The Stupid Things That Thieves Do -- Other Than Steal

We've all seen the video programs that show thieves doing stupid things and being caught on surveillance cameras. Things like smacking an unbreakable window with a crowbar and then getting whacked in the face, or accidentally setting themselves on fire while trying to burn down a building. Seeing stuff like that always make me feel better. I tend to feel that justice is being served, somewhat. The criminals themselves are doing what we so often want to do, but don't have the opportunity to: beat the tar out of themselves!

Unfortunately, not every stupid thing criminals do are caught on tape, and I'm sure that must include thousands of funny things every day. For example, we know that you can't talk your way out of prison. But who knew you could actually talk your way into prison?

An article I came across today at Philly.com stated that in Chester, Delaware, a woman called police to claim that a large, high-dollar barbecue grill and other items were stolen from her backyard. As part of the investigation, the police determined that the items in question were purchased with a credit card reportedly stolen from a woman in Kentucky. This led to her quick arrest and further investigation, whereupon her two accomplices were also arrested. The leader of this band of thieves had his home raided and he was found hiding, naked, in his attic. Now I hope they got that on film!

It seems pretty funny, and ironic of course, that a thief felt she had been wronged and wanted to report it, when she herself had obtained the items that were stolen by using a stolen credit card. As the District Attorney in the article mentions, "If you steal something, don't report that somebody else stole it from you." Well put Mr. Green. Just another example of how stupid some criminals really are.

Now that the shoe is on the other foot, well except for the guy they found naked, I hope that these bozos learn their lessons. However, as is often the case, these sort of people tend to suffer from short-term memory loss. I tend to believe that they'll be back at it again as soon as they're released from prison. Luckily, the newer identity theft laws now carry a minimum two year sentence, with the possibility of five years. Don't worry though. I'm sure we'll have the chance to laugh at another stupid criminal before too long.

Have an example of a stupid criminal? Comment and let me know.

To Protect and Serve. Not!

If you're like me, you really hate reading articles where someone in a trusted position, such as a police officer or a politician, abuses their position, their authority, or betrays their constituents' trust by putting others in compromising, legal, and often financial jeopardy. Unfortunately, that's just what I came across this morning.

A police sergeant for the University of Central Missouri and his wife have been arrested, accused of identity theft. The couple, James and Amanda Drake, allegedly obtained the stolen names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of 7,000 students and alumni at the university that he was employed to protect and serve. What is not apparent is how they retrieved this information since according to the article I read, there have been no signs of a data breach. The information they had was on printouts that are used for legitimate office reasons. Sounds to me like there may have been someone else on the inside who let a document slip into the wrong hands. I hope they nail that person or group of people as well.

Luckily, so far it appears that there have only been a dozen victims in this crime. Let's hope that number doesn't grow. The university is offering ID theft protection for those affected. I hope they have a background screening process in place as well. If they didn't already have one, it would behoove them to get one now. If they did have one, it might be worth re-evaluating the process and see where the breakdown occurred.

Meanwhile, James Drake has been charged with fraud, use of a credit device and filing a false police report. Amanda Drake has been charged with forgery only. Neither has been charged with stealing the computer printouts that contained the names they both used to commit fraud. I hope they tack that on later as they clearly should not have been in possession of said documents.

I've always thought it's good to know your job from all angles, including inside out, and this is no exception. Let's see how this campus cop and his wife like the view from the other side of the cell.

Employee ID Theft at AT&T, an Inside Job

If you've ever thought that your personal information was safe at work, this might make you change your mind.

This week a federal grand jury has indicted a Chicago area temporary employee for identity theft of over 2,100 employees. The employee, who was working for AT&T, had two accomplices. The trio of women apparently used the stolen information to fill out "payday" loan applications, then used random photos of individuals and faxed in the account information. After that, they would wire the money into their accounts. Before being apprehended, the trio stole more than $70,000.

It's pretty despicable when an employee steals trusted customer data. But stealing employee data is even worse, because if you can't trust your own employees or co-workers, who can you trust? They're supposed to be on your side.

On the brighter side of things, at least the number of affected people is lower than your typical data breach. If they had stolen customer data, the number of people affected could have easily been in the millions and that would have been a tremendous blow to AT&T.

These criminals will face 20 years in prison and $250,000 each for the fraud charges and 2 years for each count of identity theft, to be served consecutively, after the other 20 years for the fraud. These girls aren't going anywhere, anytime soon. Score one for the Feds.

Read the article from the SC Magazine here.