FBI To Use Ad Banners to Find Criminals

PhuptDuck writes "Federal authorities are pursuing fugitive crime boss James 'Whitey' Bulger in cyber space under a first-of-its kind agreement announced Wednesday between the FBI and Web portal Terra-Lycos. With a presence in 42 countries and in 19 languages, Terra Lycos is known for the worldwide scope of its Web presence."

Comments

Punch the terrorist ...

[Ezubaric]

and win a free wiretap!

Does anyone actually look at them?

[jonman_d]

I know I sure don't. I have most of them blocked, anyway.

What's next, the government spamming us with wanted posters and ASCII pictures? Why don't they invest money in a medium which people actually pay attention to? See: Television Advertisements.

Re:Does anyone actually look at them?

[tomzyk]

See: Television Advertisements.

Not just advertisements... actual SHOWS. "America's Most Wanted" already does this. They put criminals faces on TV and the general public can watch the show and be constantly on the lookout for the criminals. From time-to-time (from what I understand... I don't actually watch the show) they put the FBI most wanted list on the screen too. I believe they also have the top 10 most wanted on their website as well.

Television is a great medium to get this information out to the public! So is the internet. BUT, the good thing about TV is that if you don't want to watch it, you can turn it OFF. If they continue this activity with making deals with internet companies and put pop-ups/banners on everyone's screens, it just going to end up making a lot of people upset.

If you want to get the info out, just put up a website. Internet ads are not necessary.

Re:Does anyone actually look at them?

[CaseyB]

*Many* people, especially *stupid* ones, think that their *statements* are more *important* when all the *words* are *surrounded* by *asterixes*.

"WHY ALL the CAPITALS?"

Ad Blocking

[kjd]

Now ad blocking is no longer just stealing, it's a violation of the good samaritan law. ;)

Re:Ad Blocking

[C0LDFusion]

I just want to add that people think "Good Samaritan Law" is where you are FORCED by law to help someone. However, in most states, the law is actually designed to protect the person who makes their own decision to help from malpractice suits.

Example: Someone gets into a car accident and you decide to help him. You pull him out of the car and bandage his wounds. The bandage material used whas not sterile and he gets an infection that kills him. Good Samaritan law prevents his family from suing you.

IANAL, but I've never heard of any law that forces you to help someone.

Attorneys and grammar

[sacremon]

"''It might simply be a clerk in a grocery store bagging groceries, goes home that night, gets on the Internet and says, 'you know, I think I saw that person bagging groceries today,''' U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said during a news conference in Boston on Wednesday morning. "

Why would someone who is wanted for 21 murders be bagging groceries?

Re:Attorneys and grammar

[Dannon]

Why would someone who is wanted for 21 murders be bagging groceries?

The local fast food places aren't hiring?

Re:Attorneys and grammar

[Cruciform]

Because the CIA was in a hiring freeze when they applied?

Re:Attorneys and grammar

[DaveAtFraud]

The Dallas Cowboys don't have an opening on their roster?

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[Anonymous Coward]

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The FBI doesn't want to find Bulger

[swm]

The FBI doesn't want to find Bulger (his testimony would be too embarrasing), so they are posting wanted ads in a medium (web banner ads) that is known not to work.

It all makes sense.

Re:The FBI doesn't want to find Bulger

[e_lehman]

I'm ignorant, who is this guy and why would finding him be too embarrasing?

James Bulger was the leader of the Boston mob for quite a few years and, at the same time, an FBI informant. However, as it turns out, he was running his FBI handlers rather than the other way around. In effect, the FBI kept Bulger out of jail while he murdered and extorted merrily along for years. His main handler, fomer FBI agent John Connolly was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison. But plenty more FBI agents were involved. Futher complicating matters, James Bulger's brother-- William Bulger-- was the dictatorial ruler of the Massachusetts senate at the time and currently heads the state university system. In the last couple weeks, we've learned that William has been in touch with his fugitive brother and urged him NOT to turn himself in. William just recently took the 5th when forced to testify before Congress on the matter.

So this is a very messy case. Likely the FBI is using this initiative in part to dispel the notion that they don't really want to catch James Bulger for fear of further embarassment.

Re:The FBI doesn't want to find Bulger

[Spasemunki]

Whitey started life as a thug in South Boston's Winter Hill Gang, an Irish organized crime ring. He agreed to turn informant for the FBI in exchange for protection from prosecution and other favors. The FBI agents charged with handling his case were both enamored of him; one of them had grown up in Southie idolizing him as a local hero, and the other was following his bosses lead.

Whitey largely provided information of dubious value to the FBI, but his handlers continued to hype him as the most valuable informant in the Boston FBI system. They protected him from prosecution numerous times, and in at least one case refused to give any kind of warning to a witness that Whitey and his associates later killed. Bulger was shielded from multiple murder investigations, as well as a number of associated crimes.

Most importantly, most of the information that Whitey gave the Feds regarded the Italian mafia that was operating in Boston's North End at the time. The FBI moved in and largely wiped out the Italian Mafia- giving Whitey's Winter Hill gang the opportunity to take over all of Boston's organized crime. Whitey then systematically eliminated his rivals in Southie, and effectively made himself underworld king of Boston- with the FBI doing a lot of his dirty work, thanks to helpful "tips" regarding criminals that he wanted out of his way.

Finally, one of the FBI agents assigned to the case had an attack of conscience, and the whole story began to emerge. Whitey bolted, and no one has been able to find him since. The past several years in Boston, not a day goes by that there isn't a story about Whitey; sightings from Maine to Mexico, and periodic excavations of isolated fields where victims of his spree are allegedly buried. The scandal tore the Boston FBI office to pieces, and was one of the biggest black eyes that the Feds have received in recent years

Misleading headline

[AntiFreeze]

Disclaimer: This is not an attempt at humor (seriously).

From the headline, I thought that the FBI was attempting to track criminals through the use of banner ads (i.e. use something embedded in the ads to track those who view them). Although it seems like a very hard thing to pull off - how would you track a criminal with the data you'd collect anyway?

And then I thought about the recent article Because Only Terrorists User 802.11 and got very worried about my ability to block popups via Mozilla or hosts.deny. I was afraid of the headline "Because Only Criminals and Terrorists Block Popup Ads to Avoid Detection".

Oh well, thank god the article clarified that. The article states that the FBI will basically putting up wanted posters as ads to help find the criminal they're after. That, I don't have a problem with.

Sounds familiar....

[Shawn Baumgartner]

Wiggum: If you've committed a crime, and want to confess, click "Yes". Otherwise, click "No".

[Homer clicks on "No"]

Wiggum: You have chosen "No", meaning you've committed a crime, but don't want to confess. A paddy wagon is now speeding to your home.

Homer: Hey!!

Wiggum: While you wait, why not buy a police cap or T-shirt. [T-shirts and baseball caps with the SPD logo circle Wiggum's head] You have the right to remain fabulous!

Uh oh!

[Eric(b0mb)Dennis]

Just wait until the FBI starts talking about how "Blocking ads support terrorism"

Here it comes... 5 4 3 2 1...

ARGH!!! RTFA!!

[EschewObfuscation]

OK, OK, I know that the lead-in blurb was a little misleading, but come on, people.

1) The FBI is not using cookies to hunt down the suspect.

2) The FBI isn't paying for the banners.

3) Prof^H^H^H^H The "clerk" example in the article is *not* the suspect, but rather someone who might have seen the suspect.

Somehow, I think that G. Cooke, Tx, would give this whole set of threads a very poor review...

I think this post's title should have been...

[FFCecil]

"Ad Banners Finally Have a Purpose"
from the other-than-causing-epilepsy dept.

Bulgar takes the fifth

[SpinyNorman]

What's really interesting about this isn't that the FBI is using banner ads, but rather why they have to...

The guy they're seeking, #10 on the most wanted list, and suspected of 21 murders, is the brother of the president of the University of Massachusetts, who just plead the 5th to keep his dear brother safe.

Bulgar takes the fifth

Great to see the head of an institute of learning take such a principled stand. Not.

White noise, anyone?

[privacyt]

From the article: ''It might simply be a clerk in a grocery store bagging groceries, goes home that night, gets on the Internet and says, 'you know, I think I saw that person bagging groceries today,''' U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said during a news conference in Boston on Wednesday morning.

Given that Bulger looks like most other balding white men in their 50s, the FBI may get thousands of false leads now. I also feel sorry for American expatriates living in Latin America, who will be faced with having to "prove" they aren't a fugitive.

Bulger, if he's smart (which is probably is), would have radically altered his appearance so that he no longer resembles the wanted poster.

All a criminal investigator really can do is sit back, be patient, and wait for the criminal to make a mistake. If Bulger ever calls his brother or an old friend or girlfriend on Christmas, for example, he's busted.

This wanted poster thing smacks of desperation on the FBI's part, which I'm sorry to see.

"...an Irish organized crime ring."

[metamatic]

aka The Murphia?