21st Century Crime
A man robbing an armored car in Washington State recruited his unwitting henchmen from Craigslist.
" . . . an ad was posted on the free classified advertising site, asking for 15 to 20 men to show up near the Bank of America on Old Owen Road at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday to work on a maintenance project called "Restore Monroe."
"The men were to wear dark blue shirts and surgical masks covering their noses and mouths. In return, they'd be paid about $28 per hour, which Willis said is well above the standard for that kind of work . . . "
While these guys were standing around providing a distraction, a man dressed in a similar fashion maced the guard, grabbed the bag of money, and ran for a nearby river, where his getaway inner tube was waiting.
This is damn near perfect. Using 21st century communication technology, a man recruits a gang of accomplices who don't even know they're accomplices. He's assembled a criminal gang as if they were a flashmob! ("Wear a flat cap, domino mask, and a striped shirt, and carry a bag labeled 'SWAG.'")
Meanwhile in Nigeria, Henry Okah and the boys of MEND use similar tactics to recruit a guerilla army, embargo and/or steal half a million barrels of oil every day.
Here's an idea whose time has come. (And fortunately, it's what my next book is going to be about.)
" . . . an ad was posted on the free classified advertising site, asking for 15 to 20 men to show up near the Bank of America on Old Owen Road at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday to work on a maintenance project called "Restore Monroe."
"The men were to wear dark blue shirts and surgical masks covering their noses and mouths. In return, they'd be paid about $28 per hour, which Willis said is well above the standard for that kind of work . . . "
While these guys were standing around providing a distraction, a man dressed in a similar fashion maced the guard, grabbed the bag of money, and ran for a nearby river, where his getaway inner tube was waiting.
This is damn near perfect. Using 21st century communication technology, a man recruits a gang of accomplices who don't even know they're accomplices. He's assembled a criminal gang as if they were a flashmob! ("Wear a flat cap, domino mask, and a striped shirt, and carry a bag labeled 'SWAG.'")
Meanwhile in Nigeria, Henry Okah and the boys of MEND use similar tactics to recruit a guerilla army, embargo and/or steal half a million barrels of oil every day.
Here's an idea whose time has come. (And fortunately, it's what my next book is going to be about.)
posted by dubjay at 3:01 PM
6 Comments:
Heh. After umpteen hundreds of stories about people getting "brain-hacked" or getting morphed into "cyber-zombies", it turns out that all you need to do is offer $28 and people will gladly dress like criminals and hang around a bank!
This certainly speaks for the sheer number of total idiots on the Internet. I personally make it a habit to never intentionally dress like a bankrobber while loitering near a bank.
There was also a case awhile back where someone tried to hire a hitman on craigslist; the ad was vague, the guy who answered it called the cops after discovering what he was going to be paid for, and the advertiser was arrested.
And I always thought the weirdest thing about craigslist ads was the 'casual encounters' section. Ads that read something like, "I'm looking for a blowjob between 7 and 7:30 this morning. I'll be driving west on the 580 heading toward San Francisco and would prefer a beautiful woman who lives near an offramp."
His getaway inner tube? Sweet. And ditto about the next book.
Clarification needed. Mr. Williams, I have liked every book you have written (with the possible exclusion of the Elvis Stuff). If your next book is about a guy on a getaway inner tube, I must say I have grave doubts.
While I don't remember there being any inner tubes, Both Daniel and I pushed fairly strenuously for at least one yurt.
Unfortunately for you in the rest of the 49, we in Washington are beyond awesome, as long as we've had our coffee.
Post a Comment
<< Home