The Indiana Securities Division is rolling out a series of online advertisements for fictional companies to educate investors about Internet fraud.
The Times of Munster reports that ads for the fake companies will appear on real websites that attract online investors. Clicking on the ads will pop up a message from state Securities Commissioner Chris Naylor.
The ads highlight common schemes such as Ponzi schemes, online trading fraud, offshore and foreign currency investments and oil and gas scams.
The securities division investigates allegations of online investment fraud. The ad campaign is funded by a grant from the nonprofit Investor Protection Trust.
Sheriff: Teen killed dad over girlfriend
Authorities say a 17-year-old boy fatally shot his father during a fight at their northern Indiana home over sexual advances the man had made toward the teen’s girlfriend.
The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department says 45-year-old Daniel O’Janovac fired a shotgun outside the rural Wheatfield home on Wednesday then put it down. Police say that the teen later picked up the gun and shot his father with his girlfriend nearby at the home about 50 miles north of Lafayette.
County Prosecutor Kathryn O’Neall told the Journal & Courier of Lafayette that murder charges against the teen would be pursued in adult court.
IU researchers map chocolate genome
A group of Indiana University researchers hopes to make better chocolate – and improve the lives of farmers in some of the world’s poorest regions – by tracking the DNA of a cacao tree.
The team is part of a consortium that has completed the genomic structure of the Forasteo cacao tree, which is used to produce 80 percent to 90 percent of the world’s chocolate.
IU researcher Keithanne Mockaitis told the Herald-Times of Bloomington that mapping the tree’s DNA sequence may help farmers grow trees resistant to disease and could help identify markers for desirable flavor traits.
The chocolate industry produces $17 billion in the U.S. alone and provides a livelihood for more than 6.5 million farmers in Africa, South America and Asia.
Boilermakers get help crossing street
Stop sign-carrying crossing guards are now working some streets around the Purdue University campus as part of an effort to improve student safety.
The first team of what Purdue is calling pedestrian safety advocates started Thursday morning at two intersections without stop signs for drivers along Russell Street through the middle of campus.
Sophomore crossing guard Drew Kluemper told the Journal & Courier that he knows some college students think the guards are unnecessary, but that he believes they will help safety.
Purdue police Capt. Eric Chin says the program will be reviewed after Purdue’s fall break in October.
Letterman lets other Cardinals tweet
“Late Show” host David Letterman proudly displayed his aversion for technology during an onstage talk with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone at Ball State University.
By the end of their two-hour Friday night conversation at his alma mater’s Emens Auditorium, Letterman had not once touched the open laptops on a table between he and Stone.
Instead, The Star Press reported that he read Stone questions submitted through Twitter from blue note cards like those he uses on his show.
At one point during his appearance before the near-capacity crowd, Letterman expressed his admiration for Stone. But he then told the Twitter co-founder, “I understood very little of what you said. I assume these people understand.”
