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Been Robbed Recently? Check Ebay

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the pawn-shop-of-the-new-century dept.

fistfullast33l writes "A man from Great Neck, Long Island has been arrested on charges of stealing electronic equipment and selling it on Ebay. The police were tipped off when one of his alleged victims was searching for a replacement GPS device and found a perfect match on eBay — almost too perfect. A quick check of the serial number (note to cyber-criminals: don't post those) showed that it was the exact device that had been stolen." From the article: "Police and prosecutors were hesitant to provide details of how they determined all the devices had been stolen, but at least two of the laptops were stamped 'Property of St. John's University.' Detective Ray Cote noted that the GPS devices specifically had the addresses of the legitimate owners programmed in and police were now contacting those victims to eventually return the items."

19 of 229 comments (clear)

  1. Eventually? by hahafaha · · Score: 4, Funny
    ...police were now contacting those victims to eventually return the items.

    Just a minute, sir. I'm almost done downloading this pr0n.

    1. Re:Eventually? by aussie_a · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, you see one of the perks of being a policeman is getting to use stolen property for a while before it's returned.

  2. well by User+956 · · Score: 5, Funny

    A man from Great Neck, Long Island has been arrested on charges of stealing electronic equipment and selling it on Ebay.

    A++++ WOULD DEFINITELY STEAL FROM AGAIN

    --
    The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
    1. Re:well by blantonl · · Score: 3, Funny

      Reply by blantonl: Didn't steal just borrowed. Enjoy the goods and please come again!

      --
      Lindsay Blanton
      RadioReference.com
    2. Re:well by RxScram · · Score: 2, Funny

      Awwww, shucks... that just redirects to a landscape company :(

  3. irony by silverkniveshotmail. · · Score: 3, Funny

    On his most recent sale the GPS unit has an anti-theft feature. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item =320065453054

  4. Note to crooks... by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 3, Funny

    Please do post serial numbers. Please also post name/address of previous owner so we can verify that the item is in a good state of repair. Please also get a sworn statement from a police officer that the facts have been verified and are correct.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  5. Note to Slashdot editors: by iminplaya · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't make any more difficult to get our shit back...

    --
    What?
  6. Re:Dilemma by topham · · Score: 2, Funny


    I'd rather find out who your new roommate is and toss him a few bucks to give you the jailhouse welcome.

  7. Shill bidding by HerrEkberg · · Score: 4, Funny
    From TFA:

    "Unbelievable as it seems, he was in the bidding to buy his own stolen GPS,'' Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said. From ebay.com:

    Shill bidding is when a seller - or someone associated with a seller - bids on that seller's own item. These bids artificially increase the price or desirability of the item, and damage buyers' faith in the integrity and fairness of the marketplace. Shill Bidding is not allowed on eBay.
  8. Ahhh by umbrellasd · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is one of those rare situations where the general stupidity of human beings is reassuring.

  9. I'm shocked! by textstring · · Score: 4, Funny

    To find out people sell stolen things on ebay! *gasp*

  10. Somebody help! by aslvrstn · · Score: 4, Funny

    My P-P-P-Powerbook was just stolen and I found the thief reselling it on ebay! Call the cops!

  11. You wouldn't want to do that. by raehl · · Score: 4, Funny

    Unless eBay was being used to launder them...

    It's not worth as much after it's been washed.

    --
    paintball
  12. Stolen PC by flyingfsck · · Score: 2, Funny

    The wife's PC was stolen a few days ago - I'm waiting for the asshat to plug it into the internet. Come-on buddy, plug it in, plug it in.

    Grumble, grumble...

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
  13. you kids have it hard. When I was your age... by microcars · · Score: 2, Funny
    and living in Chicago and got robbed, all I had to do was get my ass down to Maxwell Street on Sunday morning to buy back my stuff.

    ah the good old days, when I used to live next door to a 10 acre Fencing operation..er...Flea Market.

    --
    I like microcars
  14. Re:What happens to the buyers? by aussie_a · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wow you must have some pretty clever thieves to be able to steal entire houses.

    Husband: Will you be glad to be home after visiting the in-laws honey?
    Wife: Yeah.
    Husband: Well here we... hmmm... the house isn't there.
    Wife: *sigh* Have you checked your pockets?
    Husband: Now why would it be in my pockets? Someone must have stolen it.
    Wife: Check your pockets. You're always leaving stuff there.

  15. Re:The Seattle Police were not as curious by 24-bit+Voxel · · Score: 2, Funny

    I wrote a nice scathing reply to your post, however my verification word was "gentler" so I offer this instead.

    BOO!

  16. Re:What happens to the buyers? by Vellmont · · Score: 2, Funny


    I'd prefer they "waste" their time on their charter
    The charter includes pissing away resources on recovering relatively inexpensive items for people where the thief has been caught and will easily be prosecuted? Most of the items I saw this guy sold were car GPS navigation systems, not the Hope diamond or priceless works of art.

    rather than listen to my phone calls.

    Actually I think that was the NSA.

    --
    AccountKiller