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 2)
Lara said 7:53PM on 9-21-2007
I am a photographer and let me just say right now that I am soooo frusterated and peeved by dishonest jerks who steal other people's artwork (yes, photography is something you create, it IS an art) so they can make some money. I will NEVER give Virgin Mobile my business in the future!
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Bruce said 8:18PM on 9-21-2007
I hope she takes them for millions! I will never use Virgin Mobile services and I am telling everyone to boycott them. We should all tell this company that we will never use their products. Make them squeal like the pigs they are!
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TERRI said 9:23PM on 9-21-2007
THAT IS TERRIBLE! HOW OUTRAGEOUS! I MYSELF AM SO SHY WITH HAVING MY PHOTO TAKEN, I WOULD HAVE FELT RAPED. I KNOW THAT IS A LITTLE EXTREME, BUT I AM INTENCELY PRIVATE AND SHY THAT WAY. AND THEN TO BE PROTRAYED IN THAT POOR WAY. HOW ALWFUL
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TERRI said 9:31PM on 9-21-2007
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD ALSO, 1)SORRY ABOUT THE SPELLING, AND 2)I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE AD WAS RACIST THOUGH. HOW IS "DUMP YOUR PEN FRIEND" AGAINST ASIANS? I DON'T GET IT.
HOWEVER THE WAY THE COMPANY USED HER WAS OUTRAGEOUS.
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John said 9:47PM on 9-21-2007
I think people should be more outraged at Virgin's ad agency that created the ad. It's unthinkable to me that an agency would create an ad without securing rights for any photography used. I do think the girl should be compensated, but I think the agency should have to pay.
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Mick said 10:15AM on 9-22-2007
Actually they didn't steal the photo, it was listed with a Creative Commons License. This basically gives anyone permission to use the photo as they please, however it does NOT give them the right to use the image for commercial usage without permission of the model, they still need a model release even if the photographer gives away his/her rights to the image.
I don't have an issue marking some of my images under the CC license but I would mark them non commercial, in other words they can be used by students for projects etc, and I would never put one of these licenses on an image with a person it it.
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A.C said 6:45PM on 9-22-2007
She does have a right to get mad because they didnt ask permission to use her phone but clearly Free Virgin to virgin means virgin phone to virgin phone and there saying drop your pen like writing PEOPLE hello!!!! But then again thats australia not the U.S so she may not know?
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nicole said 7:47PM on 9-22-2007
The "dump your pen friend" implies that she is a geek and then on top of that they ever so slightly imply that she is a virgin. I wouldn't want my picture seen on bus stops as a caricature of a stereotypical Asian. To the people who don't get it, ask yourself this; does the ad make more sense to you with a pic of a schoolgirl-looking Asian or with a picture of a white/Black/Latino girl? That's why.
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Susan said 2:49AM on 9-23-2007
More power to this lady & her family. They should be ashamed of using this picture in this fashion. Photography is an art & should be considered as such & not be used as this company has. The remark is pure & simple racist. Make them pay!
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Billie said 6:39AM on 9-23-2007
Why does everything these days turn into a matter of race? What the hell does "pen friend" mean to these people??
1). "Dump your pen friend" means dump your pen pal...for those of you who don't know what a pen pal is, it is someone you write to using old fashioned snail-mail. Very much not racist.
2). "Free text Virgin to Virgin" means that Virgin Mobile customers can text each other for free. Same thing as "Free text Verizon to Verizon" or "...Cingular to Cingular".
3). The girl's family is right in saying that Virgin shouldn't have used the girl's image without her permission.
Now, though, they have drawn more negative attention to the girl than the whole "offensive" ad campaign did. No one probably noticed anything derogatory about the ad until the parents pointed it out to people, and some people still don't understand how the caption is supposed to be racist. The parents should have just stopped their complaint at "They used her image without permission" because the other stuff they are saying makes them look stupid
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Tim said 7:53AM on 9-23-2007
Mick, you're wrong; the photo WAS stolen. The CC licence permits many uses and freedoms in respect of posted images, but it does not grant usage (or theft) in any commercial context. So it's most definitely theft...
The copyright issue alone should net this girl and her family a healthy compensatory sum, but the mis-use of her image and the context in which she has been presented to potentially millions of people, should make for a serious payout. The victim and her family should milk this baby for all it's worth.
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Anastasia said 7:33PM on 9-23-2007
Back when we relied upon the postal service, schools from different countries would swap penpal lists so that both cultures could learn from one another. Quite often the other students were from Asian countries and were learning English. Most likely, the young lady's parents are referring to this b/c a "foreign penpal" was almost always Asian.
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Brenda said 9:28PM on 9-23-2007
Tim, the photo was licensed CC-Attribution Only which allows commercial use, so there was no copyright violation here at all.
The only issue seems to be whether Virgin Mobile is allowed to use the photo of the girl without a model release, but as I understand Australian law, no model releases are necessary there. So it boils down to jurisdiction. Can an Australian company (following Australian laws) use a photo of an American taken in America without following American privacy laws?
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charles almon said 10:14PM on 9-23-2007
A MAJOR invasion of privacy issue here. And Virgins defense will probably be ; 'Once it's on the Internet. it's public domain." Not so. The counselor should also sue. The issue being, If you are generating income from somethindf I created, I'm entitled to royalties.
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charles almon said 2:00AM on 9-24-2007
Dump your pen fLiend would have been racist.
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Kukita said 9:21AM on 9-24-2007
If that was my teenage girl you bet I'd go after Virgin Mobile. What does it take for a large corporation to take their own photo with their own employee with their own equipment? Come on. I don't believe they had the audacity.
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Fred said 9:15PM on 9-24-2007
If it were a famous person that ad would have never happened.
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John said 11:05AM on 9-25-2007
I seriously doubt that Sir Richard Branson would authorize something like this. If he isn't already informed, he will find out soon, and I am quite sure that something serious will be done.
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Epter said 1:56AM on 9-26-2007
"I am a photographer and let me just say right now that I am soooo frusterated and peeved by dishonest jerks who steal other people's artwork (yes, photography is something you create, it IS an art)"
Dear Lara,
As a photographer I could not agree more. However, in this case the photo was licensed under CC license that allowed even commercial use. I have shared a few of my photos with this kind of licenses as well.
I guess someone just didn't bother to read the oh-so-annoying small print when uploading the pictures in internet. Let this be a lesson and forget suing everyone. Especially suing CC sound incredibly dumb, but hey, it's USA and I guess they smell money already...
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Krysia said 6:38PM on 10-14-2007
That poor girl. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time this has happened (and probably not the last). I think that photo-hosting sites need to take greater measures to ensure that their users' privacy is protected, especially if they are underaged.
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