4 Weird and Funny Crimes and Criminals

Criminals are usually the people that use ruthless and very serious measures to accomplish their criminal goals. Still there are few of them that are into some pretty weird, and some would say, funny stuff. Funny or not, they are still criminals, but we do get to at least laugh at their methods and their crimes.

A criminal that hypnotizes you

Hypnosis is usually used in medicine to help people overcome different kinds of mental issues, but lately it started finding its place in criminal actions too. One particular Italian criminal is using hypnosis in robbing people, mainly store clerks. His method is very simple; he waits for his turn in line (like any other honest shopper), then leans over the counter and whispers into store clerk’s ear to look into his eyes. After the clerk does that, he also gives all of the money from the cash register to the nice man that whispered into his ear. The criminal is then off through the door with a bag of cash like nothing happened. The victims of this magical criminal don't remember giving him the money, and he's so subtle that no one realizes what's happened until it is too late. Italian police started a man hunt for this tricky criminal back in 2008, but they still haven’t gotten him into custody.

A criminal that tried to brake in into a prison

Yes, you read the headline correct, and no it was not to try and get his friend out of the prison. This man simply wanted in. After Merrill DeVore’s mother died, he was struck with grief so he did the only thing he knew, got drunk, and got high. After doing that at 4 a.m., he headed down to the local jail and knocked on the front door (you ask yourselves why? The man was drunk and high, so enough said). So no one let him in, and he, in his intoxicated mind, decided that it would a smart idea to climb the prison fence. Of course the guards came and stopped him, but the most bizarre thing of all is that they didn’t take him to the prison but to a local mental health center. So, Merril with all his good will and effort still didn’t manage to see the inside of a prison.

His crime is a love of heights

We couldn’t resist not putting Alain Robert on our list of weird and funny criminals. We are sure you’ve all read or heard of a modern day French Spiderman, Alain Robert. Well, it is possible that you didn’t know that Alain is considered to be a criminal, but he is proud of it. Apparently climbing tall buildings without a rope, harness or any other safety implement is considered to be a crime a safety hazard for one self and others (who would’ve guessed). Even though Alain is worldwide famous for his stunts, he is often arrested after his ascents because he usually lacks authorization for his climbs, though sometimes he's hired to scale buildings for publicity stunts. In his love of heights and adrenalin rush, Robert has climbed wide range of tall buildings worldwide, from the the New York Times Building, the Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, Willis Tower to the then-tallest skyscraper in the world: Taiwan's Taipei 101.

Diamond Fraud

Diamond fraud via telemarketing

This year is not a good year to invest in diamond business, unless you want to get scammed.
Fraudster masterminds have found a new way of getting their hands on your money, and this new fraud includes diamonds. More correctly, it involves you investing in diamond business. So if you get a call during which a telemarketer offers you high returns by investing in rare jewels, you should be very careful about what you are going to say or decide. This fraud has been mostly active in the region of Great Britain where the police is currently conducting a number of live investigations into diamond fraud. The fact that diamond investments are an unregulated form of investment and diamond brokers do not have to be registered with the regulator doesn’t help much to these investigations. Just last year, there have been about 250 reports of diamond fraud.

A victim loses over £90,000

The telemarketing fraudsters or cold callers mean business, and they are always praying on the weak and the vulnerable. The best example of this is a victim that lost over £90,000 in three months. The victim was called by a firm pitching diamond investments and handed over the money in three portions, and each time a transaction was planned, he was told to keep it a secret. The reasons to keep it a secret were the same old story about less people knowing about it, the more money you will make. “I get the impression my dad wanted to give these people all this money just to get them off his back,” said the man's son, Ben. “I think he was quite scared of them, and he feared for his own safety a little bit.” His father's financial adviser contacted Ben to establish why a large sum had been requested; his father was about to invest another £85,000 before his son intervened. Because he has power of attorney over his father's affairs, Ben asked the diamond brokers to stop ringing and to hand over the jewels so they could be sold. But every time he contacted them there was some sort of obstacle in the way to stop them sending the stones. The diamond fraud is just one in the sea of fraud examples done this way. These frauds are also known as boiler room scams, where individuals are targeted with cold calling on the telephone and pressured into making purchases of items, whether that is diamonds, shares or equities. They’re called boiler rooms because it is about exerting extreme pressure on people to part with their cash.

A former broker spills the beans

People who unfortunately become victim to this type of fraud are often sold items for prices that are grossly inflated against what they’re actually worth – as in a number of cases of diamond fraud. Sometimes the items don’t even exist. The fraudsters take people’s money on the promise of high investment returns, but the only people who gain are the criminals. We can only imagine how awful it must feel for people to discover that the savings they’ve accumulated in their working lives have vanished overnight as a result of this despicable criminal activity. Recently a former diamond broker came out and spilled the beans about the tactics used by these companies. First thing he revealed is that these fraudsters use tape with recorded sounds that is being played in the background to make the office seem busier than it really was since there weren't that many employees. He also said that he had to follow a script and was trained in high-pressure tactics to get investors to part with their cash. The former broker became suspicious when they told him that he should change his surname. The managers did it too, and he was told that it was to protect him. “Looking back, I think if everything's 100% legitimate, there would be no reason to hide.” he adds.
We hope that all these information help you in smart dealing with the cold callers the next time they offer you to invest in something. The smartest way is to hang up the phone and not even give them a hope of you becoming their next victim.

Magazine Subscription Fraud

Have you ever gotten a person selling magazines at your door? Whether it is for a charity, a school, or any other purpose. It could be a scam. Scam artists are no strangers to setting up fake charities and having people donate right into their pockets. The better business bureau receives hundreds of reports a year for magazine subscription fraud. But the thieves don't stop at getting you to donate to their fake charity, if you let them into our home, they sometimes will also steal your valuables as well. Recently a couple of young adults have gotten arrested for magazine fraud after collecting more than 4000$ in magazine sales receipts for a magazine subscriptions they claimed were for a local school. These young adults are often scammed themselves to sell for "sales crews." They are told they will see the country and make easy money, all while usually selling fake magazine subscriptions. Often these young adults come back without making anything, after travel expenses have been deducted from their pay. All after suffering physical and mental abuse by their managers. To avoid being scammed, refuse to buy from any "out of towners" because most people committing magazine fraud sell on the road t avoid being caught. Pay with a credit card so that you can track where your money goes. Remember too, that legitimate companies will have in writing the terms and conditions of service, ask for this. These are all ways to avoid being scammed, stay safe!

Tech Support Fraud

Tech support fraud is a huge business for scam artists now a days. Literally every facet of the industry is infected with con artists trying to fraud you out of your money. One thing criminals like to do, and its something that has been reported several times, is steal your information when its in the shop awaiting repairs. A lot of Computer repair shop owners are not to be trusted, and its important to find a reputable one. When you turn your computer into their hands for probably what is an overpriced fee ( they are scam artists ) they will take your computer to the back and scavenge any personal data they can find. Credit card numbers, tax information, a lot of sensitive data can be found on your computer, and stolen by these thieves. However, there is yet another scam that is being used in the Tech Support field. If you ever get a call from Microsoft declaring that they will fix a mysterious problem on your computer for free, and install an antivirus program for a small fee. Hang up the phone. There have been reports of users watching helplessly as hackers use the program that they install to hijack your computer and steal your sensitive information before you can even get your wits about you and pull the plug. Often users are guided to a website that gives them false information to "prove" that their computer has a virus that needs immediate removal. Microsoft reports that the average consumer loses 875$ to this scam and a couple of thousand in repair fees. The FTC however has received 40,000 complaints about the tech call scam. Paypal and others have been cracking down on the fraudsters, as well as shutting down their accounts. Just remember that legitimate companies will not call you and tell you need tech support. They are not monitoring your computer and therefore do not know if your computer needs it. Also when paying over the phone use a credit card or debit card, this makes iot easier to dispute financial charges made to your account.