Filmmaker Installed Security Software On a Decoy Phone To Spy On Smartphone Thieves (theverge.com)

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Filmmaker Installed Security Software On a Decoy Phone To Spy On Smartphone Thieves (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on Monday December 19, 2016 @07:00PM from the very-particular-set-of-skills dept.

An anonymous reader writes from a report via The Verge: Dutch film student Anthony van der Meer had the unfortunate pleasure of having his phone stolen while having lunch in Amsterdam. Unsatisfied with the response from the Amsterdam police, who register an average of 300 stolen phones per week, Meer decided to find out what kind of person steals a phone. He downloaded DIY security software on a decoy Android phone, intentionally got the phone stolen, and was able to spy on his thief for weeks. He recorded the ups and downs of his covert investigation and turned it into a 22-minute documentary called Find My Phone. Meer preloaded the decoy device with an anti-theft application called Cerberus, which allows the owner of the device to access any file on the phone remotely, as well as discretely activate the phone's camera and microphone. Meer and his friends were able to navigate the technicalities of surveilling the thief with relative ease. They even snapped a close-up of the guy's face. The hard part, it turns out, was getting the preloaded phone stolen in the first place. It took Meer four days to get his device pilfered in a city with high rates of theft because concerned citizens kept coming to his rescue.

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Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · 2016-12-19 19:06 · Score: 2

Not to sound too paranoid, but a guy who switches out phones to use a new stolen phone every two weeks or so, sets the phone to Arabic, and makes a few calls back to Egypt every few days... does the film make find nothing even a tiny bit odd in all that?
The rest of it wouldn't matter but the "use a phone for two weeks than toss it" approach to phone use seems mighty suspicious, along with apparently just sitting idle... waiting to be activated as it were...
Also, no description of his preferred porn? Not a very hard-hitting documentary!

--
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
1. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by nulldaemon · 2016-12-19 19:18 · Score: 2
  
  You find it odd that an Egyptian speaks Arabic and calls home every few days, then takes his phone to a phone shop after he mysteriously gets remote credit where the phone is evidently wiped?
2. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · 2016-12-19 19:26 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  You find it odd that an Egyptian speaks Arabic and calls home every few days
  As I siad, no. Actually that part is pretty normal, UNTIL....
  then takes his phone to a phone shop
  Then the phone is sold off every two weeks, and a new one obtained illegally... meanwhile he does nothing all day. Where is his income from? Have you ever lived in Amsterdam? I have, it's damn expensive. Also I don't swap out phones every two weeks. Have you never even seen a single episode of Breaking Bad? Nothing seems at all off about the way this guy lives his life and treats his phones? OK then, I look forward to your self-introspection covering for you if we see that guy in the news someday.
  
  --
  "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
3. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by fastest+fascist · 2016-12-19 19:33 · Score: 0
  
  Well, maybe there's a reason it's better to wait two weeks before selling a stolen phone. Like a limited number of phone shops to sell them to. Might set off some alarms if someone brought a used phone to sell daily.
4. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Jack9 · 2016-12-19 20:19 · Score: 1
  
  ...or he's just integrated software and it accidentally turned the output to arabic sometimes due to intention (maybe that's part of Cerebus) or accident. I wouldn't be surprised that he didn't detail the bugs of his program(s), especially if there were proprietary or not-so-EULA bits used. There's nothing about the film maker that seems like he's trying to be a major anything other than "innovative" documentary maker.
  
  --
  
  Often wrong but never in doubt.
  I am Jack9.
  Everyone knows me.
5. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by wonkey_monkey · 2016-12-19 20:30 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Then the phone is sold off every two weeks, and a new one obtained illegally... meanwhile he does nothing all day. Where is his income from?
  Selling stolen phones.
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
6. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-19 21:23 · Score: 0
  
  ...or he's just integrated software and it accidentally turned the output to arabic sometimes due to intention (maybe that's part of Cerebus) or accident.
  OK, fine. Don't look for malice where incompetence can be found I guess.
  With the same reasoning the thief probably switched language to Arabic by accident too. (Because for some reason speaking Arabic means that you are a terrorist?)
7. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-19 22:24 · Score: 1
  
  Another non-programmer Slashdot reader. What the hell do you guys do? IT support? What?
  Good applications will query the device's locale. Say, your device has 15 apps. You go to the settings page for the device and switch the locale from en_US to en_GB. Now "color" is spelled "colour" and "favorite" is "favourite" and the date format changes from MM/DD/YY to DD/MM/YY and so on. It's better that your 15 apps automatically pick up your new locale instead of having to set it individually 25 times. A programmer should also account for instances where the app may be different than the system and allow a preference to override the system, but in most cases for most apps, if not explicitly set within the app, it should defer to the device's locale setting.
8. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by stephanruby · 2016-12-19 23:32 · Score: 0
  
  The rest of it wouldn't matter but the "use a phone for two weeks than toss it" approach to phone use seems mighty suspicious...
  Calling Egypt from Amsterdam is not cheap.
  He probably used the phone until he exhausted all the money on it.
  
  Also, no description of his preferred porn?
  Most people use tablets or computers to watch porn.
9. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-19 23:59 · Score: 0
  
  Honestly, I find using the location mightily irritating.
  I want my language to always be English. Always. Which is what my OS is set to.
  Then some shitty noob programmer comes along and checks my location, overrides my preferences and sets the language to whatever country I'm in. No thanks.
10. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2016-12-20 00:35 · Score: 1
  
  Somebody who steals and uses other people's phones isn't exactly a model citizen; but the notion that an Egyptian immigrant who doesn't...exactly...look to be living the high life would want cheap telecommunications, prefer an Arabic localization, call home periodically; and take 'his' phone in to the shop for a look when its weird behavior becomes too jarring to ignore doesn't seem terribly suspicious.
  
  Yes, I suppose a particularly low-budget terrorist might also do all those things(though apparently the ISIS-preferred model for command-detonated IEDs is a nokia; unknown if this means that Mr. Elop needs to watch his back for what he did); but that is true in the same (largely useless) sense that "the guy at the shooting range plinking away with his AR-15 is doing what somebody practicing for a spree killing might do" is true. Yes, it isn't false; but the worrisome cases are drowned out be the number of similar looking and uninteresting cases.
11. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:30 · Score: 0
  
  This, a thousand times this. I speak English (natively) and Japanese (getting by. I also happen to live in Japan.
  PROTIP, shit web developers: if I had gone to (yourdomain).jp, then ok, foist Japanese language on me by default. The fact that I went to (your domain).CO.UK is a gigantic fucking clue that no, I do not want to have to wade through OVER A THOUSAND KAHHHHNJI to attempt to use your service. Despite the fact that my IP is located in Japan.
  Furthermore, websites that then decide to change back into Japanese on their own once you've gone through the tortuous process of forcing them into English: crrating one of these should be a 2-weeks-in-the-stocks offence as far as I'm concerned.
  Just. Fucking. Stop. It.
12. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:34 · Score: 0
  
  Nobody at all is talking about checking your location.
  Never mind Slashdotters being techies anymore. Hell, you're barely even literate.
13. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by thermidor · 2016-12-20 01:35 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  An alternative would be to actually watch the film, where you'll learn that he regularly topped up the phone (and did watch porn).
14. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:46 · Score: 1
  
  The Cerebus interface on the Windows PC was in Dutch. The Arabic you saw was the data from the stolen phone... For example, given your preferred language is English, if you managed to install this software onto a Russian's Android phone, the call history db, location history db, messages, etc would be sent back to you in Cyrillic. Cerebus is not translating the payload.
15. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by bytesex · 2016-12-20 01:48 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  He lives in Amsterdam. He doesn't have to have income - he gets social security!
  
  --
  Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
16. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:59 · Score: 1
  
  ...or he's just integrated software and it accidentally turned the output to arabic sometimes due to intention (maybe that's part of Cerebus) or accident.
  OK, fine. Don't look for malice where incompetence can be found I guess. With the same reasoning the thief probably switched language to Arabic by accident too. (Because for some reason speaking Arabic means that you are a terrorist?)
  It's not guaranteed, but seems very suspect don't you think?
17. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · 2016-12-20 03:50 · Score: 1
  
  He probably used the phone until he exhausted all the money on it.
  Did you watch the movie? The guy repeatedly added credit to the phone.
  I happened to have watched the whole thing before it was posted to Slashdot.
  Most people use tablets or computers to watch porn.
  Again, I refer you TO THE ACTUAL MOVIE.
  
  --
  "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
18. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by GameboyRMH · 2016-12-20 04:53 · Score: 1
  
  He kept the same SIM card in a new phone (as you can see in the movie that the phone's original owner calls the guy at the same number long after the phone has been offline), making changing the phone itself rather pointless. The phone was probably either damaged or pawned. Better put the guy on a watchlist for being Egyptian, poor, and possibly clumsy though!
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
19. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 05:41 · Score: 0
  
  The rest of it wouldn't matter but the "use a phone for two weeks than toss it" approach to phone use seems mighty suspicious, along with apparently just sitting idle... waiting to be activated as it were...
  
  You think a guy living in a homeless shelter might do something like.... sell the phone after using it for a while? There's nothing suspicious here. He's just a poor thief from Egypt. His native language is Arabic, and he still contacts people in his native country.
  Please stop with the crazy terrorist paranoia nonsense. I've seen your posts around here for years, and they're always foolish, or wrong. Please smarten up. You're probably the same guy who hears someone say "Allah Akbar" (which Muslim equivalent of "praise jesus"), on a plane, and tries to get them kicked off because you heard that on 24 from a TV terrorist.
20. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 05:46 · Score: 0
  
  . Have you never even seen a single episode of Breaking Bad? Nothing seems at all off about the way this guy lives his life and treats his phones?
  
  He again. Please stop basing your reality on television shows. I've also seen "The Dukes of Hazard" as a kid, and I don't think I'd try jumping a car over a small river and expect it to not be totally destroyed. But yet a scene from Breaking Bad is supposed to be insightful? You do know that they make that stuff up, right? You do know that the writers have zero experience with actual drug dealers, right?
  TV is for entertainment, not a real window into the criminal underworld. Please smarten up.
21. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · 2016-12-20 05:50 · Score: 1
  
  He kept the same SIM card in a new phone (as you can see in the movie that the phone's original owner calls the guy at the same number long after the phone has been offline)
  Incorrect. Watch starting around 20 minutes in. He says that he lost it at a phone shop as "that is where the sim was removed". He doesn't know what happened after that and did not try calling the number after that. He simply that that if the phone is enabled again the story will continue...
  Way to cover for a possible murderer though! I'll note blood is on your hands if anything happens. I've filed away your ID and made a special note of it so that if anything occurs, I can point to you as a potential collaborator. After all, why else would you be covering for a criminal?
  
  --
  "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
22. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 05:53 · Score: 0
  
  This feels like the filmmaker is focussing on the Arabic angle so he can pretend he's some major spyhunting terrorist catching badass.
  
  Hi.
  No, that's your imagination. The filmmaker clearly never focused on iota of attention on terrorism. That's you associating Arabic with terrorism. Please stop doing that. Thanks.
23. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by GameboyRMH · 2016-12-20 06:58 · Score: 1
  
  A criminal? That's the thing that filled me with dread throughout the movie, the best evidence we have that he actually stole the phone himself is that the language was set to Arabic immediately and never changed. It's quite possible this guy just bought a used phone from the actual thief who also spoke Arabic, and this movie is exploiting a man who simply unknowingly bought stolen property. The 4 days of inactivity soon after the theft makes more sense in this scenario.
  Getting back to the matter of the SIM card being reused in another phone, I think you're confusing the order of events.
  If you watch starting at 18:30, the owner speaks of the phone going offline. Directly after, he calls the "thief" - the only phone number he would have for the "thief" would be from the SIM that was in the stolen phone, but that phone is offline, so the SIM must be in another phone.
  Then he shows his attempted meeting with the "thief" and then after the 20-minute mark, he recaps the phone going offline where the SIM card is removed. Not a new incident.
  But he's a possible murderer for doing weird stuff with a phone while Egyptian! Next time some innocent brown person gets sent to Gitmo should the blood be on your hands? Will you be a potential collaborator in torture too? By the coocoo logic you used on me, you would be!
  
  --
  "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
24. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by amicusNYCL · 2016-12-20 07:43 · Score: 2
  
  meanwhile he does nothing all day.
  How do you know what he does all day? I missed the part of the movie where the filmmaker described the guy's routine every day. Maybe he has the phone off while he's working. Maybe he helps his friends. Maybe he meets women and tries to get them to give him money.
  
  Where is his income from?
  He stayed in at least one homeless shelter and doesn't have enough money for a bus. He probably doesn't have a huge amount of income, or maybe he just sends what he does make to family somewhere else.
  
  Then the phone is sold off every two weeks
  Where are you getting this "every two weeks" from? Did you miss the part of the movie where the filmmaker thinks he has a certain picture of the guy and then shows up and actually sees him and realizes that the guy isn't what he had in mind? But here you are, thinking you know all about the guy. Do you detect the irony at all?
  
  --
  "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
25. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by amicusNYCL · 2016-12-20 07:46 · Score: 1
  
  Cerebus: the dyslexic guardian of the underworld.
  
  --
  "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
26. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 08:38 · Score: 0
  
  you must be an American
27. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by TechyImmigrant · 2016-12-20 09:00 · Score: 1
  
  >Better put the guy on a watchlist for being Egyptian, poor, and possibly clumsy though!
  Or for being a thief maybe.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
28. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 09:05 · Score: 0
  
  > How do you know what he does all day?
  Its SuperKendall. He has superhuman knowledge. But only of people he assumes to be muslim. And its a good thing too, he's able to see the true evil of their nature in even those with most banal out lives. He was able to see that Obama was a crypto-muslim terrorist bent on destroying America. We should have listened to him, just look at what's happened to the country!
29. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by TechyImmigrant · 2016-12-20 09:07 · Score: 1
  
  >But he's a possible murderer for doing weird stuff with a phone while Egyptian!
  He's a definite thief.
  >Next time some innocent brown person
  He's no so innocent. He's a thief.
  
  --
  I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
30. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 10:24 · Score: 0
  
  Shhh... It's a big no-no in Europe nowadays to suggest that any new immigrant could ever, in any way, be a problem. You need very, very solid proof to even reluctantly admit it in a particular case. This sort of information is released very late and downplayed a lot, even if the person was caught red-handed. Political correctness.
  Does that answer your question?
31. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 10:33 · Score: 0
  
  It's interesting that you go to the trouble of describing two different people whose actions may suggest some kind of potential bad behavior, but you manage to (deliberately?) miss the key point that differentiates them, even despite typing it out yourself.
  While a would-be shooter might be dumb enough to leave a trail by going to a shooting range to practice, simply going to a shooting range is a completely legal and innocuous pass time for some people.
  On the other hand, somebody who regularly steals phones IS already a criminal and I see no point in giving them the benefit of the doubt. The fact that he also USES the phones (to call Egypt no less) rather than simply selling them right away, tells me he may NEED to switch phones regularly to keep his communications hidden. Why an arab might do that, ...who knows?
  (I hope the bold+italics are a clear enough indication that I'm being facetious)
32. Re: Nothing odd here, no sir... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 11:07 · Score: 0
  
  Muslims and other Islamists do not watch porn, because their prophet (blessed be his name and that of his pet goat) said "no porn, no alcohol, fuck America".
33. Re:Nothing odd here, no sir... by SuperKendall · 2016-12-21 11:44 · Score: 1
  
  He again. Please stop basing your reality on television shows.
  That's not what I base reality on, I base reality on the very real use of burner phones by criminals, well documented in any number of news stories including many news stories of past terror attacks in Europe). Breaking Bad just happens to be an extremely accurate example of the reason they call them burner phones, one most people would have seen.
  Just because something is in a TV show, does not mean it is NOT really happening in real life also.
  
  --
  "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Meh. by Frosty+Piss · 2016-12-19 19:06 · Score: 2

The "story" such that it is doesn't go much deeper than the Slashdot summary. It would be nice if there was a more tasty tease to watch the film, such as the perp used the phone to run some sort of huge prostitution business or a huge drug ring or maybe some sort of Islamic terrorism.
Given that there is no such tease, we can assume the perp used it to call his grandma now and then in some faraway place.

--
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
1. Re:Meh. by Hognoxious · 2016-12-19 22:12 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  well the joke is that since it was intentionally given to be stolen(or "found") and then spied on the people, he was actually breaking all privacy laws you could think of.
  
  You made that up. Stop lying.
  Nobody forced the little shit to steal it.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
2. Re:Meh. by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 00:35 · Score: 1, Interesting
  
  The "little shit" was a middle aged man. And perhaps it's different where you live, but in the Netherlands being the victim of a crime does not imply one is free to commit crimes against the perpetrator. Recording conversations is not allowed without permission unless you're a participant in the conversation according to Dutch law. Secretly photographing or filming people in private settings also isn't allowed. Yes, the film maker broke laws, and no, being the victim of theft does not make it legal to do so. I don't feel sorry for the thief at all, but that doesn't make it legal.
  Interesting detail: the first location where the film maker thought the thief probably lives is just around the corner from where I live. I didn't recognise the guy, though.
3. Re:Meh. by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 02:42 · Score: 0
  
  In America, punishment of crimes is a weird fetish for some people. Stole a loaf of bread? Enjoy being shot in the back by a "concerned citizen" while you flee. Half the people will say you deserved it. Case in point, Hognoxious.
4. Re:Meh. by Registered+Coward+v2 · 2016-12-20 02:54 · Score: 1
  
  well the joke is that since it was intentionally given to be stolen(or "found") and then spied on the people, he was actually breaking all privacy laws you could think of.
  it wasn't a "decoy", it was just a phone with spying software that he left to be found.
  stupid article really. though I have to wonder how many creeps do this on purpose - to just creep.
  You steal someone's phone and, IMHO, you give up any right to privacy whenever you use it. It's still the original owner's phone so accessing it is not breaking into someone else's system and anything on the phone belongs to the owner. I realize privacy laws may dictate otherwise but I would expect common sense to rule if some their tried to claim there rights were violated.
  
  --
  I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
5. Re:Meh. by Wulf2k · 2016-12-20 03:27 · Score: 1
  
  Sure, maybe morally/ethically, but legally you can't just record any conversation you can slip a microphone into.
  Especially when you then hit Slashdot proclaiming that none of it was accidental recording and you had full intent to commit those specific crimes repeatedly.
6. Re:Meh. by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 08:37 · Score: 0
  
  Nobody forced the little shit to steal it.
  If a woman had stolen the phone everything the filmmaker did would be considered extremely creepy and criminal.
Since TFA only has facebook comments... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-19 19:10 · Score: 1

...I'll have to vent my frustration here. You don't take last names by just taking the last separate word of someone's name. The guy doesn't have two middle names "van" and "der" his last name is "van der Meer"
Nuts by freeze128 · 2016-12-19 19:18 · Score: 4, Funny

"van der Meer had the unfortunate pleasure of having his phone stolen while having launch in Amsterdam."

You really got to watch out for that... Having Launch. That's what sent Bob Denver into space.
1. Re:Nuts by lhowaf · 2016-12-20 04:54 · Score: 1
  
  Not to mention Joel.
Praying by kanweg · 2016-12-19 19:43 · Score: 5, Funny

I had to laugh when the thief consulted an imam who told him that Allah would give him what he wanted if he prayed every hour for 24 hours. But the thief didn't notice Allah had already given him a smartphone without praying! Those mysterious ways are really universal. Take another person's possessions and thy will receive. Fool another person, and you will receive tithes.
Bert
1. Re:Praying by stephanruby · 2016-12-19 23:42 · Score: 1
  
  I had to laugh when the thief consulted an imam who told him that Allah would give him what he wanted if he prayed every hour for 24 hours.
  
  If this is the best financial advice muslims receive, then I feel bad for them.
  Following that advice won't get them very far in our modern society.
2. Re:Praying by twosat · 2016-12-20 00:25 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  "When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bike. Then I realised that The Lord doesn't work that way, so I stole one and asked him to forgive me." Emo Philips
3. Re:Praying by AmiMoJo · 2016-12-20 00:40 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  That's basically how most religions work. Tell people to pray really hard and claim credit for anything good that happens. Offer some vague, poorly translated dogma that can be twisted to justify whatever the interpreter needs at the time. Interesting to see it in action so candidly though.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
4. Re:Praying by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 00:45 · Score: 0
  
  Great story...
  -Earnie
5. Re:Praying by Maritz · 2016-12-20 02:04 · Score: 1
  
  Poor naive fools don't realise that you're supposed to pay lip service to religion and then do what you want.
  
  --
  I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
6. Re:Praying by allcoolnameswheretak · 2016-12-20 04:17 · Score: 1
  
  ... and blame the infidels for all the bad things that happen.
7. Re:Praying by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 06:02 · Score: 0
  
  Relevant :D
  Oh so relevant -->
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2SkqaCO9c4
  _
8. Re:Praying by antifoidulus · 2016-12-20 14:43 · Score: 1
  
  That's actually what motivates a lot of western terrorists. Look at most of them(Al-waki, the Nice terrorist, the Charlie Hebdo guys, the Orlando shooter, the list goes on) and you will find that most of them lead very "sinful" lives before "finding" religion and then committing terrorist acts
  
  The religious leaders convince them that they aren't at fault for "succumbing" to sin, its the fault of society for allowing them to fail in the first place, thus the "logical" conclusion for them is to attempt to change the society so it won't allow such sin in the future by installing Sharia law. First step in doing so is obviously killing as many infidels as possible....
  
  --
  Monstar L
Meh-hope for humanity. by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-19 20:06 · Score: 0

How about the fact that the number of "concerned citizens" outnumbers the number of "criminals" in the world.
Who the fuck cares? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-19 20:46 · Score: 0

Seriously, who fucking cares about their phone? At this point in history a cell phone is just another common-carry item that should be of no value.
My phone cost $25 (Moto-G) and was fully unlockable allowing me to run the firmware I want. There is no personal data other than my contacts on it and I could care less if it was stolen. I do use this phone for lots of stuff and I enjoy it but there is nothing critical to my life on it.
The younger generations seem to be shifting their entire lives to their phones. As usual, people are stupid.
1. Re:Who the fuck cares? by OolimPhon · 2016-12-19 22:07 · Score: 2
  
  Because a modern phone isn't really a phone any more.
  It is what used to be called a Personal Digital Assistant, a handheld computer that might just occasionally be used for making voice phone calls.
  It is a web browser, diary, ebook reader and everything else. Most people use them on wifi and avoid the phone companies whenever they can.
2. Re:Who the fuck cares? by Maritz · 2016-12-20 02:07 · Score: 1
  
  Obviously, from your comment, you are a drastically unimaginative person who can only see their own viewpoint. Now - this is going to blow your mind - most people don't have phones as cheap as $25. Lots have phones that go $400-$600 or more.
  So unfortunately, it can matter if it's stolen. And yes, of course, anyone who doesn't see the world exactly like you is a complete idiot - this is slashdot, after all.
  
  --
  I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
That is funny by Black+Parrot · 2016-12-19 20:56 · Score: 1

Unfortunately, also probably a good way to get yourself thrown in jail or murdered.

--
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Amsterdam by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-19 21:17 · Score: 0

Stay away from there. I had my wallet stolen.
1. Re:Amsterdam by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-19 22:25 · Score: 0
  
  Only if you are a tourist.
2. Re:Amsterdam by lxs · 2016-12-19 22:57 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah stay away.
  We have far too many of you fucking retards visiting the place. (Over 17million every year on a population of less than a million, it's starting to look like Venice here)
3. Re:Amsterdam by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2016-12-20 00:40 · Score: 1
  
  At least you guys are better at keeping the water out than the Italians are, so it won't look too much like Venice.
4. Re:Amsterdam by Maritz · 2016-12-20 02:24 · Score: 1
  
  You not liking it is seriously tempting me into visiting.
  
  --
  I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
The hard part was getting the phone stolen by sanf780 · 2016-12-19 22:03 · Score: 2

Well, it was not a fan favourite iPhone but a mediocre HTC. I do not believe the aftermarket for HTC spare parts is too lucrative, even if the police told so.
1. Re:The hard part was getting the phone stolen by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:37 · Score: 0
  
  Android has something like 90% of the market share. Nobody really cares which Android phone it is. Any Android is fine. Stop parroting marketing garbage.
2. Re:The hard part was getting the phone stolen by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 07:06 · Score: 0
  
  Camrys are one of the best selling cars but thieves would rather steal more uncommon Mercedes S class parked right next to it. Market share doesn't equal market demand. Costs play a significant factor.
3. Re: The hard part was getting the phone stolen by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 17:20 · Score: 0
  
  That's not true at all. The Camry is one of the most often stolen cars. The Mercedes.. Isn't.
  Do you even base your statements on any sort of facts, or do you just go with "what sounds right in your head"?
4. Re:The hard part was getting the phone stolen by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-21 02:15 · Score: 0
  
  A quick Google search reveals the Camry is the 4th most stolen vehicle. The Mercedes isn't even in the top 25.
  So no. Educate yourself.
Re:This is violation of privacy by Hognoxious · 2016-12-19 22:23 · Score: 4, Informative

The word you're looking for is entrapment. However that requires a policeman to actively encourage the criminal to commit the act.

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Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Re:This is violation of privacy by thegarbz · 2016-12-19 22:31 · Score: 1

I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent. Probalbly he would be able even to defend himself from charge of theft, because it evidently was a provocation.
Wow. America, fuck yeah right?
-1 Moronic by avgapon · 2016-12-19 22:57 · Score: 0

Pity there's no such option.
Re:This is violation of privacy by stephanruby · 2016-12-19 23:08 · Score: 1

I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent.
What would be the point in the thief exposing himself?
The filmmaker pixelated his face, censored his name, and didn't get the police involved (This second time around, the filmmaker was more interested in making his film, not recovering the second phone). Hopefully, the filmmaker provided the address to the police of the phone shop where the phone finally got wiped. The police should try to sell stolen phones to that particular phone shop, to see what happens.
Re:This is violation of privacy by geekmux · 2016-12-19 23:43 · Score: 2

I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent. Probalbly he would be able even to defend himself from charge of theft, because it evidently was a provocation.
Maybe he should have had the thief agree to a 4,207-page EULA first. After all, that's how corporations have made invasion of privacy legal for years.
Government doesn't even bother anymore. They just fucking do it and dare you to do something about actions that once were illegal and (in America) used to be constitutionally protected.
TL; DR - Control is an Illusion. Privacy is a Delusion.
Re:This is violation of privacy by Opportunist · 2016-12-19 23:46 · Score: 1

That's US thinking, with your fantasies about "due process" and "admissible evidence". Europe is more like "You steal my stuff, your ass is mine!"

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We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Re:This is violation of privacy by drolli · 2016-12-19 23:57 · Score: 1

I really wonder how many laws the filmmaker broke.....
Unless all of this was known to everybody and just as show.
You must be American. by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 00:00 · Score: 1

Only in your country do you consider thiefs "victims."
Re:This is violation of privacy by volodymyrbiryuk · 2016-12-20 00:42 · Score: 2

Yeah they should lock away that 'filmmaker' scumbag for good and give that thief a medal for exposing a conspiracy of illegal privacy violation.

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sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
Idea by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 00:44 · Score: 0

Next, let's fill one with remotely accessible thermite....
Re:This is violation of privacy by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:00 · Score: 0

Yeah they should lock away that 'filmmaker' scumbag for good and give that thief a medal for exposing a conspiracy of illegal privacy violation.
One can only hope your sarcasm gun was set to maximum...
Re:This is violation of privacy by thegarbz · 2016-12-20 01:05 · Score: 1

No the EU has due process and admissible evidence too.
What this is is some twisted view that someone who steals something has a right to expect it to be as he bought it, and that there's an expectation that people take care of the scumbags who thieve from them (like the guy in the USA who tried to rob a house, fell through the skylight, cut his leg on a choppingboard, sued the home owner and ... won.
We have zero tolerance for that bullshit in most European countries, and when the Brexit happens I think it will be all European countries.
Re:This is violation of privacy by geekmux · 2016-12-20 01:08 · Score: 1

I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent...
Privacy is a delusion.
Humans are caught on camera and audio dozens of times a day by doing nothing more than walking around this planet, so let's drop the dramatic bullshit regarding "consent".
As far as exposing a criminal, fuck 'em. I'd rather this concept go viral to help destroy the stolen cellphone market that obviously thrives rather well.
Re: doing already this by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:40 · Score: 0

thye doing th1s legaly samsung spywre wifi ad hoc
that's your favorite pic huh? bet you fapp to it intensely every night, and lick up your jizz because it's so hipster of you to do that. fucking faggot
captcha=courage
Wham bam.... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:40 · Score: 0

...oh Amsterdam!
Strange by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:43 · Score: 0

Huh - seems Cerbeus' web site is down and their app is missing on the Play Store. A victim of their own success?
product idea by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:51 · Score: 0

I think there should be a clearing-house where this is done for a majority of stolen phones.
If you pay a monthly fee, then the whole life of the thief is made public and put on a public website.
That sounds like a public service.
They put mugshots of wanted criminals online to catch/find them. Why not phone thieves.
Fun Ethical Question by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:53 · Score: 0

Can property intentionally left to be stolen be considered stolen property?
Also, if it is truly stolen property, I would assume its reasonable that the thief should have no rights to privacy, if that privacy is used to identify and apprehend him.
I do wonder if the thief has a right to privacy beyond that though - similar to scope of warrant, I assume its reasonable for the thief to be protected from having his (her, it, whatever) private life, beyond identification proposes, to be kept private.
Terrible analogy forthcoming: let's assume intellectual property theft is real, per definitions of the production studios. Can a movie studio place a torrent of their own movie to see who downloads it? Do they then have a right to view/use everything on that person's computer? How knows, maybe there are other copyright materials for which losses can be recouped.
1. Re:Fun Ethical Question by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 01:56 · Score: 0
  
  also, apologies on the terrible grammar / writing. I'm dyslexic. (how/who, purpose not propose)
2. Re:Fun Ethical Question by gfxguy · 2016-12-20 04:54 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, it's still stolen.
  If you leave your car, running, doors wide open, and someone takes it, it's still stealing.
  If I leave the door to my home wide open and someone comes in and takes things, it's still stealing.
  Taking something that does not belong to you is stealing no matter how easy it was.
  
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  Stupid sexy Flanders.
Re:This is violation of privacy by AvitarX · 2016-12-20 01:56 · Score: 1

I'm not sure leaving something behind is enough to count as inducement in the US.
Person wasn't convinced to steal, person clearly has the capacity to take a phone left behind, and people leave phones behind often enough that I'd think the typical opportunity was there too.

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Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Re:This is violation of privacy by Maritz · 2016-12-20 02:22 · Score: 1

Yeah. "I stole a phone, and I was subsequently provoked into stealing it."

--
I do not want your cheap brainburning drugs. They are useless for work. And I am a working man today.
Bait cars? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 02:29 · Score: 0

Yes, here in the US, this is done all the time. A vehicle is left there, unlocked, keys in the ignition. An enterprising soul decides that vehicle is in dire need of "liberation", starts it up, heads off, only to have it disabled, doors deadlock, and the police remove the driver from the vehicle, and hand them a GTA charge, with four years as a "guest" in a private prison for their deeds.
Phone Theft by jon3k · 2016-12-20 02:39 · Score: 4, Insightful

I'm not sure how phone theft is still happening. At least iPhones, not sure about Android. But if you put a password on your phone then report it stolen, I thought it was useless at that point? Could never be reactivated by another person. Is that not the case?
1. Re:Phone Theft by gavrc · 2016-12-20 03:32 · Score: 1
  
  That's what the Apple tells you. Do you believe the manufacturer or what happens in real life?
2. Re:Phone Theft by guruevi · 2016-12-20 09:52 · Score: 2
  
  It is the case if you activate a pin and register your phone with Apple, also report it stolen afterwards to police and Apple. It also can give it's location among other things. Many people don't know that though and many thieves target and get away with unlocked phones and many people don't bother reporting thefts like that to police.
  On the other hand, a nice iPhone is always good for it's parts, a car is relatively 'unstealable' as well between VIN numbers and online registries, that doesn't mean that stolen cars don't have value.
  
  --
  Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
Re:This is violation of privacy by Applehu+Akbar · 2016-12-20 02:48 · Score: 1

I think thief should file a lawsuit against filmmaker for making his private live public without consent. Probalbly he would be able even to defend himself from charge of theft, because it evidently was a provocation.
Yes, this would be a totally European thing to do. But act fast because the political climate there is changing fast.
Re:This is violation of privacy by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 03:14 · Score: 0

I have no idea what the laws would be in Europe, but from a USA standpoint, "reasonable expectation of privacy" is a typical standard. I think it would be a compelling legal argument to suggest that a thief who steals a device with a camera and microphone has no such expectation.
Plus, a judge and jury wouldn't be inclined to award damages to a thief, even if he presented a solid counter-argument about his privacy being violated.
location =/= locale by luis_a_espinal · 2016-12-20 03:53 · Score: 1

Honestly, I find using the location mightily irritating.
I want my language to always be English. Always. Which is what my OS is set to.
Then some shitty noob programmer comes along and checks my location, overrides my preferences and sets the language to whatever country I'm in. No thanks.
Jesus Christ man, location =/= locale. Truly, so much for techies.
1. Re:location =/= locale by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 09:00 · Score: 0
  
  To be fair, I've seen exactly what he's describing.
  I use a VPN with exit nodes in about 20 different countries and I've encountered websites that set their default locale based on their geo-locating the exit node's ip address. Its annoying as fuck because you can over-ride it, but only if you create an account, log in and change the setting in your account. which negates much of the privacy benefits of using the VPN in the first place
2. Re: location =/= locale by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 09:56 · Score: 0
  
  Slashdot: R.I.P nerds... Now what are the Kardashians up to?
Re:This is violation of privacy by gfxguy · 2016-12-20 04:51 · Score: 1

I don't think it would be all that interesting to hear such a case - I doubt anyone believes you have a reasonable expectation of privacy using someone else's phone, particularly without permission.

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Stupid sexy Flanders.
All for naught by lhowaf · 2016-12-20 05:05 · Score: 1

In the end, the police response was the most efficient and correct. After all the effort and expense, not a thing was done to further the cause of "justice."
Report the crime, recover data and wipe the phone if you can and move on.
1. Re:All for naught by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 06:18 · Score: 0
  
  After all the effort and expense, not a thing was done to further the cause of "justice."
  He wasn't after "justice", he was after a film project. And he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, getting international attention. Frankly, I thought he did a good job.
He stole my laptop... I stole his dignity. by Miamicanes · 2016-12-20 05:30 · Score: 1

The filmmaker was a wimp. This presentation at DEFCON by a guy who got his Mac stolen was EPIC:
https://youtu.be/Jwpg-AwJ0Jc
Spoiler: he showed the guy's adult selfies, online dating profiles, Google searches, and more. The moral: if you want to keep your data safe, use robust encryption and access security. If you'd rather get your computer back (or at least, hours of entertainment at the thief's expense), configure it with auto-login (so the thief won't even BOTHER to reinstall the OS) and remote control software w/DDNS client. :-D
Re:who's the thief by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 07:42 · Score: 0

"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
-LBJ
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2016-12-20 07:45 · Score: 2

Comment removed based on user account deletion
Re:This is violation of privacy by kaatochacha · 2016-12-20 09:27 · Score: 1

Those people are called "thieves", and should be treated accordingly.
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2016-12-20 11:13 · Score: 1

Comment removed based on user account deletion
He's doing an AMA on Reddit by Clifton+Beach · 2016-12-20 11:38 · Score: 1

He's doing an AMA on Reddit: www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/5jg18f/iama_anthony_van_der_meer_director_of_the

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42 hidden comments
Why so many phones are stolen in Amsterdam by Anonymous Coward · 2016-12-20 15:12 · Score: 0

Drugs. Plain and simple. Drug addicts here don't work because of social supports, but they steal to maintain their habits. They steal everything that isn't nailed down, and then they steal those nailed things too. OUr parking ramps are like robotic fortresses; cars left on the street are soon stripped bare.
Now America is going down this path with legal hash. Soon you will have many phones stolen. ANd many other things.
Parts by phorm · 2016-12-21 06:23 · Score: 1

Phones are often like cars, the value of the parts meets or exceeds that of the whole. Even if they can't use the phone itself, they now have a working LCD/digitizer (often $150-$300 value for newer phones), battery, buttons, speaker, etc etc.