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(NEW YORK) — Many Taylor Swift fans expressed outrage online over the presale ticket disaster, but now some of those fans are taking it a step further and claiming the ordeal was illegal.

Nearly two dozen Taylor Swift fans filed a complaint Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Ticketmaster, alleging intentional deception, following major issues with the Taylor Swift: Eras Tour presale tickets, which left many fans unable to buy tickets for the singer’s upcoming tour.

“There is a problem with the way they’re doing business, but they’re really hurting the fans in how they’re doing it,” said Julie Barfuss, a plaintiff in the suit.

The complaint asks for Ticketmaster to be fined $2,500 per violation, theoretically meaning that a violation could be counted on every one of the two million tickets sold, according to the lawsuit.

ABC News reached out to both Ticketmaster as well as LiveNation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, for comment on the lawsuit but has not yet heard back.

In a recent statement, LiveNation denied allegations of price-hiking and said Ticketmaster “does not set or control ticket prices” and “does not embrace deceptive and questionable secondary ticketing practices.”

Barfuss is one of more than two dozen fans suing Ticketmaster and Live Nation alleging “fraud, price fixing and antitrust violations.”

“Ticketmaster is a monopoly that is only interested in taking every dollar it can from a captive public,” the complaint states.

The highly anticipated Eras Tour will be the first time Swift is on tour in nearly five years, performing new songs off her record-breaking Midnight album released in October.

Presale tickets for the tour went live on Ticketmaster on Nov. 15. At that time, tickets were reserved only for “verified” Swift fans, who had registered to a Ticketmaster program prior to the release of the tickets. But, due to the overwhelming surge in demand, many fans reportedly waited for hours in online waiting rooms for access to the tickets, and many reportedly never got the chance to even buy one.

Those who were able to purchase tickets reported exorbitant prices and up-charges. The debacle led Ticketmaster to cancel general ticket sales due to “insufficient” inventory.

Fans took to social media to accuse Ticketmaster of hiking ticket prices and selling most of the tickets to scalpers, who they say often charge even more fees in the resale market.

Swift broke her silence on social media and shared a statement that expressed her disappointment, saying “I’m extremely protective of my fans” and it’s “excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”

Some fans still think that it was more than just a mistake.

“They messed with the wrong fan base,” said Jennifer Kinder, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “If Ticketmaster can do this to hardworking Americans that are trying to buy a ticket, they can do it to anybody.”

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(NEW YORK) — Some unions representing rail workers as well as the nation’s largest labor organization blasted a Senate vote on Thursday denying workers paid sick days after the chamber passed a separate measure imposing a labor agreement and averting a nationwide rail strike.

The bill, which gives rail workers seven paid sick days, passed the House but was defeated by a vote of 52-43 in the Senate, as Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., joined Republican members in rejecting the measure. A handful of Republican members, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla, voted in favor of the bill.

“It is extremely disappointing that 43 Senators voted to prioritize the corporate greed of rail carriers and CEOs over the needs and quality-of-life improvements that our members so desperately deserve,” said the SMART Transportation Division, or SMART-TD, which represents about 28,000 conductors, making it the nation’s largest rail union.

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees division of the Teamsters, or BMWED, which represents 12,000 members, sharply criticized the Senate vote.

“It is shocking and appalling that any Member of Congress would cast a vote against any sort of provision that raises the standard of living for hard-working Americans,” a union statement said.

“In fact, such a vote is nothing less than anti-American, an abdication of their oath of office and you are deemed, in my eyes, unworthy of holding office,” it added.

SMART-TD and BMWED were among four rail unions that rejected a tentative agreement brokered by the White House in September, which later set the terms of a labor contract for rail workers passed by Congress on Thursday and signed by President Joe Biden on Friday. That contract did not provide rail workers with any paid sick days.

The contract imposed by Congress includes a 24% raise from 2020 to 2024, bonus increases and an additional paid day off.

The AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor organization representing 12.5 million workers, slammed the Senate vote denying paid sick days but applauded other parts of the imposed contract.

“While rail workers won significant wage increases and other important gains today, it’s deeply disappointing that 43 senators sided with multibillion-dollar rail corporations to block desperately needed paid sick days,” the AFCL-CIO said in a statement.

“Rail workers keep America’s economy moving, yet rail companies treat workers as essential one minute and disposable the next,” the labor federation added.

The American Association of Railroads, a trade group representing rail companies, in a statement applauded the vote in Congress on Thursday that averted a nationwide strike but did not comment directly on the Senate’s rejection of paid sick days.

“The Senate acted with leadership and urgency with today’s vote to avert an economically devastating rail work stoppage,” AAR president and CEO Ian Jefferies said on Thursday. “The product of these agreements is a compromise by nature, but the result is one of substantial gains for rail employees.”

“Without a doubt, there is more to be done to further address our employees’ work-life balance concerns, but it is clear this agreement maintains rail’s place among the best jobs in our nation,” he added.

After signing the bill imposing the labor agreement on Friday, Biden said the contract helped the U.S. avert a “catastrophe,” even as he acknowledged that the measure fell short of worker demands.

Biden has faced criticism for backing congressional intervention in support of labor terms rejected by some of the rail unions, despite referring to himself as a pro-union president.

“Look, I know this bill doesn’t have paid sick leave these rail workers, and frankly every worker in America, deserves,” Biden said. “But that fight isn’t over.”

“I supported paid sick leave for a long time,” he added. “I’m going to continue that fight til we succeed.”

Unions accused rail companies of penalizing workers for taking time off for medical reasons, since employees do not receive paid sick days. To win a favorable deal, rail companies jeopardized the nation’s economy, unions said.

The National Carriers’ Conference Committee, which represents the nation’s freight railroads in national collective bargaining, said rail employees are provided “significant” time off and that the companies had offered a fair contract that included a considerable wage increase.

The terms of the labor contract followed guidelines issued by a presidential emergency board formed by Biden in July. Two months later, in September, the White House brokered a tentative agreement based on those terms but the deal was later rejected by 4 rail unions.

While alluding to disappointment over the Senate vote on paid sick days, Transportation Communications Union President Arthur Maratea applauded Biden’s efforts to forge an agreement in a statement on Thursday.

“Regardless of our feelings on the outcome of the vote today, union members should not discount the lengths to which the Biden Administration went to deliver a Presidential Emergency Board with strong recommendations that provided our members with record wage increases, preserved our healthcare (which was under assault), and even provided an extra paid day off,” he said.

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(NEW YORK) — Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones filed for bankruptcy on Friday, less than two months after a Connecticut jury awarded almost $1 billion in damages to plaintiffs who accused Jones of committing defamation when he called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a hoax.

Jones, the host of Infowars, filed for chapter 11 protection in the U.S. bankruptcy court in Houston, Texas.

In the filing, Jones said he had between $1 million and $10 million in assets, falling far short of between $1 billion and $10 billion in liabilities.

He said in the filing that he owes money to between 50 and 99 creditors.

The damages awarded in October to 15 plaintiffs — relatives of victims and an FBI agent who responded to the shooting — amounted to $965 million.

Jones had claimed that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was performed by actors following a script written by government officials to bolster the push for gun control.

In a previous case, in Texas, Jones was ordered to pay nearly $50 million to the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the shooting.

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(NEW YORK) — Disney unveiled a new rendering of the highly anticipated The Princess and the Frog attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, coming in 2024 to Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is based on the 2009 animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Princess Tiana, will reprise her role for the attraction, along with Jenifer Lewis (Mama Odie) and Michael-Leon Wooley (Louis) — and a few new characters unique to just the ride, Disney announced on Friday.

The new rendering of one of the ride’s new distinctive scenes features zydeco-style tunes, a type of music native to Louisiana born from a special blend of rhythm and blues. Tiana and her friends old and new — including jazz-loving alligator Louis, and a band full of critters that includes an otter, a rabbit, a racoon, a beaver, a turtle and others — will explain the importance of zydeco, the blending of sounds and styles of so many cultures, and invite all guests to join in on the celebration.

The re-themed ride was unveiled in June at the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans — a fitting location since the Louisiana city is also Princess Tiana’s hometown.

The ride will officially open in late 2024 at Disneyland Park in Disneyland Resort and Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort.

Last August, Disney released the first look at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure with a moody and colorful rendering showing the princess carrying a lantern and helming a boat, highlighting the region’s unique bayou landscape.

“The story will take place after the final kiss as Naveen and Louis join Tiana on her latest adventure, hosting a one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras celebration where everyone is welcome — during which some original music inspired by songs from the film will bring guests into the story,” a Disney Parks Blog post revealed at the time.

Disney’s team of Imagineers has been traveling to New Orleans and Louisiana frequently to research and gather information to make the ride extra special and reflective of the famed city and region.

“In many ways, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is a love letter to New Orleans,” Charita Carter, executive producer of relevancy activations for Walt Disney Imagineering, said in a statement. “Like the musical city that inspired this attraction, Tiana’s second act is about a community working in harmony to achieve something extraordinary. She reminds us of an immutable truth we can all relate to: ‘If you do your best each and every day, good things are sure to come your way.’ And that’s a melody we can all sing along to!”

Previously, the attraction was named Splash Mountain and featured characters from The Song of the South, a controversial film from 1946 that was criticized for racist and offensive depictions of Black people and misrepresenting the culture of the South in the 1800s.

In addition to the attraction’s new name, Princess Tiana will get a new look for the ride. Her outfit is inspired by the styles and trends of the 1920s and will be historically accurate, according to Ida Muldrow, a costume designer for Disney Live Entertainment.

“Tiana was equally at home in the bayou as she was at a banquet,” Muldrow said. “We wanted her look to reflect that, and be a compliment to the story’s setting.”

The Disney team also made sure to carefully consider Tiana’s hair, creating a unique style that reflected the versatility of Black women’s hair.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC News.

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(NEW YORK) — The company behind a popular line of laundry detergent and cleaning products has issued a voluntary recall due to possible bacterial contamination.

The Laundress first issued a safety notice on Nov. 17, urging customers to stop using its products completely.

“We have identified the potential presence of elevated levels of bacteria in some of our products that present a safety concern,” the company wrote in part, before adding that it would provide an update at a later date.

On Thursday, the company expanded the safety notice into a recall.

“The recalled products can contain bacteria, including Burkholderia cepacia complex, Klebsiella aerogenes and multiple different species of Pseudomonas, many of which are environmental organisms found widely in soil and water, and some may also be found in humans,” the company said in its recall notice.

“People with weakened immune systems, external medical devices, and underlying lung conditions who are exposed to the bacteria face a risk of serious infection that may require medical treatment,” the company continued. “The bacteria can enter the body if inhaled, or through the eyes or a break in the skin. People with healthy immune systems are usually not affected by the bacteria.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Burkholderia cepacia complex bacteria, also called B. cepacia, “are often resistant to common antibiotics,” though they pose little medical risk to healthy individuals. However, the CDC notes that “people who have certain health problems like weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases, particularly cystic fibrosis, may be more susceptible to infections with B. cepacia,” a “known cause of infections in hospitalized patients.”

Symptoms of B. cepacia infection vary, according to the CDC, with some people experiencing no symptoms and others suffering “serious respiratory infections.” The bacteria may be spread through person to person contact, contact with contaminated surfaces, or environmental exposure.

Klebsiella, according to the CDC, is another type of “Gram-negative bacteria that can cause different types of healthcare-associated infections, including pneumonia, bloodstream infections, wound or surgical site infections, and meningitis.”

“…Klebsiella infections commonly occur among sick patients who are receiving treatment for other conditions,” the agency states on its website. “Patients whose care requires devices like ventilators (breathing machines) or intravenous (vein) catheters, and patients who are taking long courses of certain antibiotics are most at risk for Klebsiella infections. Healthy people usually do not get Klebsiella infections.”

The CDC notes that Klebsiella bacteria are often resistant to antibiotics as well.

Klebsiella is spread through person-to-person contact, “or, less commonly, by contamination of the environment,” according to the CDC, The bacteria are not spread through the air.

Pseudomonas, the CDC states, is also found in soil and water and may also cause infections in the blood and lungs, or other parts of the body. The bacteria may be passed by person-to-person contact or through the environment. Those most at risk include patients in hospitals, especially those on breathing machines (ventilators), with devices such as catheters or with wounds from surgery or burns.

So far, The Laundress says the company knows of 11 reported cases of Pseudomonas infections and is investigating whether the infections are connected to their products.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 8 million Laundress products are affected by the recall, including those produced in the U.S. between January 2021 and September 2022. Affected products were sold both online and at stores such as Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Target, The Container Store and other major retailers.

Customers who bought The Laundress products can submit their information to request a refund. They can also contact the company for additional information via email at customerservice@thelaundress.com or at (800) 681-1915 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

On social media and on their website, The Laundress is directing customers to visit a dedicated website — thelaundressrecall.com — for a full list of affected products, answers to frequently asked questions and directions on requesting a refund.

The company is also asking consumers with recalled products to throw them away immediately. “After requesting a refund, consumers should dispose of the product by closing the bottle tightly and placing it in household trash. Do not empty the product prior to disposal,” the company said on the recall website.

Unilever has owned The Laundress since the conglomerate acquired the brand in 2019. The Laundress was launched back in 2004 by Gwen Whiting and Lindsey Boyd.

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(NEW YORK) — Gas prices nationwide have plunged to their lowest level since February as demand has dropped from peak summer travel season and the price of crude oil has fallen.

Softening pain at the pump offers welcome relief for households battered by inflation that stands near a 40-year high.

The national average price for a gallon of gas, which stands at $3.47, has fallen more than 30% since it reached a peak of $5.01 in mid-June, according to data AAA provided to ABC News.

Over the last month alone, the price for a gallon of gas has fallen nearly 8%.

In California, the state with the highest average price, a gallon of gas costs $4.90, though that price has fallen more than 11% over the past month. In Texas, the state with the lowest average gas price, a gallon costs $2.84, AAA data showed.

Despite the recent price dip, the cost of gas remains elevated — roughly 3% above a $3.38 national average one year ago, according to AAA data.

The decline in gas costs owes in part to a fall-off in demand as weather has cooled and Americans have dialed back travel, industry analysts told ABC News.

“In North America, there is a summer driving season when demand is particularly high and refineries are running all out,” Pavel Molchanov, a senior energy analyst at Raymond James, told ABC News. “In the fall and winter, demand cools off.”

In addition to a drop in demand, gas prices have benefited from a decline in the cost of crude oil, allowing refineries to generate fuel at lower prices.

The cost of a barrel of oil, which stands at about $83, has plummeted nearly 8% over the last month.

The fall in oil prices — which are set on a global market — has stemmed from discussions at the European Union on a plan to place a price cap on Russian oil, analysts said.

The compromise measure would limit the oil revenue enjoyed by Russia as it wages war against Ukraine, but would also allow for the continued purchase of Russian oil, boosting global supply and pushing down prices.

The price of oil has also been pushed downward in recent months by the Biden administration’s release of petroleum from the strategic reserve as well as a decline in demand in China due to continued COVID lockdowns, the analysts said.

“The big wild card is China, which seems to change day to day,” Peter McNally, a global sector leader for industrial materials and energy at Third Bridge, told ABC News.

In recent days, the price of oil has inched upward amid civil unrest in China and the possibility of a relaxation of the lockdown policy, threatening to reverse the decline in U.S. gas prices, Molchanov said.

“If the Chinese government signals COVID lockdown easing in response to popular protest, then that stimulates among other things oil demand in China and it boosts oil prices,” he said.

“So when oil prices go up, you will see that reflected in gas at the pump,” he added.

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(NEW YORK) — They were once coveted birthday and holiday gifts for millions of millennials and Generation Xers.

They were Nintendo Entertainment System bundled with Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt or that copy of Pokémon Gold for the Game Boy Color.

And even though those vintage game systems and cartridges are long gone from store shelves to make way for more advanced tech, the beloved games are still in high demand. In some cases, they can sell for thousands of dollars for collectors and retro gamers.

“Everybody’s into this stuff because this is the stuff they grew up on,” Nick Pittelli, the CEO of the retro gaming store “The Game Island,” told Impact x Nightline.

Impact x Nightline takes a look at this growing and lucrative trend in an episode now streaming on Hulu.

Although retro gaming has had a following ever since the first video game systems hit the market in the 70s, experts say the trend has boomed in recent years, and along with it the profits.

The industry-wide resale price for Nintendo 64 systems, which sold for $199.99 when it launched in 1996, or roughly $375 in 2022 dollars, can now fetch as much as five figures depending on its condition and rarity, according to experts.

Brandi Ahmer, a Maryland police officer who has a giant collection of video games, arcades and other vintage electronics, showed off her basement where she keeps her gaming relics. She told Impact that she was able to snag some rare consoles at bargains.

“That one goes for about $8,000,” Ahmer said of a rare red Nintendo 64 controller. “That’s what I was offered, but I paid $12.50 for it. I found it in a video game store.”

“Then this one right here is a chrome Nintendo 64…There’s only ten of these in the world,” she added. “And I was offered close to $20,000.”

Ahmer said she has no intention of selling any of her vintage systems or games and is always on the lookout to add to her collection.

“There’s something about these older systems,” she said. “But it’s like there are memories of a simpler time, you know, your childhood.”

Ahmer isn’t the only one feeling that nostalgia.

Pittelli said that demand for vintage games grew during the pandemic and the value of some items in his shop has gone up by 40%.

Joey Walker-Denny, the social media manager for the Pennsylvania-based retro game store DK Oldies, told Impact that his team gets about 300 emails a day from customers looking to either buy or sell their used games.

“I’ve seen larger emails than that,” he told Impact.

Walker-Denny noted that his team, which has grown tremendously since the store opened in the 2000s, takes great care to ensure that the games are in working condition for their customers, in some cases going as far to replace key components, such as a Game Boy screen.

“A lot of the stuff that we sell is over 30 years old. So you can imagine it needs a thorough cleaning,” he said.

Pittelli and other retro gaming experts said they expect that more people will be on the lookout for vintage games to reclaim their youth.

“I think there’s a stigma, like, ‘Oh yeah the people who shop or go to a video game store. They’re super nerdy.’ No, it’s not like that anymore. Rappers come here. Artists come here,” Pittelli said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Hundreds of thousands of rail workers stand on the brink of a strike that would snarl the nation’s supply chain, driving up prices for households already under strain and eventually leaving some store shelves bare, supply chain analysts and industry groups told ABC News.

“Let me be clear: a rail shutdown would devastate our economy,” President Joe Biden said on Monday. “Without freight rail, many U.S. industries would shut down.”

A strike would cause $2 billion a day in lost economic output, according to the Association of American Railroads, which lobbies on behalf of rail companies. Rail transports about 40% of the nation’s long-distance freight and one-third of exports.

The economic costs of a strike would crunch the finances of everyday Americans forced to pay more for products and forgo others in short supply, the experts and trade groups said.

To be sure, the industry may avert a strike before the deadline arrives on Dec. 9.

The House on Wednesday passed a law that imposes the terms of a tentative agreement reached in September, but since rejected by several unions. In addition, the chamber passed a bill that would grant rail workers seven sick days each year, an increase from one sick day afforded under the tentative agreement. The Senate is expected to take up the measures soon.

If the strike moves forward, however, here’s how it would affect your finances:

Price increases

A rail strike would likely increase prices for a range of goods that includes gas and food, experts told ABC News.

The price of gas has fallen 7% over the past month to a national average of about $3.50 per gallon. But a rail strike would send gas prices back upward, Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News.

“It very likely would cause prices to rise,” he said. “It would be a major problem.”

Last year, crude oil carried on freight rails amounted to 162,000 barrels per day or approximately 1.5% of U.S. production, according to the Association of American Railroads, or AAR.

Moreover, freight rails transport 75% of new cars and light trucks, as well as 780,000 carloads of paper and lumber, the AAR said.

If a strike halts freight rail, many business will turn to trucking as an alternative form of delivery, raising distribution costs, said Ben Siegrist, the director of infrastructure, innovation and human resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.

“It’s supply and demand,” he said. “Spot rates for trucks would unquestionably skyrocket.”

The potential price spike would arrive as inflation already stands near a 40-year high, with year-over-year consumer price increases last month reported at 7.7%.

“It’s likely to cause some increases in prices on top of what we’re already experiencing,” Kyle Handley, a professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego, told ABC News. “It’s another shock to supply chains that are already stressed.”

Supply shortages

If a potential strike extends from a few days to a few weeks, the effects will extend from price increases to supply shortages, experts and trade groups said.

“Initially, most products will be readily available as retailers and manufacturers have tended to increase stocks and inventories, having been scared by mistakes and shortfalls during COVID,” Joseph Schofer, a professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University, told ABC News.

“Were the strike to continue, inventories will be drawn down and the impacts will spread,” he added.

As with price increases, the shortages could affect industries like energy, agriculture, autos and manufacturing.

Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said in a statement that a rail strike would pose a significant challenge for food supply.

“Farmers not only rely on trains to transport food and feed, they also rely on rails to bring important supplies like fertilizer to the farm,” she said. “A shutdown or slowdown would have devastating consequences to our national and global food security.”

Eventually, a strike would bring barren shelves at retailers, Jeff Macher, a professor of strategy and economics at Georgetown University’s Center for Business and Public Policy, told ABC News.

“A strike would lead to substantial retail product shortages, increased costs to consumers and firms, and plant shutdowns,” he said.

To the relief of gift buyers, however, holiday shopping would remain largely unaffected by a strike, Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, told ABC News.

“For the holiday shopping season, a lot of goods are moved well in advance of the holidays,” he said.

Still, the financial disruption from a rail strike adds up to more than many Americans would expect, said Handley, of the University of California, San Diego.

“When these things come up, we find out how important rail is to the American economy,” he said. “For the most part, it’s operating entirely in the background and nobody ever sees it.”

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(NEW YORK) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued an alert about the rise in technical support scams spreading across the country.

FBI field offices in Pittsburgh, Las Vegas, Boston and Chicago continue to warn the public of heightened fraud and cyber security risks.

According to the FBI bulletin, the technical support scam involves a cybercriminal posing as technical support offering to resolve issues such as compromised email or bank accounts, computer viruses, or software renewals.

“You may be on your computer, and you may get a pop-up,” said Ashley Johnson, the acting special agent in charge of the Chicago division. “And this pop-up will tell them, ‘Hey, your accounts have been hacked. Call this number.’ And [the scammers] will represent themselves as a reputable software company.”

Recent FBI statistics reported that Americans lost nearly a quarter billion dollars last year from this scam alone — an increase of over 137% compared to last year.

YouTube star Pierogi, who runs a YouTube channel called “Scammer Payback,” which posts videos of phone calls with scammers, told ABC News he first noticed an uptick in this type of scam earlier this year.

He shared a screenshot of a “pop-up alert” scam he received on his computer that claimed to be from Microsoft and directed him to call a phone number for support.

A spokesperson from Microsoft told ABC News that Microsoft will never send unsolicited messages or make unsolicited phone calls to request personal or financial information, or to provide support to fix your computer.

They added that the real Microsoft warning messages never include a phone number. If a consumer does receive a pop-up, the spokesperson recommended closing the message or using the key combination CTRL+ALT+DEL to quit the program they’re currently using and run a security scan on the computer.

For Bert Smith, 85, and his wife Ann, a month-long tech support scam ended up costing them $3 million.

Smith, who used a pseudonym for this report, said he logged on to his computer to play solitaire, like he does most days. Almost immediately, he experienced a frozen computer followed by a pop-up advising the computer was hacked and to call a phone number claiming to be a well-known computer software company.

According to Smith, when he called the phone number, he was transferred to another person claiming to be a federal agent, who told him he needed remote access to his computer to scan it. Smith said the scammer told him that his Social Security numbers, bank and investment account information were all compromised, and that their money was at risk.

He said he was told the solution was to transfer the money out of their current accounts and invest it in cryptocurrency for safekeeping.

“They had told me that if anybody asks why we are doing this, well, the stock market was down,” said Smith. “And Bitcoins were going down too, so this would be a good time to invest.”

According to Smith’s daughter Kerry, the scammers even gave her parents Bitcoin wallet numbers to try to convince them their money was safe.

Smith said he was instructed not to tell anyone, including bank employees or members of their family, and was given a script to recite at the bank if questioned by employees about the nature of his money transfers.

Their daughter Kerry said she only learned about the scam after the $3 million was gone.

“It was devastating to hear because of how hard my parents worked for their money,” said Kerry. “This shows just how manipulative these scammers are … for them not to share something like this with us.”

Over the course of a month, Smith said he made a dozen wire transfers in amounts as high as $750,000 until a bank employee became suspicious and notified the local police, who have since referred the case to the FBI. Smith told ABC that their case is still currently under investigation.

While they still hope they can recover some of their money, Bert and Ann said it was more important for them to share their story so that others are aware of what these scammers can do. “As I look back on it, I [think], ‘How gullible could you be?’ But on the other hand, they had a good story,” said Smith. “We wanted to share our story, so that seniors can learn from this … and for them not to feel that it’s something they did.”

Johnson urged victims of scams to contact the FBI through ic3.gov or report suspected scams to their local law enforcement agency and their banking institution.

According to Johnson, the FBI’s Recovery Asset Team has recovered over $300 million of fraudulently obtained funds. “We have an 82% recovery rate,” she said, but encouraged victims to report as early as possible, making it more likely to recover money.

FBI field offices nationwide also work directly with banking institutions to combat criminal activity, said Johnson. Through FBI investigations and intelligence, the agency provides education on emerging phishing and scamming trends for banks.

“We do see [companies] being vigilant in trying to make sure their customers are protected,” Johnson added.

Additionally, the FBI provided a list of tips to avoid being scammed:

•     Avoid installing apps or programs that allow strangers remote access to your computer.
•     Never call the number in a pop-up window.
•     Always disconnect your device from the internet immediately if you see a scam-related pop-up screen. Do not turn your computer off or reboot.
•     Always be skeptical if someone tells you not to talk to your family about a money transfer.
•     Always be skeptical if a “government agency” asks you to conduct business in Bitcoin.
•     Always call companies, banks, or government agencies directly with numbers you have independently verified.
•     Always contact the FBI at ic3.gov to make a report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The House on Wednesday voted to block a strike by the nation’s railway workers, intervening in a labor dispute with wide-ranging economic and political implications.

The House voted 290-137 to adopt the tentative deal between the rail companies and employees reached in September and brokered by the White House.

A second, separate vote — aimed at addressing progressive Democrats’ concerns over protecting workers — was set on a measure to add seven days of paid sick leave to the agreement, which now allows for only one.

Unless an agreement is imposed by Congress by a Dec. 9 deadline, much of the nation’s economy that depends on freight transportation would be disrupted — some estimates say up to $2 billion a day.

“The House will take up urgent and necessary legislation to that end: adopting the Tentative Agreement reached after months of hard-fought negotiations,” Pelosi said in a memo to colleagues on Tuesday.

“After hearing from our Members, we are in agreement that a nationwide rail strike must be prevented — and that more must be done to secure the paid sick leave that hard-working railroaders deserve.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said any House legislation to codify the existing tentative agreement will be accompanied by legislation that addresses the workers’ long standing demand for fair paid leave.

In a statement, Jayapal said that Pelosi announced a deal that allows the House to pass legislation for railway workers that includes paid sick leave after “productive conversations” between Congressional Progressive Caucus members, Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and House Leadership.

“The Progressive Caucus will continue to fight to ensure that all workers have paid sick leave guaranteed and that labor rights are upheld. I thank Speaker Pelosi and Leadership for their cooperation, and my Progressive Caucus colleagues for their indefatigable advocacy and commitment to workers’ rights,” Jayapal said in a statement.

The two-vote series also allows the Senate to act on the two bills separately. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, has been urging his Senate colleagues to consider boosting paid leave provisions.

The House votes come as President Joe Biden on Monday asked Congress to intervene and avert a potential strike, although he warned against making any changes to the negotiated agreement.

Both Biden, a self-professed pro-union president, and Pelosi noted their hesitation to step into the dispute.

“I am reluctant to override the ratification procedures and the views of those who voted against the agreement,” Biden said on Monday. “But in this case — where the economic impact of a shutdown would hurt millions of other working people and families — I believe Congress must use its powers to adopt this deal.”

Pelosi echoed Biden’s call to prioritize avert the wide-ranging economic consequences from a strike.

“It is with great reluctance that we must now move to bypass the standard ratification process for the Tentative Agreement. However, we must act to prevent a catastrophic strike that would touch the lives of nearly every family: erasing hundreds of thousands of jobs, including union jobs; keeping food and medicine off the shelves; and stopping small businesses from getting their goods to market,” she said.

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