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Posts Tagged “

Crime

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cellphones

How to Cover Your Text Message Tracks

It's Friday, so the mass of stupid and regrettable (and maybe criminal) text messages you wished you never sent is about explode exponentially, as it does every weekend. Google, as you know, keeps your embarrassing search history for "AZN Squirrels Pooping on Bananas" or "Iron Man upskirt" for 18 months. But how long do Verizon and AT&T hang on to your shameful SMSes? Thankfully, not long at all. Sprint hangs on to your textual diarrhea the longest, for about two weeks, while AT&T dumps them after 48 hours, according to Slate's Explainer. We hit up Verizon, who said a "couple days, tops." There are a couple catches, though. More »

7:30 PM on Fri May 2 2008
By matt buchanan
16,768 views, 28 comments

Latest by The Lab: Just saying, it is probably way easier for NSA spying software to scan text messages for suspicious content than phone calls. Oh you think they aren't scanning? Well, they are. more »

honda crime alerting gps

Honda GPS Warns Drivers of High Crime Zones

Honda's new GPS warns drivers when they're about to leave their car in places where it is likely to be stolen, broken into or otherwise vandalized. The new technology, available from today if you live in Japan, links to local police stations and provides crime ratings by location, and if area is particularly dangerous it issues an alert. No indication of when or if this'll come to the US. [Left Lane News via Inventor Spot ]

10:47 PM on Mon Apr 21 2008
By Chris Magor
2,933 views, 35 comments

crime

Motion-Sensing Camera Catches Netflix Thief Red-Handed, Shirtless

Brian Krische and his roommate had a lot of their Netflix discs go missing before they received them, and they grew suspicious. So, like any self-respecting and enterprising geeks, they set up a motion-sensing camera pointed at their mailbox. The results? One chubby, shirtless criminal caught red-handed. More »

11:25 AM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Adam Frucci
78,528 views, 108 comments

Latest by dasnake: either its me or he looks like the fattest freaking Napoleon Dynamite ever! that or one of my freinds! more »

crime

TechnoCrime: How Not to Steal an iPod to Look at Naked Girls

Everyone here at Giz has been a 14-year-old boy before (yes, EVERYONE), so we know how tempting it is to want to see your classmates naked. Well, stealing her iPod and then demanding that she film herself "performing a sex act" before you return it is probably the wrong way to go about it. Trust us. We tried this when we were kids, but it was a Neo Geo and camcorders were so big and heavy that she had to get her dad to hold it. The principle was the same! Don't do it! [Quad City Times via Macenstein via Crunchgear]

7:50 PM on Thu Mar 27 2008
By Jason Chen
26,973 views, 39 comments

Latest by Mammoth: Hehe I was 14 mere months ago. Now that I'm 15 I couldn't possibly think of such a foolish plot as this.. more »

crazy englishman

Thirty-Foot Trebuchet Fires Chicken Poop at Potential Thieves

A businessman in the UK has come up with a novel way to deal with potential thieves: firing chickenshit at them from a 30-foot catapult. Joe Watson-Webb, a retired showman, had the iron trebuchet left over from his days as a showman, and gets his avian ammo from the farm next door. Local cops have said that they will prosecute Watson-Webb if he uses the catapult to defend his property against arsonists and robbers—but what would they think about the other weapon he has up his sleeve? Watson-Webb is also the proud owner of a 20-foot-long cannon, out of which he used to fire his wife! More »

11:15 AM on Wed Mar 5 2008
By Addy Dugdale
10,521 views, 51 comments

Latest by Warghost: Pisses me off that he can't use the trebuchet to ward off arsonists. I can't believe the cops are so stupid that they would punish this man for defending himself. Ah well, do the right thing and come more »

robots

Homemade "BumBot" Wages War on Riff-Raff

Believe it or not, Rufus Terrill, owner of a downtown Atlanta bar named O'Terrills, has had it with the drug dealers, vandals, and other riff-raff that frequent the area around his business. So, he has done what any sane American man would do in this situation—build a robot out of a meat smoker to lay down the law. The "BumBot," as many of O'Terrills' patrons have dubbed it, is basically a meat smoker mounted onto a three-wheeled scooter. Armaments include a spotlight, loudspeaker, water cannon and an infrared camera. Plus, the whole thing is covered in rubber for protection. More »

5:00 PM on Mon Feb 25 2008
By Sean Fallon
11,311 views, 53 comments

Latest by Lorne: @Bizzaro: Legally it would actually be a battery, not an assault. I'd wondered about that too because you're correct that the hosing would technically be a battery. But I think the trespass aspect of it casts it in a different more »

dvd

DVD Takes Bullet for Fire Chief in Fast-Food Shoot-Out

A loose DVD in a pocket saved a South Carolina man from injury after he unwittingly got involved in a firearm fracas outside a fast-food joint. Fire chief Barry McRoy was leaving the Waffle House restaurant at the weekend in the town of Walterboro when he got involved in a gun battle between two men. More »

8:28 AM on Wed Feb 20 2008
By Addy Dugdale
8,741 views, 52 comments

false alarm

Drunk Aussie Threatens to Blow Up City With TV Remote

A 57-year-old man was sentenced to a year's probation for threatening to blow up Brisbane, Australia with his TV remote. Geoffrey Fryatt's drunken stunt prompted Australia to declare a state of emergency in the city, send in paramilitary police to pelt Fryatt with rubber bullets and arrest him. Fryatt expressed concerns that probation would interfere with his trip overseas to do humanitarian aid work. Hmmm, a bit ironic? [Reuters]

7:30 PM on Thu Feb 7 2008
By Adrian Covert
3,152 views, 36 comments

breaking

Hello Kitty Found Dead, Charred in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, California (Agencies) — Hello Kitty, actress, astrophysicist and acclaimed author of the play I Can Has Pink Cheezburger, has been found dead in her Los Angeles apartment on Tuesday, probably because of an accident with a home appliance and drug overdose. LAPD, however, is not ruling out other possibilities: More »

4:00 PM on Tue Feb 5 2008
By Jesus Diaz
55,134 views, 57 comments

Latest by Collins1: Oh! It's a joke! I get jokes! more »

wireless

Bluetooth Headset Foils Crime, Makes Someone Else Look Like a D-Bag For a Change

We seldom find a use for wearing a Bluetooth headset on our ear when we're not making calls, but this Wendy's employee has found one of the only three valid exceptions. It all started when a potential robber went up and asked the two employees at local Wendy's to open up a safe when one of the employee's phones went off. More »

2:30 PM on Fri Dec 28 2007
By Jason Chen
17,934 views, 18 comments

crime

Canadian Gang Members Love Blackberries, Maple Syrup, Hockey

Blackberries aren't just the communications tool of choice for dudes that wear suits to work, but apparently are also the favorite device of Canadian gang-bangers. Yeah, I'm as surprised as you are that there are gangs in Canada, but doesn't it make sense that Canadian gangs would be tech-savvy and polite enough to communicate via email on their Blackberries? Apparently they like the secure email features as well as, one can only assume, the push email, full QWERTY keyboards, and sweet belt-clips. [Canada.com via The Raw Feed]

6:20 PM on Mon Oct 8 2007
By Adam Frucci
5,069 views, 25 comments

Latest by miss_ju: Don't knock Canadian tech, we gave the world the Blackberry! more »

crime

Crooks Caught Red-Handed Stealing $20K Worth of Gadgets, Laptops and More


Next time you decide to rip off a bunch of Macs, camcorders and laptops, you might want to take a good look around for the unblinking eye of a video camera, because you could end up pilloried in public the next day. Check out this brazen burglary in progress, and then step back and think a minute about the victim's reaction. Rakontur, the robbed production company, decided to exact revenge on the alleged culprits by splashing videos, pictures and personal information about the criminals all over the Internet. And now we are accomplices to that outburst. We feel so dirty. Maybe it would've been better to just let the police handle this. [Rakontur]

11:44 AM on Wed Sep 19 2007
By Charlie White
13,485 views, 19 comments

Latest by SomeoneUKno: OK... I have to do this since nobody else did... PWN3D! All better. more »

cybercops

NetEnforcers, Your Online Rent-a-Cops

Want to protect your copyrights online? NetEnforcers is offering itself for hire, acting as your personal attack dogs for anyone who wants to swipe your stuff online without your permission. Businesses such as Monster Cable appoint NetEnforcer as their personal bully, and then whenever someone uses that company's images or sells their products without permission, NetEnforcer goons go to the site of the violation and demand that it cease and desist. More »

12:45 PM on Wed Aug 8 2007
By Charlie White
1,846 views, 13 comments

wireless

California to Tag Gang Members with GPS

San Bernardino Country wants to start a new program that would tag gang members with GPS locators upon release from prison. They say that this would help tackle the on-going issue of gang violence, but it seems a little too Big Brother to me. I'm all about trying to prevent violence, but how about rehabilitation while they're in prison, rather than waiting until they are out so they can easily be busted again with GPS? It also reminds me of the fact that my mom wants to tag her prized rag-doll cat with a similar thing in case he runs away, except the cat is a lot more fluffy and cuddly than a gang-banger (maybe). –Travis Hudson More »

5:45 PM on Tue Apr 17 2007
By Travis Hudson
5,489 views, 47 comments

Latest by Elroc: Theres already an existing technology to stop gang members from re-offending. It relies on the simple insertion of a lead ball in the right ear*. It has been proven to permanently curb all disorderly behaviour in 100% of the cases more »

gadgets

Anti-Theft Coffee Cup Stops That Klepto Cube-Mate


Interoffice politics can get pretty heated at times, I should know. I once stabbed a man with a paperclip. For the ultra-paranoid, or office with a rabid kleptomaniac is this Anti-Theft Coffee Cup. It requires a key to be used. Plug the key into the hole and it can be filled. Leave the plug out and prepare to be humiliated after pouring scalding hot coffee all over yourself. –Travis Hudson More »

2:15 PM on Wed Mar 14 2007
By Travis Hudson
4,867 views, 18 comments

portable media

iPod Declared 'Criminal Tool' in Hacking Case

An Ohio high school student has been charged with possession of a criminal tool. Not too surprising, eh? The criminal tool is actually an iPod. The student is accused of hacking school computers and downloading sensitive school personnel and student files. Sure, charge him with unauthorized use of a computer, but possession of a criminal tool—give me a break. Pardon my liberal view of this situation, but please don't let this be the day when any kind of hard drive or flash-based piece of hardware is banned from schools because of the school's inability to manage a network or computer lab properly. –Travis Hudson More »

4:30 PM on Thu Feb 15 2007
By Travis Hudson
816 views, 23 comments

Latest by AlexEmerald: My school's computer system is so easy to get into it's fun doing it while the teacher is right there. I can get more information then some of my teacher's sometimes. Nothing against the tech guys there, they do more »

cellphones

Thief Returns Cellphone, Purse After Receiving Text Messages from Owner

Pan Aiying, a teacher from China, had her bag stolen recently. Inside the bag was approximately $630, a cellphone and other goods. Instead of doing the norm and contacting police, Aiying decided to start sending text messages to the thief.
I'm Pan Aiying, a teacher from Wutou Middle School. You must be going through a difficult time. If so, I will not blame you.
Keep the 4,900 yuan if you really need it, but please return the other things to me. You are still young. To err is human. Correcting your mistakes is more important than anything.
She gave up hope after all 21 texts, that had similar messages as above, went unanswered. This was until a package was discovered on her doorstep Sunday with an attached note saying: "Dear Pan: I'm Sorry. I made a mistake. Please forgive me. You are so tolerant even though I stole from you. I'll correct my ways and be an upright person." I guess it is good to see that not all criminals are blood-sucking soulless assholes. Or if they are, it just takes a bit of psychological work to crack them. –Travis Hudson More »

1:45 PM on Mon Jan 22 2007
By Travis Hudson
741 views, 23 comments

Latest by Jesse in Japan: 630 dollars? That's like five month's salary for a teacher in China. more »

home entertainment

PS3 Greymarket Watch: Muggers Get Caught

It's nice to see dudes get what's coming to them. The 21-year-old man who was shot by two gunmen while waiting in line at Wal-Mart for the PS3 is fine now, but the two idiots who shot him have been caught. Kotaku reports: More »

9:14 PM on Tue Nov 28 2006
By Jason Chen
159 views, 5 comments