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"Pregnant" mother found smuggling cellphones
We already know that Wal-Mart is tightening the leash on prepaid phone purchases in a presumed attempt to slow illegitimate reselling and prevent dicey communications from arranging less-than-pleasant activities, so it's probably not the best time to be walking around airports with a stash of unclaimed mobiles beneath your jacket. Apparently an Egyptian woman wasn't notified of the heightened awareness, nor had she attended any acting classes of late, as security guards at a Cairo airport found 48 cellphones tucked under her clothing when she unsuccessfully claimed to be experiencing "labor pains." While trying to brush through customs untouched, curious personnel caught onto her scheming when they saw "too many" travel stamps in her passport "for a woman in her condition," and discovered "over $17,000 worth" of mobile phones instead of an impregnated belly. Notably, no connection was found between this smuggler and the quick-footed fellow who fled with 39 iPods in just his pants.
T-Mobile hacker gets slap on the wrist
What better deterrent to breaking into T-Mobile's customer database, than a year of being forced to sit at home with nothing to do but screw around on the 'puter? We can't imagine, and apparently neither could U.S. District Judge George King, sentencing 23 year old Nicholas Lee Jacobsen to a whopping 365 days of home detention for the 2004 crime in which several hundred names and Social Security numbers were swiped (not to mention the Sidekick contents of a Secret Service agent, of all people). To be fair, the hoodlum was also ordered to pay T-Mobile ten grand -- and we have to believe the feds are doing what they can to keep Mr. Jacobsen away from technology for the time being -- but we wouldn't have minded seeing some hard time involved.
Area 51 sequel in the works for next-gen
GamesAreFun has pointed out that according to some recent job postings, Midway is currently looking for a little help in developing a possible Area 51 sequel, called Area 52, of course. According to the listings, the game will most likely appear on the 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Sorry Ninty fans, no Wii.There is also another new IP listed as Criminal for the PS3 and 360. Area 51 was a decent FPS, so it'll be interesting to see what direction Area 52 will go. We can only hope David Duchovny will make a return appearance.
Pirating Gangs of London supports gang violence
As evidenced by the numerous YouTube videos of people playing "complete" versions of the upcoming Gangs of London, a leaked ISO of the game has been making the rounds on the internet. Stealing is wrong, and Sony spokesperson David Wilson wants you to remember that: "We are wholly opposed to game piracy. Even if people have no sympathy for games developers losing money (though in the end that damages our industry and hurts gamers) - there are proven links that exist between counterfeiting and organised crime and that has some serious consequences (and victims) that people should give due consideration."There you have it. Downloading an illegal copy of Gangs of London may, in fact, help criminals. But, if Senator Lieberman is right, playing games like Gangs of London will turn you into a criminal anyways.[Thanks, steve; via GI.biz]
Robbers use cameraphones to spot potential victims
In an unfortunate flip side to the oft-repeated story of people using cellphones to help catch criminals, it seems that robbers in the Philippines are now using cameraphones to scout out potential victims traveling on mass transit systems. The robbers (artist's rendition seen here) apparently work in pairs, with one snapping a pic of the would-be victim on the train and passing it on to an accomplice waiting at the next stop. When the victim gets off, one of the robbers drapes his arm around the victim's shoulder while the other quietly makes off with the contents of their bag. Police have yet to catch anyone involved in the scheme, however, so they're warning the public to be on the lookout.[Via Reiter's Camera Phone Report]
Becks loses two Bimmers to laptop-toting thieves
For every hundred or so stupid criminals that we feature on these pages, there are a few just as brilliant as their contemporaries are dim: look at the international group of hardware pirates who managed to build their own version of Japan's NEC Corp, or the laptop-toting thieves who succesfully stole not one, but two, of soccer football star David Beckham's BMW X5 SUVs by hacking the keyless-entry systems. In the last six months, the Real Madrid star and Mr. Posh Spice has seen two of his $60,000 vehicles lost to geeky criminals, with the most recent GTA occurring while Becks dined at a mall in Spain. Apparently thieves armed with a particular model's security schematics can jack into the car's PC and run software that dumps out the necessary codes for breaking the encryption, allowing them to unlock the doors, start the engine, and in some cases, even disable built-in tracking devices. Yeah, we're kind of impressed, but let's see these fancy criminals use their high-tech lockpicks to "hack" the cold, hard steel of our "Club LX."[Via Left Lane News]
Stefan Eriksson charged with multiple counts
Guess whose favorite scandal-ridden carousing ex-gangster party animal Los Angelean Swede just got charged with felony counts of embezzlement, grand theft auto, driving under the influence, and illegal possession of a firearm by felon? You got it, Stefan Eriksson. who supposedly faces 14 years in prison, if found guilty. What, you didn't think someone this shady was going to go about his business forever more without further question after that fateful evening last February, did you? Oh, and FYI, the handsome, mysterious Dietrich -- the man accused by Eriksson of driving the $1m Enzo into the pole at 160mph -- continues to evade capture, despite prosecuters' claims he does not exist. We have just received word, however, that he was spotted late last week attempting to cross the Canadian border in a Groucho Marx disguise and Ferrari PowerWheels.[Thanks, Alex B]Update: Apparentl Eriksson pleaded not guilty and was held on $5.5m bail. Yo, dudes at Xero Mobile, you wanna help a brother out? Thanks, Freddy.
