View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2005 > May > 09 > Entry
Being deceived really bytes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There were about two-dozen thefts reported in the past week. Here’s a summary:
— People left their stuff in their cars overnight and their stuff got taken.
— Some guys stole some beer from some convenient stores.
— Some guys ran out on their liquor tabs at some of the bars.
— Some stuff got stolen from a couple of garages left open and a couple of carports, and well, you get the picture.
I do, however, need you to read this particular report because it shows just how important it is to do a little checking when buying something.
I don’t like criminals, as most are moronic, putrid, vile and very often ugly people with no teeth and hideous breath. At times they have bad hair.
But this incident involves a victim so naïve that even stupid crooks were able to get away with a sloppy crime.
This crime is theft by deception.
The victim told a police officer that he had purchased 15 computers from two men in a Dodge van in a parking lot at 5300 Roswell Road. He later opened the boxes, only to find ceramic tile instead of computers.
Here are some hints that, with just a little checking, would have saved the victim $3,000.
— The boxes were not computer boxes, but shipping boxes.
— Each box had a copy of a store’s label for a Hewlett Packard Intel Centrino Notebook computer.
— Each box’s label had the same serial number and listed the value of each computer at $1,249, meaning they were offering a total value of $18,735 for the low, low price of $3,000.
— The van had a Florida tag.
The tag ended up being registered to a car rental business in Tampa and will most likely show false registration.
Old sayings worth remembering:
— If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.
— You’ll never get something for nothing.
— There’s a sucker born every minute.
— Don’t ever loan your car to your neighbor in the middle of the night when you see a lot of blood on his shirt.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Linda
May 9, 2005 11:52 AM | Link to this
Why is it that some people take medicinal humor and turn it into something ugly? It is ok to laugh people. Even at yourself! Animals do bite and at the moment of the bite it hurts. I have been bitten too many times to count and can still talk about it and laugh! The only time I thought I might need therapy was after an enraged hamster (AKA piranah) tried to destroy my hand as I was cage cleaning. It did take a while to get over that one! Lighten up people! Keep the funnies coming Steve!
By AtmanRyu
May 9, 2005 6:46 PM | Link to this
I still can’t believe there are people out there that fall for that kind of scams…
Is common sense truly dead?