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Prison Inmate Emails His Own Release Instructions To the Prison

Bruce66423 writes: A fraudster used a mobile phone while inside a UK prison to email the prison a notice for him to be released. The prison staff then released him. The domain was registered in the name of the police officer investigating him, and its address was the court building. The inmate was in prison for fraud — he was originally convicted after calling several banks and getting them to send him upwards of £1.8 million.

5 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. He watched Idiocracy by nitehawk214 · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Hey, guys, let this dumbass out!"

    Every day it seems more like a documentary. At least this time it wasn't Americans being the complete idiots.

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    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  2. Re:He's good. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    a) he's not stealing from people, but from criminal organizations; b) you people with bank accounts are only hurt because you allowed the banksters to latch themselves onto you in ways that hurt you whether they win or lose, so it is your fail, not his.

  3. Re:He's good. by timmyf2371 · · Score: 3, Informative

    That's precisely his point. If you were a rich person, you would have access to investment vehicles with a larger return than 2%, and access to credit lines at lower rates.

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  4. Re: He's good. by BlackHeron717 · · Score: 1, Informative

    You are so wrong it hurts. 1) interest rates are set by LIBOR and have already been proven to be chosen arbitrarily by bankers. 2) Banks are too big to fail, yes even in the UK, there is no chance of failure. 3) the country has access to fiat currency printing, meaning they will print as much as they need to cover any loss to insured deposits, also tieing into point number one, that interest rates are arbitrary in relation to actual banking.

  5. Re:He's good. by Sarten-X · · Score: 4, Informative

    Having worked in finance, I can assure you that pretty much everyone* has access to investment vehicles with a larger return than 2%. The problem is that those investments are significantly more risky than a bank, and losing the investment is unlikely to be catastrophic to someone with a large supply of other diversified assets, but it could be catastrophic to someone with only a weekly paycheck to fall back on.

    The solution to that problem is to properly diversify your investments for safety. An investment adviser can help with that, but they'll charge a fee for their work, and many people feel (accurately or not) they can't afford that service. There are books and other resources to assist someone in wisely choosing their own investments, but that requires ambition, effort, and the admission that one is not naturally a financial expert. That last part seems to be the most difficult to come by.

    * American, not already in excessive debt, with a stable income... some disclaimers apply, but the vast majority of the American population qualifies, not just those who fall under the "rich" label.

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    You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.