Tag: CRIMINAL

For some time, businesses have used digital video surveillance for security and other purposes. But there's been a problem with this system; the footage is often cumbersome to search. Now, a company has developed a search engine for archived digital video surveillance footage, making it much easier to peruse. According to Scientific American, the tool, which was developed by 3VR Security, Inc., ...

It's a well established law of nature that thugs, like everybody else, need love. But do they necessarily need a Wii, too? The U.K. government seems to think so. The Sun reports that one high-security institution, home to serial killers, rapists, and murderers (oh my!), recently received £5,000 worth of taxpayer money (about $8,000) to purchase Wii consoles for their residents. Broadmoor ...

We'll never figure out why thieves think eBay is a good place to sell stolen goods. On the online auction site, these dumb criminals not only have to watch out for the cops, but also for the angry victims trolling the Web for their stuff. According to the Telegraph, a British man whose house was ransacked and relieved of goods valued at $13,000, tracked down the perpetrator when he noticed ...

It's a good thing we don't get tired of hearing about dumb criminals, because the stories keep on coming. In the latest, a 22-year-old Bronx man was completely owned by an Xbox 360 (with a little help from its former owner, too). According to the New York Post, an unnamed kid whose console had been recently stolen noticed his Xbox Live ID become active while he was playing an online game on ...

After running an elaborate scam that netted about $9 million, eight men were indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday for their alleged roles in a massive ATM hacking scheme. While similar heists have been pulled before, this one is impressive not only because of the large chunk of cash, but because of the sheer scope of the crime, as well. According to Threat Post, hackers discovered a way to ...

In what he says is an effort to combat petty crime, a British businessman is asking wannabe spies to take part in a revolutionary Internet game. Next month, Tony Morgan will launch the crime-fighting service Internet Eyes, which will allow regular citizens to watch for criminal activity through closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) installed in businesses around town. According to The Daily ...

A few days ago, we reported the story of a man who used Apple's MobileMe program, which allows users to sync several computers, to spy on a person using his stolen Macbook. Having stumbled upon that trespasser's online job application, the amateur sleuth, identified only as 'Jim,' was able to glean an IP address and other information, all of which he then sent to police. End of story, right? Not ...

When Colorado resident Dustin Simantob and his dad returned to their car after a three-day river trip, they found the windows busted out and their belongings, including two iPhones, stolen. While they reported the crime to the Mesa County Sheriff's Department, the 15-year-old boy decided to do some detective work of his own. In an e-mailed account of his story, Simantob told Mashable that a new ...

When it comes to stupid criminals, we've seen it all here at Switched. These would-be masterminds have been foiled by text messages, forgotten cell phones, and Google's Street View. While he hasn't been caught yet, another criminal has been bested by technology -- security cameras and a locked door. According to WPXI.com, a man attempted to rob a Pittsburgh-area GameStop Tuesday by cutting a ...

Some folks just can't do without their cell phones. You know them -- the ones whose phones are practically surgically attached to their bodies. In the case of Anthony Ramirez, maybe he should have left well enough alone. On May 22nd, Ramirez, 23, left his phone while fleeing the scene of an attempted home burglary in Pinole, California. Instead of cutting his losses, Ramirez called the phone, ...

You've heard of serial killers, but what about cereal thieves? That was the very sort of criminal recently terrorizing employees of a company called The Marketing Store in Sydney, Australia, according to the Telegraph. The company's staff would return to work in the morning to find their breakfast goodies eaten, the staff shower used, and some other signs of trespass. To catch the culprit, they ...

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 ...

Not that we'd have any expert knowledge in the wide world of theft, but this just doesn't seem like the best way to go about snagging a new HDTV. At any rate, an undisclosed amount of thieves reportedly drove a truck (or large SUV... it was dark outside, okay?) into the front door of Los Tres Amigos restaurant in a small Pennsylvania town, broke the glass, ganked a 47-inch Insignia HDTV and "fled ...

Though not quite as bad as toting the GPS module around with you, one particular marijuana farmer had to be mighty embarrassed / wondering what he ever did to deserve such bad luck when a GPS-equipped turtle meandered into his crop. As the story goes, a close friend of the police -- a box turtle with no fear of Big Brother -- just happened upon a pot stash on US park property. Clearly, Mr. Isiah ...

How's this for a 21st century update of an adage? "The cell phone is mightier than the Taser." No? Kinda lame? Yeah, you're probably right. But lame or not it's also apparently true. A grandmother in Speake, Alabama chased off an intruder Saturday night with nothing more than a cell phone. According to police reports, the man attempted to use a Taser on the nice old lady, and she even believes ...