside him. Councilman Al Merkel decried putting the question to the voters as it worked its way through the council earlier this year, stating he believes the city should fund public safety and the additional deputy positions in full and then make cuts elsewhere in the budget. "The way the city spends money sometimes can be done a lot smarter," Tadlock added. Hohman said there simply aren't any additional cuts to be made without cutting services for residents and laying off city staff members — which is smaller than like-sized municipalities due to Spokane Valley's tendency to contract for work instead of standing up city departments. City leadership have said for decades that contracting keeps the city nimble, the budget from ballooning and services consistent. Hohman added that the city recently tasked the consulting and accounting firm FCS Groups to analyze the city's contract with the county. He's hopeful some cost saving measures will be identified, and said it shows the city's commitment to making the most of taxpayer dollars. Spokane Valley resident and former longtime city attorney Cary Driskell, who wrote the statement in favor of the measure for the election guide, said the city prides itself on being fiscally responsible. He would know, he said, as someone who helped lead the city's incorporation effort two decades ago and then began working for the city within a month of its formation. He left around the start of 2023, after 20 years at City Hall. "I know from personal experience the real, strong fiscal responsibility approach they take to budgeting and oversight of the tax funds," Driskell said. "It is the highest importance for that organization, and you can only scrub for extra funding so many times when it's not there." 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Miami Herald
14-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Cop beats Homeland Security agent in ‘parking lot rage' at CA Costco, lawyer says
A man working for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is suing a San Diego police officer accused of beating him in a 'parking lot rage' at a California Costco, leaving him with a concussion and a dislocated shoulder, his attorney said. According to a federal lawsuit brought by Chu Ding, 53, of San Diego, he was knocked unconscious by Officer Jonathan Ferraro during the July 2, 2024, assault, then was wrongfully detained as officers 'denied (him) food, water and medical care' for five hours. A complaint filed July 1 says the assault stems from when Ferraro blocked Ding, who is a DHS agent, in a parking space with his truck at a Costco on Carmel Mountain Road. Footage provided to McClatchy News by attorney Julia Yoo, who represents Ding, shows the truck pull up in front of Ding and block his parked car. Ding is seen walking over to the truck and tapping on it before returning to his car. 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In addition to Ferraro, Ding's lawsuit names multiple San Diego police officers and the city as defendants. He is suing on 11 causes of action, including excessive force, wrongful detention and false arrest. The city attorney's office said it is unable to comment on the litigation and declined McClatchy News' request for comment on July 8. The San Diego Police Department did not return a request for comment. Yoo told McClatchy News that 'the worst thing in the case was that Ferraro conspired with at least four other officers to falsify an arrest report and deny a seriously injured man water and medical care to try to extort an apology to justify his own misconduct.' The lawsuit says six San Diego officers arrived at Costco and handcuffed Ding after he was slammed to the ground. Ding was detained in a patrol car for a few hours, when one officer learned he worked for DHS, according to the complaint. Then he was taken to a police station. At the station, the complaint says, Ding was pressured into writing Ferraro an apology letter. When Ding finished the letter, he was falsely arrested on a felony charge of obstructing or resisting an officer, according to the complaint. A police commander ultimately ordered one officer to take Ding to a hospital, following a request from Ding's wife. He was seen that evening at Scripps Health San Diego Emergency Room between 7:45 and 8:30, about five hours after he was detained at Costco, according to the complaint. Ding was diagnosed with a fractured rib and a contusion, along with a dislocated shoulder and concussion, the filing says. He was then released around midnight and booked into the San Diego Central Jail, where his bail was set at $20,000, according to the complaint. He remained in jail until about 2 or 3 p.m. on July 3, 2024, when he posted a $1,800 bond, the filing says. Ding's arrest caused him physical and reputational harm, as his DHS 'coworkers discovered immediately that Mr. Ding had been booked into the Central Jail,' the complaint says. DHS initiated an internal investigation into Ding, who was cleared of wrongdoing several months later, according to the lawsuit. The San Diego District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute Ding more than a week after his arrest, the complaint says. The filing includes three photos of Ding's injuries, stemming from his arrest, including two showing bruising and marks on his right shoulder and arm. The lawsuit argues Ding's mistreatment by San Diego police is linked to a larger pattern of the department's officers using 'excessive and unnecessary force.' With the lawsuit, Ding seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory, special and punitive damages and demands a jury trial. Ding and his attorneys are also calling for an investigation. 'We demand a thorough and independent investigation not just of Ferraro but of the individual officers and their supervisors for their role in charging an innocent man with a felony,' Yoo told McClatchy News. 'If they feel emboldened enough to do this to another law enforcement agent, imagine what they must do to assault, frame and extort regular citizens,' Yoo added.
Bloomberg
11-07-2025
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Law:Lululemon Sues Costco Over Alleged Dupes
Susan Scafidi, a professor at Fordham Law School and director of the Fashion Law Institute, discusses Lululemon suing Costco, accusing it of copying its designs. June Grasso hosts.
