Identifying criminals by smell
January 29, 2015 | Business Crime
Forensicmag.com writes: "Currently, victims of violent crimes must use visual memories to identify the criminal (known as the eyewitness lineup), but studies have shown that eyewitnesses actually show a decreased accuracy in recognizing culprits visually, perhaps due to the trauma associated with the event. If there was another way that humans could identify perpetrators of crimes — relying on a deeply intuitive sense that is strongly linked to memory — it could possibly be a game changer in forensics. In a new study published in the ...
More Victims of Laptop Sale Scam - Police
January 12, 2015 | Business Crime
Police believe there are more victims of a Facebook scam that has already left victims spread across the country. Isaac James Culmer, also known as Isaac Calmer, Isaac James or James Culmer, allegedly used the Facebook name "Sumwone Speshal" to falsely advertise a Mac Book Pro for $650. Culmer, 19, briefly appeared in the North Shore District Court last week facing 17 charges of obtaining by deception. Sergeant Mike Flatt of North Shore Police said Culmer's alleged offending had increased over the past few months. "It runs into tens o...
Marks on driveway spark fears of a new crime
December 17, 2014 | Business Crime
Lookouts are leaving 'K' code in crayon or spray paint after finding dogs The Daily Mail writes: "Sophisticated gangs of thieves prowling Britain's streets to steal dogs to order are identifying their victims - by daubing the letter 'K' on their driveways, police revealed yesterday. Lookouts are leaving the 'K' code in crayon or spray paint after finding valuable dogs worth stealing and selling in unwitting owners' gardens in the Alsager area, north of Stoke-on-Trent, Cheshire. The burglars then return later and take the animals in a ...
Text Acronyms Every Parent Should Know
December 17, 2014 | Business Crime
Below are common Internet acronyms, which teenagers use in everyday texts to their friends. After you read this list, you'll likely start looking at your teen's texts in a whole new way. 1. IWSN - I want sex now 2. GNOC - Get naked on camera 3. NIFOC - Naked in front of computer 4. PIR - Parent in room 5 CU46 - See you for sex 6. 53X - Sex 7. 9 - Parent watching 8. 99 - Parent gone 9. 1174 - Party meeting place 10. THOT - That hoe over there 11. CID - Acid (the drug) 12. Broken - Hungover from alcohol 13. 420 - Marijuana 14. POS - Par...
Stalker Harassed Teenager
December 16, 2014 | Business Crime
A 24-year-old Malborough man has been sentenced to four months' community detention after stalking a Marlborough teenager for two years. Johnny Barry Knight, also known as Johnny Coleman, from Renwick, appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday, after being found guilty in October of criminal harassment. His victim was about 16 when the offending started in 2012. She told the court Knight had made her so frightened that she could no longer go anywhere on her own. Knight had been loitering around her workplace in Renwick, follow...
New Facebook search could be embarrassing
December 16, 2014 | Business Crime
Larissa Nicholson of the Age writes: "Facebook has begun rolling out a new keyword search function this week that allows users to quickly and easily find posts. It is different to the "graph search", which Facebook launched last year to a lukewarm response from users. Graph search allowed Facebookers to search for people and pages, or in complete sentences; for example, "My friends who like Radiohead". But try searching "risotto", thinking of the recipe one of your friends had posted, and you were likely to get the Facebook page of a ...
Sony hack is bigger than first realised
December 8, 2014 | Business Crime
Scott Collura of IGN.com writes: "The situation surrounding the recent Sony Pictures hack continues to worsen for the studio, with a new batch of documents having been released by the hackers that includes thousands of usernames and passwords. This includes a file directory called simply “Password” which includes, according to Buzzfeed, “139 Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, zip files, and PDFs containing thousands of passwords to Sony Pictures’ internal computers, social media accounts, and web services accounts.” One file the site...
Calgary Police Service
Sex victim con artist deported after police spend $150,000 investigating false claims
December 8, 2014 | Business Crime
Matt McClure of the Calgary Herald reports: "An Australian woman convicted of mischief this week over false allegations of sexual abuse made to Calgary police is being deported back to her native country. But Samantha Azzopardi will remain in custody until her plane ride back to Sydney next week, after a federal adjudicator ruled Friday the 26-year-old was a flight risk. An immigration board hearing heard city police and health officials spent weeks and over $150,000 this fall investigating Azzopardi’s spurious claims she was the vict...
Hypnotist Puts Shop Owner in Trance for Robbery
December 8, 2014 | Business Crime
Patrick Hatch reports: A pickpocketing hypnotist rendered a shopkeeper motionless before raiding his pockets in a London bottle shop. In stunning CCTV footage released by the Metropolitan Police, the robber is shown entering the store and striking up a conversation with the owner. Police say the man told the owner, who London's Telegraph named as Aftab Haider, that he needed a bottle of water for his pregnant wife and touched him on the stomach. The 56-year-old then remains motionless as the thief steals cash from his pockets. The...
Shop owner uses Facebook to chase thief
December 5, 2014 | Business Crime
Cecelie Meier of the Press writes: "A Christchurch shop owner who took to social media to find an alleged thief had a name within two hours. The owner, who for legal reasons cannot be identified, said the move was "efficient". She was not concerned about its legality. A man allegedly took a surfboard from a shop on Wednesday morning. "I ran after him and made a scene. I was shouting and yelling at him when someone walked around the corner," she said. "[He] freaked out, gave the board back to me and told me to... call the police." Poli...