Items tagged with crime
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged four individuals for selling a startup to a San Diego company for $150 million. The four are facing charges of fraud and money laundering, but this is not an average case of duping the buyer.
While the DOJ release does not name the victim company, all signs point to...
Read more...
You might think that a criminal planning a bank robbery would at least do a little research beforehand; rule numero uno is that you never rent the getaway vehicle in your own name. An alleged bank robber named Luca Mangiarano clearly didn't do his research. Police allege that 19-year-old Mangiarano robbed a BBVA...
Read more...
An iPad prototype was among the loot taken in a house break-in robbery that took place in Cupertino earlier this month, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. The victim of the crime, a 20-year-old man, was also taken from the house, though he was fortunately released by the perpetrators less than a mile from the event scene.
Along
Read more...
It should come as a surprise to no one that video games often get the blame when certain crimes are committed - much more so than movies or TV shows ever do. A child beat up another child? Video games. A man go on a massacre in a shopping center? Of course, video games. While most logically thinking people are likely...
Read more...
The Internet is an amazing place. But, increasingly, it's a place filled with peril and pitfalls, particularly if you're hosting something of value. International cybercrime has found itself in the spotlight of late, and now Microsoft is making a concerted effort to help curb it. Microsoft has just announced that it is working lockstep with...
Read more...
It's the second such "pocket dialing leads to arrest" story in less than a month, and you have to admit, it makes one wonder a) what kind of cell phones these criminals are using, and b) why they don't use a belt holster. Authorities say a Georgia man "pocket-dialed" 911. The dispatcher on the other end of the line overheard people discussing...
Read more...
It is cool enough that the authorities can match DNA or fingerprints in national databases, but here is something just as cool. Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a set of algorithms and software that can automatically match police sketches to mug shots in law enforcement databases. MSU doctoral student Brendan Klare,...
Read more...
Gross. Just gross. And depressing. Those feelings aren't typically associated with new tablet PCs, and definitely not with new Apple products. But each time a new, hot product hits the market, some level of crime usually surrounds it. A few years back, someone actually implemented a drive-by shooting in order to...
Read more...
Google Earth has been a huge addition to the navigation and technological world, but we haven't really seen it used for anything other than TED demonstrations and at-home tinkering. But now, the cops are onto the software, and they're using it to track down the bad boys we hear about so often.According to a new report from Florida, the virtual...
Read more...
Identity theft has been in the news for some time now. It’s certainly not something any of us want to deal with, but it seems more and more people are becoming victims. In 2008, the Federal Trade Commission reported a surge in the number of cases. In fact, 26% of all complaints received by the FTC involved identity theft. This category involved...
Read more...
In an effort to catch criminals and kidnappers, Mexico plans to start a national register of all mobile phone users. Under a new law published today, mobile phone companies will have a year to build up a database of their customers, complete with fingerprints. The law is due to be in force in April. Sadly, hundreds of people are kidnapped...
Read more...
What do providing secret service protection for former vice presidents and going after cyber criminals have in common? (And no, Al Gore did not have his identity stolen--at least not as far as we know). They are both part of the same bill that was just passed by the Senate. Current legislation lacks the necessary breadth to go after and punish...
Read more...
It was only a month ago that we reported how various police departments are setting up systems for receiving anonymous tips via text messaging to help solve crimes. Now the New York City Police Department's (NYPD) Commissioner, Ray Kelly, is embracing another social media technology to help police solve crimes: asking people upload "video...
Read more...
While it appears there certainly is an ad for this particular, er, subject, the question of how legitimate it is remains.In one of the more unbelievable media twists to come in the aftermath of last week’s Byron Review, a national newspaper is offering readers 'hundreds of pounds' to confess that games pushed them into a life of crime.An advert...
Read more...
Security firm Finjan has uncovered a criminal online supermarket of usable FTP security credentials for some of the largest and most prominent companies in the world. Oh yes -- and some government agencies. The crime ring that holds the information is selling the information to DIY malware entrepreneurs who can upload all sorts of exploits...
Read more...
Considering solar panels? How is your relationship with your neighbors? You might want to look around you and see if any neighbors have trees which may in the future shade your planned panel locations. Technically, if they eventually do, it will be a crime.Richard Treanor planted the trees in his yard 11 years ago, but neighbor...
Read more...
Who could have imagined? Free shipping is a crime? In France, it is.Amazon.com said on Monday that it would rather pay €1000 a day in fines than abolish its free shipping on books in France.Free shipping from Amazon.fr is apparently a violation of a 1981 law that was passed to ensure the French public receives equal access...
Read more...
Radiohead recently broke away from not only their record label, but from the entire recording label paradigm and decided to release their new album, In Rainbows, over the Internet for the very fair price of whatever you wanted to pay, including nothing at all.With a price like 'free', you'd figure that piracy would be virtually eliminated. ...
Read more...
No, not those kind of games, we're talking about online gambling here. A recent bill that aims to ban online gambling may sound like a good idea to some, but John J. Farmer, New Jersey's attorney general, says the ban has the potential to drive folks to unregulated web sites for their gambling needs. Farmer not only feels that the...
Read more...
