True Crime Online Newsletter - January 21, 2013

I couldn't make this up if I tried. . .Facebook page yields new puppy
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/01/17/Facebook-page-yields-new-puppy/UPI-38721358448167/

A pair of Massachusetts parents said they are making good on a wager and getting a new puppy after their children tallied more than a million likes on Facebook.

Ryan and Evie Cordell, who live near Boston, said their daughters, Cadence, 12, and Emerson, 9, and their three young boys had been asking for a dog since their family dog of 10 years died in August, ABC News reported Thursday.

The Cordells said the girls read about a family who bought a new cat for their children when they received more than 10,000 likes for a Facebook picture, so they convinced their father to promise them a puppy if their page could top 1 million likes.

The girls took a picture of them holding a sign with their younger brothers and had their mother create a page for people to like.

"Hi World, We want a puppy. Our dad said we can get one if we get 1 million Likes! So LIKE this! He doesn't think we can do it!" the sign read.

The page received more than 1.2 million likes in less than 24 hours.

"I really don't know how it moved so quickly," Evie Cordell said. "We thought it'd top out at maybe 2,000 people."

She said the family is now looking for a puppy.

"We are looking at adoption through a rescue or a local shelter," she said. "I think we want a lab or a golden retriever, either a puppy or a very young dog so it can grow up with our family."

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(DISCLAIMER: The following news items were found on the web and were not written or endorsed by WHO@; they are for informational purposes only)

Kennewick man pleads innocent to cyberstalking - 01/20/13
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/01/20/2844857/court-roundup-kennewick-man-pleads.html
Just one week after his release from jail on a new assault case, a 23-year-old man is back behind bars for allegedly sending hundreds of text messages to a former co-worker he claims to love. Lance Theopolis Smith pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court to a felony count of cyberstalking.

Tech Tips: Is your cellphone safe from 'Smishing?' - 01/18/13
http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/columnists/features/technology/tech-tips-is-your-cellphone-safe-from-smishing/article_02246621-1cc2-5dd3-9ca8-5065f68da10b.html
Many technology experts are declaring that a top security threats for 2013 will be cyber-attacks on mobile devices. In fact, smishing, a form of hacking information from cell phones (derived from SMS, or Small Message Service), is already running rampant for both consumers and business owners alike.

Pennsylvania football coach pleads in cyber stalking of East Lansing residents, others - 01/18/13
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/01/pennsylvania_football_coach_pl.html
A former Pennsylvania football coach accused of cyber stalking East Lansing residents and others across the country pleaded guilty Thursday, Jan. 17, to producing and attempting to produce child pornography, interstate extortion and cyberstalking.

Texas woman arrested in online harassment case - 01/18/13
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/18/5123382/texas-woman-arrested-in-online.html#storylink=cpy
A three-year Internet nightmare for an Oregon woman is over - for now. Denton police arrested Michelle Speed, 32, on Wednesday, accusing her of hacking into the woman's social websites, writing slanderous statements about her and even starting an online petition to have her fired.

'I have been paid to kill you': Terrifying con email that threatens people with assassination unless they pay £20,000 - 01/18/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2264682/I-paid-kill-Terrifying-email-threatens-people-assassination-unless-pay-20-000.html#ixzz2IcgouWve
Fraudsters have targeted email inboxes across the country with messages that threaten people with assassination unless they pay £20,000. The email claims to be from a sympathetic hitman who says he is under orders to kill the recipient who he feels has been wrongly identified as a target.

Bullied girl, 14, disappears the same day video of her being brutally attacked at school is posted online - 01/18/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2264535/Baileigh-Karam-missing-Bullied-girl-14-disappears-video-attacked-posted-Facebook.html#ixzz2IcgyDFw4
A bullied teenager is missing after a video surfaced online of her being struck repeatedly by a classmate. Baileigh Karam, 14, of Carlsbad, California, disappeared last Friday when the cell phone video was posted on Facebook. In the video, a female student strikes her as a crowd of fellow students watch and cheer. Karam is heard begging her attacker to stop.

Cyber bullies could face criminal charge, expulsion from school after Franklin schools incident - 01/17/13
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/cyber-bullies-could-face-criminal-charge-expulsion-from-school-after-franklin-schools-incident
The student or students who targeted multiple people with cyber bullying could be expelled and face criminal charges. Franklin police and Franklin Community Schools are investigating after photos and derogatory comments about at least eight middle school and high school students were posted online.

Playboy fined £100,000 for failing to protect children from 'hardcore videos and images' on its websites - 01/17/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263338/Playboy-fined-100-000-failing-protect-children-hardcore-videos-images-websites.html#ixzz2IcgUSmlu
Playboy has been fined £100,000 after it failed to protect children from potentially harmful pornographic material. Ofcom said Playboy TV and Demand Adult, both owned by Playboy, allowed access to 'hardcore videos and images' and did not have acceptable controls in place to check users were aged 18 or over.

Software developer fired after bosses learn he outsourced his work to China and spent ALL DAY surfing the web - 01/16/13
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-2263492/Software-developer-fired-bosses-learn-outsourced-work-China-spent-ALL-DAY-surfing-web.html
It was nice work while it lasted. A software developer making six-figures was fired after his bosses learned he outsourced his work to China so he could spend all day goofing off on the web, it was revealed today. The lazy but inventive worker, called 'Bob' and identified as being a mid-40s family man in a security report by Verizon, was even praised by his superiors for being 'the best developer in the building.'

Lufkin woman takes probation for sending harassing messages to self - 01/16/13
http://www.ktre.com/story/20607160/lufkin-woman-takes-probation-for-sending-harassing-messages-to-self
A Lufkin woman is choosing to take a probation sentence after pleading guilty Wednesday to posing as someone else and sending threatening text messages to herself. Barbara Mott Bordelon, 52, chose a 10-year probated sentence instead of a two-year prison sentence.

Woman files complaint against dating site - 01/16/13
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/01/16/Woman-files-complaint-against-dating-site/UPI-64511358360448/
A Swedish woman has filed a complaint with the Consumer Agency accusing a dating website of not being worth the money she paid for its services. The 43-year-old woman's complaint against eDarling says the website was "not offering good value for money" and featured misleading advertising that convinced her to sign up for a three-month account in November, The Local.se reported Wednesday.

The hunt for Red October: The astonishing hacking ring that has infiltrated over 1,000 high level government computers around the world - 01/16/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2263322/Operation-Red-October-revealed-The-astonishing-hacker-attack-infiltrated-55-000-high-level-government-computers.html#ixzz2Icfn0uaO
A major cyber-attack that has been stealing information from high level government computers around the world since 2007 has been discovered. Kaspersky Labs, which made the discovery, said in addition to diplomatic and governmental agencies of various countries across the world, Red October also targeted research institutions, energy and nuclear groups, and trade and aerospace targets. The firm even said the malware was used to infiltrate smartphones of government workers to electronically steal information.

Top magazine The Atlantic apologises for publishing bizarre Scientology propaganda with gushing review of church's current leader - 01/15/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2262987/Top-magazine-The-Atlantic-publishes-bizarre-Scientology-propoganda-gushing-review-churchs-current-leader.html#ixzz2I8bneJbe
Leading magazine The Atlantic has apologised for 'screwing up' after it published an advertorial praising current leader of the controversial 'Church of Scientology'. The website ran a long piece about David Miscavige, who the organisation said was responsible for the 'unparallelled era of growth' which saw a slew of new churches open up around the world. After receiving a barrage of criticism for publishing the post, which included pictures of the new 'churches' in Italy, America, Germany and Israel, they took the advertorial down.