News and other tidbits that Chad Cloman finds interesting enough to share
Criminals placed a fake ATM in a Las Vegas hotel, hoping to skim card and PIN data. Unfortunately for them, the hotel was hosting the Defcon hacker conference. While normal people might not notice a problem, it didn’t take long for attendees to spot the fake ATM and report it to the authorities.
Link: http://www.computerworld.com/…
(via Slashdot)
This thief stole from a billboard company and now has his own personal ad campaign. No word on whether he was actually caught.
A woman got belligerent and physically violent on a JetBlue flight, causing it to be diverted so she could be de-planed and arrested. She claims that she was in an alcohol-induced blackout and doesn’t remember the incident.
Link: http://www.examiner.com/…
(via The Consumerist)
Not realizing that most banks need prior notice to cash even a $1 Million check, this man allegedly tried to cash a $360 Billion check. To make matters worse, the check was made out to someone other than himself. After the police nabbed him for this blatantly obvious scam, they also determined he was carrying marijuana and an illegal firearm.
Link: http://www.dallasnews.com/…
(via Neatorama)
This man allegedly replaced the UPC sticker of a $517 television with that of a $3.16 bottle of water. The cashier noticed the discrepancy, and the man is awaiting trial.
The December 13th edition of the Lewiston Tribune posted two pictures on its front page, right on top of each other. One was of a man putting up Christmas decorations, and the other was surveillance camera footage of a man stealing a purse that had been accidentally left on a convenience store counter. Both men were dressed the same and were of approximately the same build. The police investigated, and yes, it was indeed the same man.
Link: http://www.newseum.org/…
(via digg)
Neatorama has nicely compiled the top 10 stupid criminal stories of 2007. Enjoy!
This woman hid her car and claimed it was stolen, not realizing that it had LoJack installed.
Link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/…
(via The Consumerist)
I’m amazed he thought a grocery store would have that much change on hand.
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/…
Admittedly, this woman is not really a criminal, but she was charged with a crime. Just goes to show that people can be highly intelligent but not very smart. I’ve always wondered what would happen if I wore my “Han Shot First” t-shirt through an airport security checkpoint. There is a picture of the device here.
Link: http://www.boston.com/…
(via Engadget)
The thief who stole this briefcase should have checked the contents more carefully.
It’s practically an urban legend—the robber who steals his victim’s car, only to be confounded by the stick shift. But I guess it actually happens sometimes.
