robbery
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French police charge seven in Netflix ‘Lupin’ set heist
French authorities have charged seven individuals allegedly involved in last month’s Lupin robbery.
Another Netflix production was robbed, this time on the set of 'Lupin'
Netflix has been the victim of two big on-set robberies in the space of two days.
17 people charged in a string of Apple store robberies
A number of individuals have been arrested in conjunction with a series of Apple store robberies that resulted in the theft of over $1 million worth of devices. The California Attorney General's office said in a statement on Thursday that seven were arrested earlier in the week, another suspect was in custody and nine others had been charged with the crime. Since then, at least two additional individuals have been arrested. In a string of robberies, groups rushed retail stores, grabbed products on display and left in just a few seconds.
Man goes to prison for attempting to hijack web domain at gunpoint
Internet domains are becoming increasingly desirable, especially as the web becomes crowded and it becomes harder to find memorable addresses. However, one man unfortunately took this to a violent extreme. Iowa resident Sherman Hopkins Jr. has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for attempting to steal control of doitforstate.com (which doesn't currently point anywhere) in an armed robbery.
Armed robbers steal $1.8 million worth of cryptocurrency
The Manhattan District Attorney has charged a man with robbery and kidnapping after he swiped a digital wallet containing a fortune in ethereum cryptocurrency. Louis Meza and an associate allegedly held up the victim at gunpoint after luring him into a vehicle, then stole his keys, wallet and cellphone. Meza used the keys to enter the victim's apartment and make off with his digital wallet. Shortly afterwards, he transferred $1.8 million in "ether" cryptocurrency to his own wallet.
Robbers used 'Pokémon Go' to lure their victims
Pokémon Go is introducing many people to location-based gaming... and unfortunately, that includes the potential pitfalls as well. Police in O'Fallon, Missouri report that robbers used the mobile augmented reality title to reel in victims. Based on the description, it's most likely that the crooks placed a lure at a Pokéstop (a location where you collect items) and waited for players to show up, becoming unwitting targets in the process. While the police caught the robbers, their advice holds true -- be careful before you give strangers a clue as to where you're going.
Uber drivers reportedly dealing with robberies in Los Angeles
For Uber, its rise to the top hasn't always gone smoothly. From facing legal challenges across different parts of the world, to battling it out verbally with competitors, the ridesharing company has had to fight hard to make a name for itself. And now things have apparently taken a turn for the worse, at least for some of its drivers. According to PandoDaily, a number of Uber drivers in Los Angeles say they have been suffering from serious attacks, such as robberies at gunpoint, in recent months. The report, which cites three drivers who spoke on condition of anonymity, claims that people with bad intentions are using the Uber app to locate drivers on a map in order to rob them. While, in most cases, these criminals are looking to steal the Uber-provided phones carried by operators, PandoDaily was told someone was, at one point, the victim of a carjacking situation. Either way, the main concern here shouldn't be the iPhones or vehicles at stake, but rather every driver's safety. We've reached out to Uber for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
Thieves nab 40,000 Samsung devices through a daring Brazilian heist
When you think of gadget thefts, odds are that you picture muggings or smash-and-grabs at stores. Apparently, one group of thieves in Brazil had far more ambitious plans -- it raided Samsung's factory in Campinas (shown here) and stole more than 40,000 laptops, phones and tablets that police estimate are worth $36 million. Reportedly, the heist played out much like a movie. The bandits both hijacked a company shuttle to get inside and took some of the workers hostage, going so far as to confiscate phone batteries so that no one could alert the police.
Former Call of Duty strategist Robert Bowling foils late-night Robotoki robbery
Former Call of Duty series Creative Strategist Robert Bowling played a heroic role in an attempted robbery last night at the Robotoki offices, scaring off a pair of burglars during a late-night shift. An on-site security video captures the dramatic encounter in its entirety. In a matter of seconds, the office's front doors were smashed in, and the burglars entered. Upon seeing Bowling leap toward them, the robbers then beat a hasty retreat. "Unfortunately for them, I work late," Bowling quipped. The robbery marks the second time police have visited the Robotoki offices in the last year, as LAPD officers stormed the building in 2013 after a designer accidentally tripped its silent alarm system. Bowling, again the sole employee remaining in the building at the time, was taken into temporary custody while officers engaged in a brief standoff with a window-facing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 statue. While Bowling can apparently get away with these kind of superheroics unscathed, foiling robberies on your own is inadvisable, even if you've played thousands of hours of Call of Duty and have devised a series of burglar-snaring traps, à la Home Alone. Sometimes, though, the element of surprise is enough to save the day.
Cyberthieves yank $45 million in sophisticated ATM hack, make Ocean's Eleven look trivial
It has the makings of a film -- but the fallout from one of the world's most sophisticated ATM heists is very real. The New York Times is reporting that a massive team of criminals worked in concert in order to grab some $45 million in a matter of hours over the course of two operations. The sheer scope of the project is hard to wrap one's mind around, involving trained personnel positioned in over two dozen countries. Earlier today, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn "unsealed an indictment charging eight members of the New York crew, offering a glimpse into what the authorities said was one of the most sophisticated and effective cybercrime attacks ever uncovered." In essence, the hackers were able to infiltrate various credit card processing companies and raise withdrawal limits on prepaid accounts -- from there, cashing crews hit thousands of ATMs, socking away millions in the process. Hit up the source link for the full read; it's a wild one, for sure.
Student faces 15 years in prison over RuneScape robbery at gunpoint
What would you do if someone put a gun to your head and demanded that you hand over all your RuneScape gold? Fordham University students David Emani and Jonathan Dokler found out first hand when they were robbed of 4.7 billion RuneScape coins at gunpoint. Fellow student Humza Bajwa first attempted to buy the coins from the pair with an envelope full of counterfeit money. When confronted about the fake cash, Bajwa then put an air pistol that resembled a real firearm to Emani's head and ordered him to phone Dokler and tell him to transfer the coins. Though the gun wasn't a real firearm and only virtual property was stolen, Bajwa was later arrested by local police and charged with second-degree robbery and grand larceny. RuneScape developer Jagex doesn't condone the sale of coins for cash, but sales aren't illegal and the stolen coins could fetch around $3,300 US on the black market. In January, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that a similar theft of virtual property in RuneScape at knifepoint did constitute theft as the items required an investment of time and energy to acquire. If convicted, Bajwa faces a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years for his crimes.
Apple staffer reportedly stole $16K worth of iPhones
When I worked in retail, I quickly learned all about "loss prevention," which is the program that most retailers undertake to try and (you guessed it) prevent loss or theft of product at whatever store they're running. Customer theft is obviously an issue anywhere you have merchandise sitting out in public, but an even bigger issue, surprisingly, is employee theft. And Apple isn't immune: Recently, an employee allegedly stole up to 25 phones at an Apple Store in Charlotte, North Carolina. The phones were taken out of a back room over about a month and a half in December and January, with the employee apparently just taking them out of the store. The total value of the property stolen was $16,000. The article in the local paper doesn't say if the police have found the thief yet, though presumably Apple would have all of their information. (The employee in question "had access to the Genius room," but may or may not have been a Genius Bar team member.) At the retail stores I worked at (GameStop and then Borders for a while), employees would have to go through "bag checks" every day, to make sure they weren't walking out of the store with product. I don't know about Apple's policies specifically (though I'll bet employees could fill us in on the comments below), but whatever measures were in place, it appears this employee was able to get around them. [via MacRumors]
Apple Store thieves arrested after robbery
Apple Stores continue to be a target for theft around the United States, apparently -- this time a robbery went down in Scottsdale, Arizona, where a trio of young thieves busted in the glass doors on an Apple Store, and tried to get away with $75,000 worth of Apple devices. The group robbed the store at around 2 AM on the second day of 2012 (possible Two-Face involvement?), but fortunately a taxi driver spotted the crime and started following the robbers away from the scene. Things apparently got scary: The robbers actually started firing guns on the taxi driver, who followed them anyway, and was able to make enough of an identification (along with security camera footage) that cops were able to arrest the three thieves. So everything turned out all right, aside from the broken windows on the front of the Apple Store. Apple Stores are obvious targets for thieves, not only because they're of course filled with expensive, resellable products, but also because the store designs often mean that getting in is just a window break away. But it's good to hear that quick thinking (and some heroic work by the taxi driver) in this case was able to prevent too much loss.
London's Covent Garden Apple Store hit by burglars
In what is the most high-profile Apple Store robbery to date, a gang of thugs carried out a smash-and-grab raid on London's Covent Garden Apple Store. The store, which opened fourteen months ago, is Apple's second flagship store. It was built in a remodeled 19th century building and features a glass roof over a courtyard that was originally designed for delivery of merchandise by horses. The Guardian reports that shortly before 1 AM a gang of seven masked thieves rode up to the Apple Store on mopeds and motorcycles and smashed one of the store's windows. They then proceeded to grab Apple devices including iPads, and then jumped back on their vehicles and sped away. Shortly after the burglary, police in the London neighborhood of Islington (about a 10 minute ride away from Covent Garden at that time of night) spotted one of the vehicles used in the raid and two men were arrested at the scene. Scotland Yard said that some stolen Apple devices were recovered from their possession. The police are asking anyone else who might have information about the burglary to contact the Metropolitan Police Service. [image credit: Rob Shoesmith]
Payday: The Heist announced, hopes to steal your free time on PSN
The Official PlayStation Blog has announced a brand new title called Payday: The Heist, a downloadable first-person shooter for PSN built around a series of six high-stakes robberies. With AI or fellow co-op players, you'll charge into banks, prisons, and armored cars to get the goods and get out as alive as possible. The graphics look ... serviceable, but there's supposed to be some depth here too, with three classes to play with, and an experience-based upgrade system to unlock new weapons and other accessories. The game's being developed by Overkill Software, and all we know about them is they're run by Bo Andersson, a Swedish developer from Grin, the company that developed Bionic Command: Rearmed and the PC ports for Tom Clancy's GRAW and its sequel. So there's a little pedigree here to begin with. We'll have to see how the game looks in full action later next week at E3.
Apple Store thieves descend from roof in San Francisco
ifoAppleStore.com is reporting that thieves broke into the Chestnut Street Apple Store in San Francisco last night, apparently entering the store through the roof straight into the inventory area in back of the store, and making off with an undisclosed amount of Apple devices. Unfortunately, I can't find any other reports of the crime online, but since it's apparently a recent happening, we'll have to take the blog's word for it. They also say that the building in San Francisco is surrounded by other buildings of the same height, so it wouldn't have been too hard for thieves to climb over and drop in on the Apple establishment. The police of course have access to a number of video cameras in the area, so hopefully they'll catch these thieves before long. Unfortunately, Apple Stores, full of expensive merchandise, have seen their share of crime lately. Earlier this month in San Diego, an attempted smash-and-grab robbery turned into a shooting, and we've heard about lots of other robberies at Apple retail stores as well. Fortunately, security is about as good as any other retail establishment, but you'll always have thieves trying to test the limits.
Pittsburgh Apple store burgled again
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Walnut Street Apple Store in the Shadyside neighborhood is closed this morning due to a smash-and-grab theft. A cinder block was used to shatter the glass doors of the store sometime around 5:30 AM, and a phone call to the store confirms that they were indeed closed this morning. According to the Post-Gazette, the thieves made off with thousands of dollars worth of MacBooks and iPods. This isn't the first time we've seen the Shadyside store victimized by criminals. Back in November, it made national news with another smash-and-grab crime. Of course, any storefront retail outlet with thousands of dollars' worth of portable/fenceable inventory is likely to be a prime target for theft. Sadly, it happens way more frequently than we'd like. Thanks to Steve A. for the tip. Correction: Changed 'robbery' to burglary/theft to be accurate. –Ed.
Five men rob Apple Store in Greenwich, CT
Apple Store burglars have struck again, this time in Greenwich, Connecticut. Police say that at least five suspects, seen in the surveillance photo to the right, broke through the front door and helped themselves to a whole bunch of Apple products valued in the tens of thousands of dollars. The store obviously had security cameras in place to record the break-in when it happened, but I wonder if any employees also got to watch the robbery in real-time, like this guy who watched on his iPhone as thieves robbed his house. So if you happen to live near Greenwich and receive an Apple product as a holiday present without a gift receipt, you may want to inquire as to where the generous gift-giver was on the morning of December 14. Most of these Apple Store robberies actually turn out well for the stores, since the police usually do a nice job finding the crooks. We'll have to see if the cops in Greenwich are able to catch the parties responsible here and recover any of the stolen merchandise.
Norwegian Apple reseller suffers break-in, 50 boxes stolen
An Apple reseller in Norway, of all places, suffered a break-in earlier this morning. According to the main local paper, Aftenposten, the thieves stole a BMW, which was then used to back into the store as seen in the wild pictures above. Once the storefront was broken open, 50 boxes were lifted from the property. While the stolen property was not identified, odds are that there were at least a few iPads in there, given that the device was just released in that country. Two masked men were apparently seen fleeing the scene, but it's not known if the police have gotten in touch with Batman or Robin yet. Demand for the iPad is off the charts in other countries right now (not that it's suffering here in the US), so it's not surprising that they're seeing robberies overseas as well. Hopefully the thieves will be brought to justice and the stolen Apple products recovered.
EVE Online gambling group robbed of 125 billion ISK and a friend
Much of EVE Online's MMO gameplay is governed by the in-game economy, and whenever you've got large amounts of virtual money (ISK, in EVE's terms) passed around, you're going to have a little theft from time to time. It happened again just recently, when a group of players called Somer.Blink (named after founder Somer), who'd been running some in-game lotteries, had 125 billion ISK worth of cash and items stolen out of one of their in-game safehouses. Like most MMO schemes of this nature, someone had access who shouldn't have, and in this case it was a player called Daquaris. Daq, as his former friends call him, had been a trusted member of an in-game alliance a while ago, and was one of the players responsible for handing out lottery prizes. He decided to end that trust, though -- he grabbed the items and cash out of the group's Jita hangar and split, eventually selling it back to the group for billions of ISK in ransom. Don't worry about Somer.Blink, though -- they're actually pretty blasé about the crime, and say they're more bummed about the lost friend than the lost materials. "Had Daq asked for exactly the things he had stolen, Somer would have given them unflinchingly, without a doubt," says one member of the group. "Blink can always earn more ISK, it's the loss of someone we trusted as a valued part of the business, and a long time friend." Go figure -- in a game mostly about spaceships and spreadsheets, turns out it's the people who matter most.
