Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he -- we feel certain -- felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren't enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.
Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
In October, a bank robber -- wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles -- eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.
Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
Late in 2007, a Wellington, New Zealand man received a racy text message from two anonymous "ladies," giving him only an address and a request that he show up naked. Well, he indeed showed up naked... at the home of one appalled, unsuspecting New Zealander. Both the nude Romeo and the sadistic texter were arrested, though neither were prosecuted.
Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home -- on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse -- he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.
17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual 'Furniture'
When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site 'Habbo' in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime -- whether actual or virtual -- does not pay.
Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend
Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones' fertile frontier. The result? "Vishing." Get it? Voice mail phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn't sound like a James Bond villain saying, "Wishing."
Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into -- that's right, into -- a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they -- apparently uninterested in the cash register -- stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We've all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation's thieves, too?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Becca said 2:22PM on 7-25-2007
If you aren't paying attention to your children, someone else will! Know your children, know their friends Know their internet, and MySpace habits! Set up parental controls, make them share their passwords, check in on their pages periodically and remove objectionable material. YOU ARE THE PARENT, they are the child. With great freedoms, come great responsibilities.
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Chrissy said 3:33PM on 7-25-2007
ugh, I can't stand how everyone keeps blaming myspace for everything. A lot of it is the parents, and they need to make their kids aware but you can't put the blame on the parents either b/c you know what kids are capable of, they'll do whatever behind their parents' backs. They need to be taught personal responsibility. Have you seen what 12, 13 and 14 yr old girls look like these days?!!! ANYWAY - They can make their page private so only friends see, they have the option to accept or deny a strange 40 something yr old guy when he friend requests them, and they don't have to post photos of them in bikinis and boots I mean c'mon, you're how old?! It's only ASKING for a creepy old dude to try and talk to them. I'm glad myspace is trying to do something to monitor the sex offenders, b/c obviously the government isn't. They're the ones who repeatedly let them out of jail, while they repeatedly commit the same crimes!!!! So who is REALLY to blame???? Putting them on a "list" somewhere doesn't stop them, so why should banning then from creating a myspace profile stop them either? Where there's a will, there's a way -- that's all I have to say.
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Chrissy said 3:38PM on 7-25-2007
*them. . . . pretty much, parents should monitor their kids and the government should more closely monitor the activity of free, but known sex offenders (free, but known sex offenders. . . yeah, doesn't make sense to me either!!)
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CoolBeans said 2:26AM on 8-22-2007
This is like blaming McDonalds for getting your kids fat, or blaming an amusement park for your kid getting motion sickness... pointing fingers is easier than actually doing something about the problem...I know parents... it must be REAL hard to ban your child from a website. Facebook is just like myspace, there are TONS of websites like these... If people are that worried about the site, BLOCK IT, by allowing your children to use the site, you are allowing them to be exposed to all types of people, including the sex offenders. Don't blame the website.
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Mo said 3:05PM on 10-30-2007
I think that no matter how secure anyone thinks myspace is or is going to be it is an active website that needs the participation of everyone to keep it safe.
if you are a parent and you want your kids safe, block it.
if you have it and you want to keep yourself safe don't give out the wrong information. also don't fill out surveys that ask you what the first three numbers of your cell phone are. cause someone stalking you will have you whole phone number when later you fill one out that says what are the last four numbers of you cell phone number.
Myspace needs to keep getting rid of questionable or dangerous sites.
so no matter who you blame it on there will always be flaws with no point of blame. just be safe.
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