Thief -- Engadget Mobile

thief posts

Mexican attach� attempts to make off with White House BlackBerrys

by Darren Murph posted Apr 25th 2008 @ 8:01AM

We're a bit frightened by the fact that high-ranking political officials are told to leave their BlackBerrys outside in an unguarded basket during high-level meetings (really, it's "common practice"), but nevertheless, one chap who tried to take advantage of the situation didn't quite make it out undiscovered. During a recent political meetup in New Orleans, a Mexican press attaché managed to slip a half dozen or so BlackBerrys into his pocket before darting to the airport with visions of black market markups in his head. Before he could exit the country, however, Secret Service had tracked him down after catching him via surveillance footage. As it stands, the responsible individual has been fired from his post, but there's been no word on whether the US will take any further actions. Reevaluating the whole "leaving them out in the open" practice may be a good start -- just sayin'.

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

Robber holds up bank, doesn't bother to get off his cellphone

by Darren Murph posted Apr 17th 2008 @ 6:14AM

Make no mistake, we've seen some fairly boneheaded moves made by technologically-illiterate bank robbers, but the latest case involves a fellow who was quite the opposite of that. Yes, the 20 to 25 year male who decided to hold up an Alabama bank the day before his taxes were due actually did the deed without hanging up his cellphone. And there's surveillance footage to prove it. Quite honestly, we can't imagine what the conversation here would've been like, but at least he made the most of whatever minutes he had remaining as a free man, right?

[Via textually]

Crook demands $185K in ransom for stolen cellphone

by Darren Murph posted Oct 17th 2007 @ 10:21PM

If a burglar with exquisite taste somehow managed to snag a million dollar Goldvish, asking for just $185,000 for its safe return wouldn't be too far-fetched. Apparently, the mobile in question wasn't of the princely variety, as this particular thief managed to lower his asking price to a rock-bottom $200. The suspect, known initially through police paperwork as "Baby Boy," was lured into a trap after police tagged along for the exchange and arrested him at gunpoint. When Mr. Boy (later found to be Randy-Jay Adolphos Jones, which is only slightly better) was questioned, he just couldn't put a finger on why he blurted out the $185k figure versus something more reasonable, but hey, not everyone can be right on top of current market conditions, right?

[Via The Raw Feed]

Reporter has mic stolen during iPhone interview, recovers ungracefully

by Darren Murph posted Jul 1st 2007 @ 1:40PM

We're quite aware of the mayhem that went on during the buildup to the iPhone launch, and while it may cross someone's mind to purloin the oh-so-coveted device just hours before it went on sale to the public, we can't imagine a Fox News microphone being an acceptable substitute. 'Course, we've no way of really reading the vigilante's mind, but a brief iPhone interview was cut even shorter by a random mic stealer. Click on through for the zaniness as it happened, and kudos to the reporter on not just bailing out while she had the chance.

[Thanks, Matt]

Continue reading Reporter has mic stolen during iPhone interview, recovers ungracefully

Nearly $6 million in Vertu phones stolen from van

by Darren Murph posted Jun 4th 2007 @ 1:12AM

Stealing £3 million ($5.94 million) worth of mobile phones sure sounds like a risky way to may a buck, but if you're going to jack mobile handsets, you might as well swipe the ones that depreciate the least, eh? A crew of four men in Europe apparently agreed with that mantra, as they got up the nerve to run a Vertu van off the road with their Subaru and reportedly swiped a fair amount of handsets before darting off. There was no word on just how many phones were actually stolen, but we're sure the boys in blue found a fully stocked trunk after it located the crashed vehicle in Slough, Banks. Two of the four masked bandits were later captured and arrested for their part in the heist, but the other duo is probably trying to figure out how in the world they would unload hordes of these highly sought after mobiles without garnering suspicion in the first place.

[Via BGR]

Incessant texting gets thief to return purse

by Michael Caputo posted Jan 23rd 2007 @ 7:25PM

In this day and age, having someone steal your purse or wallet is a common occurrence especially in larger cities. It's not that common, though, to have someone steal your bag filled with credit cards, lots of cash, and your cellphone, only to have all of it returned it to you. That's what happened to Pan Aiying, a school teacher from the province of Shandong in China. Her bag was stolen from her while she was riding a bicycle home from work. She borrowed a friends phone to call her own only to have the call unanswered. In a desperate situation, she decided to text the thief thinking she might appeal to his morals. The text read, "Keep the 4,900 yuan ($630) if you really need it, but please return the other things to me." 21 text messages later and still no response from him until the next day when the bag appeared in her courtyard. Everything was still in the bag when she opened it. OK everyone, all at the same time now: "Awwwww!"

[Via Fark]

Engadget editor assaulted for RAZR; innocence lost

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 15th 2006 @ 8:07AM

Our own Paul Miller is used to taking an occasional beating in comments, but one overzealous Engadget fan took it a bit too far last night in the rough-and-tumble streets of North Harlem. After a quick jaunt to the deli for the, shall we say, "supplies" we need to fuel our tireless nights of blogging, Paul minded his own business as he strode home, phoning his ill grandmother with the Motorola RAZR he was able to purchase with his meager stipend. Suddenly and without warning, a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, striking him in the cheekbone with the brutal force of a heavyweight boxer in an ill-fated attempt for his V3. Big mistake: as with all Engadget writers, Paul's body is a weapon. By explaining in excruciating detail why any two-bit mugger knows that RAZRs are too low-end these days to bother swiping, he dispatched the would-be thief as quickly as he came, leaving all of Harlem a warning that we are best not messed with -- especially when working on our sixth Red Bull. As you can see, Paul's been left with a battle scar that he wears proudly. This is as close as you'll ever get to his RAZR if you know what's good for you.