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A How-Not-To Guide to Cyber-Extortion
TexasDex writes "The Register reports: Myron Tereshchuk, 42, of Maryland, pleaded guilty to "attempted extortion affecting commerce" for sending threatening messages to a competing patent firm, including a demand for $17 million in exchange for not revealing sensitive information. He was clever in hiding his tracks, the messages came from two different homes and a dentist's office, all of which turned out to be running unsecured WAPs. He also avoided a web bug sent by the firm, and managed to penetrate the company's computer system. But he made a few mistakes. First of all he was already a prime suspect due to "past altercations between Tereshchuk and the company". But "the clearest sign came when he issued the $17m extortion demand, and instructed the company to 'make the check payable to Myron Tereshchuk.'""
They never get caught.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
If it's been debunked, that was a mighty fast debunking as the linked story's dated today, only about 2 hours ago, "9:57 am EDT June 27, 2004" .. this one appears to be real, not an urban legend... it names names, lists charges, reports a fight and a knife, bloody sneakers, has a location...
Only the dumb criminals get caught. The authorities don't even know the smart criminals are committing crimes, let alone catching them.
It's not just a good thing, its the only way.
Society strives to create an environment whereby you will be better off by putting energies into playing the game and getting ahead.
As the process continues, those who are doing well
will make laws to allow them to continue to do well, thus further fostering the environment.
People too far below the average intelligence can't make it far enough down the path set before them, and so turn to crime, and are caught.
This works fine until those at the top start to use infuence to prevent their competitors, and hence those behind them from getting ahead. This turns into a class system and accelerates until revolution and then socialism.
This in turn leads to loss of competition, and then a continued slowing of progress. Smaller factions break off and start to create their own internal competition, and more capitalist leanings , and then the whole process starts over again.
wait, what was I talking about?