When someone mentions the takedown of an organized crime ring, the first thing to come to mind is probably something along the lines of The Sopranos. But in New York today, the Attorney General’s office announced the indictment of 12 organized crime members accused of stealing over $12 million in high-end electronics and ink cartridges from national retailers in 28 states. [More]
theft
12 Indicted In Massive Organized Retail Theft Ring That Spanned 28 States, 20 Years
By 3.15.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Airport Worker Accused Of Stealing Guns From Travelers, Trading Them For Pot
By 3.2.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Whenever you check your bag before a flight, you’re putting a high degree of trust in airport staff that they won’t help themselves to the things inside. Yet another baggage handler has been accused of violating that trust, allegedly stealing guns out of travelers’ bags to trade for drugs. [More]
Police: Florida Man Interprets “Test Drive” As “Free $150K Maserati”
By 2.24.17
If you sell cars, you’ve probably had your share of jokes from “hilarious” customers who crack wise about making off with the car they are test-driving, but most car-shoppers are indeed only joking about committing grand theft auto. Then there’s the Florida man accused of using a test drive to help himself to a $150,000 Maserati. [More]
Two Women Charged With Filing More Than 850 Fraudulent Tax Returns Worth $2.78M
By 2.10.17
Every year you hear about identity thieves filing tax returns in other peoples’ names in order to snatch their refunds, but you may not realize what a big business this is for some crooks. Case in point: A pair of Illinois women who have pleaded guilty to filing more than 850 bogus returns worth nearly $2.8 million in refunds. [More]
‘Handy’ Cleaning App Linked To More Than 50 Thefts In NYC
By 2.6.17
It might be convenient to summon a cleaning service with the tap of your smartphone, but police in New York City are warning that convenience could lead to theft after dozens of customers using the house-cleaning app Handy reported being burgled. [More]
Friendly Reminder: The FBI Will Never Show Up Unannounced And Demand Money
By 2.3.17
If someone comes knocking on your door, claiming to be an FBI agent and demanding money, call the actual police — because you’re being conned by someone impersonating a federal agent. Just ask the operators of a money wiring service in Seattle, who were robbed of $130,000. [More]
Bank Employee Stole $1.25M From Bank… Very, Very Slowly
By 2.1.17
When you think of a bank robbery, you probably imagine some heavily armed crew trying to run off with as much money as possible in a very short window of time. But one Texas bank employee almost managed to get away with stealing more than $1 million, by chiseling away at her employer over the course of a decade. [More]
Man Accused In French Art Heist Claims He Threw Away $100M Worth Of Stolen Art
By 1.31.17
When you’re about to get caught with something you shouldn’t have, trying to get rid of that evidence is only natural. But while flushing that joint down the toilet before your mom catches you in the act makes sense, destroying millions of dollars worth of precious art seems like a pretty extreme reaction. [More]
Even Police Can Fall Victim To Card Skimming Devices
By 1.26.17
You might think that you’re too savvy to be tricked into slipping your credit card into a skimming device that steals your account info, but you’re probably not. Just ask the Indiana State Police, whose troopers were fooled by one skimmer, and who are now using the incident as a teachable moment for everyone. [More]
Man Burglarizes FedEx Truck In Chicago, Ditches Getaway Car With Baby Inside
By 1.19.17
The string of robberies and burglaries of delivery vehicles in Chicago continues this week, with the latest theft happening to a FedEx truck. Police say that the suspect broke into the truck, took packages, and then abandoned his own vehicle with a 1-year-old child inside when the cops were after him. [More]
Razer CEO: Two Prototype Devices Stolen From Company’s CES Booth
By 1.9.17
If you happened to walk away from CES in Las Vegas with a few bits of Razer tech that don’t belong to you, the CEO of the company would like to have a word about two prototype devices that have gone missing. [More]
Thieves Swipe Millions Of Dollars’ Worth Of Fur Coats From NYC Store
By 12.27.16
Three thieves who apparently have an eye for the pricey things in life chucked a rock or some other heavy object through the glass door of a Manhattan store early on Christmas Eve morning, police said, swiping millions of dollars’ worth of sable fur coats. [More]
Ordering Takeout Doesn’t Mean The Driver Gets To Take Your Packages
By 12.22.16
Getting packages stolen from your front doorstep is unpleasant, no matter who you are or what time of year it is, and knowing that you or a neighbor actually let the thief inside must be even worse. We buzz delivery people who are strangers in and give them get a kind of implicit trust, and one delivery driver in Chicago is accused of violating that trust by grabbing packages on his way out the door. [More]
Thieves Cut Hole In Target Roof, Go On Electronics Theft Spree
By 12.21.16 — Updated: 12.22.16
Thieves dead-set on getting their hands on goods that aren’t theirs — which is what makes them thieves in the first place — have been known to employ some extreme methods to pull off heists, like the two alleged ne’er-do-wells in the Atlanta area who recently created an unauthorized skylight in a local Target store. [More]
Store Says FedEx Allowed Homeless Man To Sign For Delivery He Then Stole
By 12.14.16
It’s always upsetting when someone steals your packages after they’ve been delivered, but it’s even more of a bummer when the company doing the deliveries apparently puts that package into the hands of the thief. A California shop is pretty steamed at FedEx, claiming the carrier allowed a homeless man to sign for its packages, which have now gone missing. [More]
Thief With Impeccable Timing Grabs Bucket Of Gold Flakes Worth $1.6M From Armored Truck
By 11.30.16
He only had about 20 seconds of distraction, but that’s all it took for one thief to walk off with about $1.6 million worth of gold flakes on a busy New York City street. [More]
Guy Steals Credit Card, Uses It To Buy Home Security Camera To Ward Off Thieves
By 11.16.16
Police in Colorado say they’re on the lookout for a man accused of using a stolen credit card to purchase a home security system, which, is of course useful when trying to keep people from stealing your stuff. [More]
Watch Out For Card Skimmers On Gas Pumps In Arizona (And Everywhere Else, Too)
By 9.29.16
Going to an actual attendant and paying cash for gas is something fewer and fewer of us do every year. But for all the problems of cash, it might be less risky than sticking your credit card in any old gas pump, where a skimmer can grab and steal your data with very little effort. And those skimmers are everywhere. Case in point? Arizona. [More]
