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Thief Busted Thanks to Facebook Message Blast

by Chad Mumm on March 30, 2009 at 11:01 AM


Al Chapman never saw a need for Facebook, until it helped to nab the thief who had robbed him. Now Chapman, owner of a moving company in Brunswick, Georgia, regularly checks the site from his cell phone. Who could blame him for the change of heart? When Chapman came home last week to find two of his work trucks looted, he contacted police while his wife hit Facebook. She sent a message out to friends in the neighborhood, explaining the robbery and asking if anyone had seen anything. The message went viral and soon a witness emerged; a neighbor had seen the theft and claimed to know where the perpetrator lived. Police tracked down the suspect and recovered the loot. You can see more details in the CNN video above.

Although this isn't the first time we've seen social networking used to track down stolen items, this story does showcase Facebook's uncanny ability to quickly disseminate information to a specific audience. It's nice to see a clear-cut example of Web 2.0 making people's lives a little better. [From: CNN]

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Tags: crime, crime and punishment, CrimeAndPunishment, criminal, facebook, social networking, SocialNetworking

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