Dan And Laura Were Cyber Hacked
The celebrity couple in Storage Wars, Laura and Dan, nearly had their entire life savings stolen away after a pair of cybercriminals hacked their financial accounts in 2012. Fortunately for the Dotson’s, the crooks were EXTREMELY dumb! The hackers managed to break into their home computers and stole a collection of vital financial information, including credit card and bank account numbers.
The cybercriminals though did a stupid mistake by doing a series of large purchases on one sitting which, as a result, triggered the credit card company’s security features. It immediately notified the account holders Laura and Dan and after refuting the illegal purchases, the couple canceled their cards and changed their account passwords without delay and hesitation. And if that wasn’t dumb enough, the thieves chatted over instant message regarding the robbery while it was in motion, even though they were still linked to the Dotson’s computer. Laura instantly captured the conversation on screen and sent them over to the police. There’s a good chance that the cyber hackers might already be on the run from law enforcement following their hilarious ordeal.
Dr. Barry Weiss
Barry Weiss is hands down the coolest character in Storages Wars and it’s not even close! Aside from staying impressively calm and composed amidst the heat of the moment compared to the rest of the bidders, he is also participating on the game just for the fun of it. He doesn’t care much whether he loses money every time he bets on a potential locker that ends up a complete bust. Of course, a big part of this care-free attitude lies in the fact that he is already a millionaire and losing a few thousand dollars doesn’t mean much to him.
But there’s also another reason that might explain his relaxed disposition on the show. In one interview regarding his acquisition of a medical marijuana card, Weiss had this to say, "Oh god, honestly, uh, it's been about eight years ago. I'm one of the first in this state to get it, but you know I got a bad back, and I've gotta tend to it." Bad back? Ok Barry we believe you.
Dan Came Close To End In 2014
In 2014, Laura and Dan Dotson were faced with maybe the biggest test of their lives after Dan became hospitalized due to a double brain aneurysm in Palm Springs, California. Based on the medical reports, Dan’s health was in the worst possible condition when he reached the hospital and doctors even gave him only 4-20% chance of surviving the ordeal.
Dan managed to beat the odds however and miraculously went through the surgery without any complications. He recovered fully in less than a week and was discharged thereafter. He went back home to his wife feeling joyful and extremely appreciative with the second chance given to him. After his near death experience, Dan did something that no one in his life would expect him to do - He quit smoking following four decades of use.
Keep Track Of Your Locker
On Storage Wars, you are forbidden to make a bid on a locker that presently has an owner. If you do, then your action would translate into possible theft. With that being said, there’s a reason as to why lockers in the show are legally available for bidding. Normally, it could be that the original owner of that locker simply didn’t want to continue paying off the rent but there are other more unpleasant stories behind a vacated storage unit.
Perhaps the original owner went through some financial crisis and was forced to relinquish ownership over the locker? If such is the case, then everyone on the show would be bidding on a property of an individual who fell victim to terrible financial circumstances. It sounds similar to looting with a mix of "kick someone when they’re down." And if that is not horrible enough for you, then think about this other possibility: the original owner might have died, which means that the locker became only accessible for bidding because of someone’s death. That’s certainly a ghastly way of betting on a lost locker!
The Betters
To establish extra drama on Storage Wars, there are times when the scenes aired on TV involving cast members bidding on lockers are in fact fake. They have actually staged bids involving non-existent storage units. The reality is, auctions are a mixed bag – some events are entertaining worthy of primetime TV while some are just downright boring.
There are occasions when only a single person would bid for a locker and obviously, there is no excitement and drama when this happens. So Storage Wars producers can prevent such an event from wreaking havoc in their viewer ratings while still maintaining that “reality TV” impression both at the same time, the crew are instructed to make bogus bids away from the locker and the production crew can just edit them into the scene.