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?
Everybody knows that cyber-bullying (when someone goes out of their way to be a jerk online, a.k.a. 'griefing') is terrifically irritating. It's behavior that many gamers, particularly those in the online virtual world 'Second Life,' have turned into something of a degenerate art form. But is it a threat to our health? Yes, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC has elevated the discussion of this issue from niche online nuisance to a decidedly mainstream issue.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JT Compton said 1:04PM on 8-27-2008
Anonymity has to be one of the biggest factors in any form of cyber bullying or flaming or hate speech. When insecure, hateful people are given the opportunity to act without the possibility of personal responsibility, they take it to extremes. It's a form of cowardice. They would never say to anyone face-to-face the things they write online, because they would be chastised and humiliated and scorned. But online, their personal demons are given free reign, to the annoyance of the rest of us. When our children are targeted, the effect is much worse, since most kids don't have the maturity to realize that cyber bullies are saying much more about their own character than the people they are bullying.
Reply
Jah said 1:21PM on 8-27-2008
Cyberbullying is not a health crisis unless the issue is that there are far too many sick minded people in society. But even that is due to the rampant acceptance of immorality which is not a health crisis but does create one with the increase in mental and physical illness and disease. Just as the childhood song goes "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me"; people need to realize that spoken or written words don't cause harm unless you let thm. So what if someone says something stupid on-line; unless an individual actually IS all of that stuff then there's nothing to worry about. And let me guess the only reason why this is such a "crisis" is because some weak-minded insecure white girl took her life because her parents let her do whatever the heck she wanted to - including chat openly online with someone she didn't know.
Reply
MadMike said 5:06PM on 8-27-2008
You want to see perfect examples of Cyber-bullying take a look at any Engadget story's comments.
Sure the quick wit retort I am guilty of - especially to the less mentally inclined. But It gets real nasty, real quick.
Reply