Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he -- we feel certain -- felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren't enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.
Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
In October, a bank robber -- wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles -- eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.
Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
Late in 2007, a Wellington, New Zealand man received a racy text message from two anonymous "ladies," giving him only an address and a request that he show up naked. Well, he indeed showed up naked... at the home of one appalled, unsuspecting New Zealander. Both the nude Romeo and the sadistic texter were arrested, though neither were prosecuted.
Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home -- on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse -- he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.
17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual 'Furniture'
When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site 'Habbo' in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime -- whether actual or virtual -- does not pay.
Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend
Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones' fertile frontier. The result? "Vishing." Get it? Voice mail phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn't sound like a James Bond villain saying, "Wishing."
Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into -- that's right, into -- a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they -- apparently uninterested in the cash register -- stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We've all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation's thieves, too?
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Back in January, Steve Jobs took a leave of absence for vague health reasons that he said had something to do with a "hormone imbalance." After six months of his being M.I.A., we heard rumblings earlier this month that the leader of the Cult of Mac was preparing to make his grand return. Well, it's official, says MacRumors; Jobs is back on -- well -- the job. And we've even gotten some ...
When it comes to stupid criminals, we've seen it all here at Switched. These would-be masterminds have been foiled by text messages, forgotten cell phones, and Google's Street View. While he hasn't been caught yet, another criminal has been bested by technology -- security cameras and a locked door. According to WPXI.com, a man attempted to rob a Pittsburgh-area GameStop Tuesday by cutting a ...
Sorry, iPhone users, but the 'King of All Media' won't be available on Sirius XM's new iPhone app, released last week. You'll have to get your fill of fart jokes and conversations with naked women somewhere else (may we suggest the Playboy channel for the latter). According to Daily Finance, the absence of Howard Stern's show is due to, in his words, a "contract rights issue." Monday, fans ...
Rapidshare Loses File Sharing Suit, Fined $34 Million First it was Pirate Bay, now it's Rapidshare. Mashable is reporting that a German court has ordered the file-hosting site to pay $34 million to German performance rights group Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (GEMA). Like the Pirate Bay case, the judgment is dubious since ...
Let's hope that the Simon & Schuster or marketing firm ipsh! employee who, six years ago, decided to send out thousands of unsolicited text messages reading, "the next call you take may be your last," has lost their job. If they haven't yet, then they probably will soon (assuming Simon & Schuster is forced to cough up the roughly $90 million in fines and payouts associated with the ...
