If You're A Fugitive, You Probably Shouldn't Update Your Facebook Status With Location... Or Friend A Fed

from the some-suggestions dept

Wed, Oct 14th 2009 10:38am — Mike Masnick

No one ever said criminals were particularly intelligent. With all the stories we've seen of various people revealing things they shouldn't on social networking systems, you knew that stories like this one were going to become more common. Apparently a fugitive on the run for bank fraud not only updated his Facebook status with his whereabouts (a resort in Cancun, Mexico), but also "friended" a former Justice Department official, who helped hand over the fugitive's info to officials who tracked down and arrested the guy.

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Filed Under: fugitive, social networks
Companies: facebook

28 Comments

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aguywhoneedstenbucks (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 10:27am

This is a problem with Facebook
Criminals are using Facebook. Therefore Facebook should be shut down.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 10:43am

Re: This is a problem with Facebook
Someone call Elliot Spitzer! (He's what now?)
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 10:51am

Re: This is a problem with Facebook
Criminals use cars to get away with bank robberies. So cars should be banned.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 10:53am

Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
"Criminals use cars to get away with bank robberies. So cars should be banned."

No, no, no...BANKS should be banned. Especially that big group of six that likes to pretend they're part of the govenrment when they're not...
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Hilarious Jokes, 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:02am

This is Hilarious
This is plain stupidity... LOL
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DocMenach (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:03am

Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
No no no. It's not the banks that are the problem. Money is the reason people rob banks. So we need to ban money.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:10am

Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
"No, no, no...BANKS should be banned. Especially that big group of six that likes to pretend they're part of the govenrment when they're not..."

They're not? Who's running treasury?
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davebarnes (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:18am

Actually, criminals are typically not so bright
"studies have shown" that criminals' IQs are on average less than the general populace.

http://law.jrank.org/pages/1363/Intelligence-Crime-Measuring-size-IQ-crime-correlation. html

"The men who committed two or more criminal offenses by age twenty had IQ scores on average a full standard deviation below nonoffenders, and IQ and criminal offenses were significantly and negatively correlated at r = -.19."
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Dark Helmet (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:21am

Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
The FED is not a government entity...
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:25am

Re: Actually, criminals are typically not so bright
I would say it depends on whether you are referring to white collar criminals or blue collar criminals.
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Dean, 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:26am

Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
>>Who's running treasury?

Bald Guys from Goldman Sachs. There's one on CNBC with a board of buttons that works like a "See 'n Say" another who writes 3 page bills demanding $787B (Recently Let go), and Neel Kashkari.
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Brian (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:27am

Re: This is Hilarious
stupidity?!?!?!
THIS IS EARTH!!!

what more do you expect :P
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:40am

Re: Re: Actually, criminals are typically not so bright
There are a lot more Blue collar criminals than white collar, so the study is skewed in their favor.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:43am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
"The FED is not a government entity..."

It's (arguably) independent, but it's very much a government entity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:43am

Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
No no no. It's not the banks that are the problem. Money is the reason people rob banks. So we need to ban money.

Don't blame the money.

It's people who are robbing the banks. Therefore the only obvious solution is to ban people. Can we start with Eliot Spitzer?
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Dark Helmet (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:44am

Re: Re: Re: Actually, criminals are typically not so bright
"There are a lot more Blue collar criminals than white collar, so the study is skewed in their favor."

Are there? Or do the white collar criminals just not get caught, get treated far differently, and/or have the kind of lawyerly backstop to keep from being prosecuted?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 12:00pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
The Reserve has the ability to coin and mint money, but that was a mistake that needs to be fixed. The explicit right is a responsibility of Congress. See the US Constitution Article 1 Section 8. It's pretty clear.
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Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 12:06pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Actually, criminals are typically not so bright
Are you truly a criminal if you don't get caught? Definitely not part of a criminal study. The people with the higher IQs don't get caught, they get out of the study, but that can go for both white collar and blue collar.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 12:22pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
"It's (arguably) independent, but it's very much a government entity."

For all practical purposes, it's ENTIRELY independent, and even though it parrots the line that it is a part of government, it really isn't. But, for arguments sake, even if we just agree to call it a part of the government because both they and the govt. say it is, they operate OUTSIDE of the government and act without restrictions and with abilities that NO other government institution does. Even from the wiki article you linked:

1. "The stocks of the regional federal reserve banks are owned by the banks operating within that region and which are part of the system." - Those are PRIVATELY owned banks it's referring to...

2. "As an independent institution, the Federal Reserve System has the authority to act on its own without prior approval from Congress or the President." - AND it isn't a part of the judiciary....so which branch of government does it fall under, exactly? We only have 3, and this isn't under ANY of them....

3. "The Federal Reserve System's unique structure also provides internal checks and balances" - That isn't how American government works. Checks and balances are supposed to come through the oversight of those OUTSIDE the group, not within....

4. "It also generates revenue independently without need for Congressional funding." - Right, through the private entities controlling it (Chase, Morgan, etc. etc.)

5. "All profit after expenses is returned to the U.S. Treasury or contributed to the surplus capital of the Federal Reserve Banks" - Yeah, and guess which of those two actually happens....

It's a whole lot of smoke and mirrors, with the truth being that the FED does what it wants, contributes little compared w/its reserves, and plays a game of seesawing our economy up and down for profit. Interest rates are an odd thing.
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 12:37pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
You wouldn't believe how many times I've tried to explain this to my friends and coworkers...
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Cash4Gold, 14 Oct 2009 @ 12:54pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
"Interest rates are an odd thing."

If you take it a step further, and look at the dollar versus spot pricing of gold, (which is up nearly 33% for the year) you'll see that compared with the Dow's 30% gain you're basically breaking even.

But people are getting a good blood letting now. For example, grocery stores take out the water fountains, and charge $1.00 for a bottle of water. And it's $1.25 for a pack of Wrigley's gum at the grocery store. It looks like the $.35 packs are not even sold anymore. Capitalism at work.
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DocMenach (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 1:24pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
It's people who are robbing the banks. Therefore the only obvious solution is to ban people. Can we start with Eliot Spitzer?

Good point. It is people who are robbing banks. If is wasn't for oxygen there wouldn't be people around to rob banks though. So we obviously need to ban oxygen.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 1:35pm

Re: This is Hilarious
Einstein said something to the extent that

Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former
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Sirk, 14 Oct 2009 @ 1:50pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
Like old Uncle Judge Death used to say, "All crime isssss committed by the living therefore life itssssself isssss a crime, the punissssssshment issssss death."
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 2:14pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: This is a problem with Facebook
This ran far further than I thought it would. I'm pretty happy about this particular turn of events.
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interval, 14 Oct 2009 @ 2:28pm

I'm waiting for the story that comes out about the bank fraudster suing Facebook because of all this.
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Phil, 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:05pm

Re: Actually, criminals are typically not so bright
Ah -- this is data derived from the roster criminals that get caught. I suspect that you're a lot less likely to get caught if you are smart. The smartest guys don't often get included in these statistics. Remember, 40% of serious crimes like murder are never solved in the US. I don't know the numbers for less serious crimes, but the police pay less attention to nonviolent crime, so I suspect the unsolved rates are even higher for the nonviolent acts. -- In other words, this data is tainted by Selection Bias.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 8:00am

Re: This is a problem with Facebook
Under this logic computer, the internet, TV, and the telephone system should be illegal and abolished.
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