Puppies are small, cuddly, and pricey, so why not stuff some down your pants and shoplift them? That was the logic of a man in Florida, who stuffed a dachsund puppy and a pug puppy down his pants on two separate trips to an Orlando pet store. [More]
theft
Clever Fox Steals Smartphone, Sends Mysterious Text Messages
By 7.30.13
If you download an animal-sounds smartphone app to attract a fox, there is a chance that the fox might run off with your phone. When a wild animal runs off with your phone, your friends might receive strange texts that say things like “I FRY o a0ab 34348tu åaugjoi zølbmosdji jsøg ijio sjiw.” We’re not sure what the consumer lesson here should be other than “protect your phone from wild animals.”[LiveLeak] [More]
Facebook Fans Identify And Shame Thief Of Customer Loyalty Stamp
By 7.25.13
It’s the definition of small-time crime: a thief who was apparently in a hurry to get some free frosty snacks allegedly walked off with the frequent-customer stamp at a California shaved ice stand. He also grabbed some cash from the tip jar while he was at it. The owners put their faith in the power of public shaming and posted the surveillance video on their Facebook page. [More]
Man Uses Giant Pet Food Bags To Steal Laptops From Walmart
May 8, 2013
If you put a laptop computer in your Walmart cart, then put a giant bag of cat food on top of it, it’s possible that no one will notice the computer. However, if you walk out of the store without paying for either item, you’d think someone might notice. Police say that one Florida man walked out with four laptops and a lot of cat food on four separate trips before he was caught. [WTSP] [More]
Hobby Lobby May Have Overreacted To Theft Of $5 Worth Of Iron-On Letters
By 5.3.13
A Texas woman might be a little absentminded or beginning to suffer from dementia, but says that she didn’t mean to walk out of a craft store with a handful of embroidered iron-on letters. Unfortunately, she was shopping at Hobby Lobby, a chain whose management takes loss prevention almost as seriously as their Christian faith. The store wants the customer and her daughter to pay more than $1,000 in fines and civil penalties for the theft. [More]
Comfort Food Crime Wave Continues: Man Steals Truckload Of Soup
By 4.10.13 — Updated: 2.4.14
First, the comfort food crime cartels came for the Global Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve, stealing more than 10,000 barrels and selling it on the amber market. Next was the Nutella theft: someone lifted more than $20,000 worth of choco-hazelnut spread from a truck in Germany. This week, we learned about a crime against one of the most comforting comfort foods, soup. Over the weekend, two men in Florida drove off with a tractor-trailer that contained $75,000 worth. [More]
Grocery Store Workers Replace Child’s iPad After It’s Stolen Inside Store
By 4.9.13
While his mother grocery shopped, someone stole an iPad out of the hands of a 6-year-old boy with Down syndrome. The store’s security cameras didn’t capture anything, and the only information the family had was the testimony of his twelve-year-old sister, who also has Down syndrome: “The blonde lady took it.” The story could have ended there, and made everyone sad. Mean person steals expensive but important educational tool from special needs child. Only that wasn’t the end of the story. [More]
Thief Dressed As Deliveryman Walks Out Of Florist With 21 Bouquets On Valentine’s Day
By 2.21.13
Valentine’s Day is a chaotic time for florists, with temporary help mixing with regular staff to get everything delivered on time and to the right recipient. (Well, mostly.) In Chicago, one busy florist claims that a man took advantage of the floral fracas to walk off with 21 flower arrangements worth a total of $2,000. [More]
TSA Screener Fired For Allegedly Swiping $36 From Traveler’s Checked Luggage
By 1.7.13
We’ve seen so many stories of Transportation Security Administration agents pilfering, stealing, looting and otherwise stealing from travelers that this entire post could be a series of links. And hey, here’s another one for the pile, because apparently the TSA just can’t resist: An agent in North Carolina is facing accusations that he stole not electronics, not bags stuffed with cash, but just $36 from checked luggage. [More]
Pennsylvania Man Headed To Trial Might Regret Swiping $1.50 From Church Collection Jar
By 11.29.12
There’s apparently no crime too small for a court of law, as a 31-year-old Pennsylvania man is finding out. He allegedly swiped a whopping $1.50 from a a church collection jar and now could be headed to trial. His arrest and subsequent charges of felony counts of burglary and criminal trespass were a result of the church installing security cameras to catch thieves. [More]
Thieves Targeting Third Seat In SUVs Because They’re Hot On The Black Market
By 10.22.12
What’s easier than stealing an entire, hulking mass of metal, plastic and upholstery? Just stealing the third row of seats in an SUV, instead of the whole thing, it seems. Third row seats are the new hot item on the black market, snagging up to $1,000 for thieves in profit. This wave of “third seat theft” as the cops call it is particularly prevalent in Texas and California. [More]
Apparently Stealing Smartphones Is A Thing We Need To Worry About Again
By 10.22.12
Although you can never be too careful, there was a time where it felt like it was okay to be a bit relaxed about someone stealing your phone. After all, basically anyone has access to some kind of relatively smart phone if they really want one, even if it’s not the one with the latest bells and whistles. But in some U.S. cities, smartphone robberies are on the rise again. [More]
Man Tracks Down His Stolen Laptop & Starts Fund To Help Teen Who Ended Up With It
By 8.29.12
Having your stuff stolen really sucks. Something is yours, you own it and then poof — it’s gone. One Boston graphic designer was so sick of his computers being stolen, he installed security software on his Macbook Pro just in case and ended up finding out where his laptop had wandered off to. But instead of punishing the new owner of this third stolen piece of electronics, he decided to do something positive. [More]
Woman Tracks Down Her Stolen Wallet On A Hunch, Catches Thief Using Her Debit Card
By 8.29.12
We’re so used to witnessing the theft of our money by tracking bank statements online or fielding phone calls from our credit card issuers over potentially bogus charges, but as it turns out, there are still real-life vigilantes taking their property loss into their own hands in real time. A Brooklyn woman found her wallet had gone missing while shopping in Manhattan and soon embarked on a personal reconnaissance mission to get it back. [More]
Seeing Your Son Succeed In Life Shouldn't Include Helping Him Shoplift $5 Million In Items
By 8.15.12
Kids aren’t the only one coveting expensive toys — as we’ve seen all too often recently, adults are cashing in by stealing pricey items like Lego sets and other items and then selling them for a profit on eBay. But one man who had an eye for toys as well also stole a whole lot of other stuff too from retailers across the country. His total haul? Around $4 to $5 million, say cops, and his mom helped him out. [More]
A Mobile Phone Warranty Isn’t The Same Thing As Insurance
By 7.26.12
S. went to buy an iPhone from Best Buy, and let the salesperson talk her into Best Buy’s warranty rather than AppleCare. That more expensive warranty covers accidental damage, but it’s not an insurance plan, which would cover lost or stolen phones. The salesman didn’t make this clear to S. And that’s really too bad, because as she left the store with her new phone, she was robbed. The warranty, of course, didn’t cover the theft. [More]
Would-Be Soda Thief Gets Arm Stuck In Machine, Freed By Firefighters
By 6.26.12
Maybe the high school student in California thought it was only an urban legend that trying to steal from a vending machine by reaching up through the slot can trap your arm inside the machine. Maybe he was just really thirsty. Either way, the would-be thief became trapped in a trolley station in the wee hours of the morning, requiring a team of paramedics, firefighters, police, and trolley security staff to open up the vending machine with power tools in order to free him. [More]
Thieves Suck Dyson Vacuums Off Store Shelves, Onto Black Market
By 6.21.12
Despite the much-publicized Tide thefts earlier this year, the idea of massive theft rings targeting household cleaning supplies seems kind of weird. It shouldn’t. It makes sense that Dyson vacuum cleaners are an ideal target for thieves: they’re pricey, and their great brand recognition gives them an impressive black-market resale value. That’s why dirtbags are stealing Dysons by the warehouseful nationwide. [More]
