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)
MadMike said 3:02PM on 8-11-2008
My Grandfather is 82 years old. He not only owns 2 computers (one laptop and one desktop). He upgrades PC's every year. He also has a cellphone a digital camera/camcorder and a Navigation system in his car.
Of course he used to teach Fortran at a college and worked at Bell Labs when they were developing Unix.
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Paula Redslob said 3:37PM on 8-11-2008
I am a 73 year old widow and I have a Desktop computer, and my own website which I built myself, and keep up to date myself. I also have a laptop computer. I also have a cellphone which I use exclusively (no land line at all).
Who did they ask ...... certainly not me!!!!
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Paula Redslob said 3:39PM on 8-11-2008
I am a 73 year old widow and I have a Desktop computer, and my own
website which I built myself, and keep up to date myself. I also
have a laptop computer. I also have a cellphone which I use
exclusively (no land line at all).
Who did they ask ...... certainly not me!!!!
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hall monitor said 6:42PM on 8-11-2008
Good! This will keep them out of trouble in Texas. Some schools are banning cell phones within a several mile radius of them, with up to a $500 fine! I found the story on http://detentionslip.org.
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geomcd said 8:33PM on 8-11-2008
I'm 74 1/2. I had my first computer in 1982 and have had a cell phone for 12 years. Most of my friends my age also have these. I agree with the person who wonders what people are asked about these. Maybe they go to nursing homes????????????
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Berkeley Babe said 1:49AM on 8-12-2008
I am 62 and I have 2 computers, two cell phones, one for business use and one for personal use, a digital camera, 4 landline phones, 3 TVS one in the rec room, one in my home office, one in my bedroom, high speed internet.
I don't know who they interviewed either.
One thing I do wish, is that now that I am using all this, I don't take enough time to ACTUALLY talk to people anymore.
I am always answering emails, IMS, text messages, doing all this with CNN on in the background or CSpan.
Miss TALKING to people.
The other point is maybe many senior citizens cannot afford all this. Many are on a fixed income, and a computer takes some type of connection fee monthly, and so does a cell phone.
Don't underestimate how much of a fixed income, pension, people live on, and costs for everything have jumped.
A lot of us like our independence, but I do find that I have gained weight, now that I am on the computer so much for work and personal.
Who does these studies anyway. They must be including much older people who are not of the same generation as baby boomers.
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maureen hallett said 6:25AM on 8-12-2008
my mom is 85 she has both a cell phone and a computer but rarely uses either one of them....first of all my family keeps buying her used computers that break down on her so that doesn;t help and second of all I think she could use one of those cell phones called the "
jitterbug" then she might use it more since they are simpler,but the research is plain and simple whether you are a senior and use these tools or not matters not...the majority still are not
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Robert Alexander said 7:05AM on 8-12-2008
If you have visited a nursing home recently, you know why one group of seniors do not have cell phones and computers. Assisted living facilities are only slightly better served. What percentage of seniors are accounted for in this way? Then there are those resistant to change of any kind. That group just wants to go back to the good old days. They are content to live the same way they always did without realizing just how impossible that is today. I am a senior citizen and have two computers. Since 1980 I have been active in the PC world and before that I prepared numbers for the Univac back in 1957. Some seniors would be lost without their computers.
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