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)
Gayle said 7:54PM on 8-07-2007
What an odd spin to put on looking up med info. We took care of a dying friend for several months - and believe me, we looked up tons of info! We are so grateful to HAVE the internet!
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michele said 5:07AM on 8-08-2007
Now-a-days physicians either suggest their patients research their diagnosis on the internet, or will give them print outs of the same. And in this day and age of HMOs, and as a health care giver, I am adamant EVERYONE should be their own health advocate and educate themselves rather than putting blind trust into our failing health system here in the US. The person responsible for writing this article needs to educate themselves before they regret it.
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Scott said 8:19AM on 8-08-2007
hmmm.. 160 million people are Cybercondriacs?
or is it really 160 people, looking up information,... a million times?
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Heather said 3:27AM on 9-23-2007
I highly doubt that 160 million people are cyberchondriacs. It makes more sense to think that, most if not all of those people are smart responsible people who are trying to educate themselves about something in relation to them, their family or friends. Believe it or not most everyone in this world propably has some illness that they haven't a clue about. So, if while educating themselves about something for a completely different reason, they find out that they themselves have an illness they came across while studying is not that hard to believe. More & more scientists & doctors are finding out that many people have depression but don't know it & now they finding out that most people who have depression are also bi-polar. So searching for or just running across we can't state for certain. I see nothing wrong with people educating themselves & I don't think you have the right to start calling these people cyberchondriacs for it.
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