WHO@ Newsletter - March 7, 2011
I couldn't make this up if I tried. . .Good lord
Woman dressed as dead mom arrested in pension plot
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110305/ap_
Bullies torment schoolgirl, 15, with fake online boyfriend before telling her on Facebook he'd killed himself - 03/07/11
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/arti
Cyber-bullies tricked a girl into believing she had an online boyfriend for three months before cruelly killing him off. Their 15-year-old victim was deeply traumatised after reading Facebook reports that he had committed suicide. The victim, from Blackburn, Lancashire, has now come face to face with her tormentors at a restorative justice meeting after police began investigating.
Authorities say a Washington state woman suspected of pension fraud was arrested when she tried to open a bank account in her dead mother's name while disguised as her mother.
Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo says 59-year-old Loewen B. Craft was wearing a gray wig and makeup to make her look older when she arrived this week at a credit union branch in Ferndale, Wash.
The sheriff alleges Craft fraudulently collected more than $145,000 in pension benefits since her mother, Betty Becker, died in 2007.
Detective John Allgire was waiting at the credit union. He arrested Craft for investigation of first-degree identity theft, criminal impersonation and multiple counts of forgery.
The sheriff says the scheme began to unravel when the detective started investigating an unrelated arson case. He learned that Becker had been admitted to St. Joseph hospital in 2007 and died on April 23, 2007.
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Visit WHOA on the web at http://www.haltabuse.org
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NEWS TO USE AND PASS ALONG!
(DISCLAIMER: The following news items were found on the web and were not written or endorsed by WHO@; they are for informational purposes only)
Computers, cameras seized from Irby home - 03/05/11
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.as
The search of Stuart Irby's home in Eastover Thursday turned up items that will be analyzed in connection with the City of Madison's cyberstalking charge against him. "During the execution of the search warrant yesterday, the investigators seized seven digital cameras, two laptop computers, a thumb drive, and a few SD cards that go with the cameras," says Master Sergeant Kevin Newman with the Madison Police Department. "They're going to be taken to the Attorney General's office to be sent out for forensic testing."
Prison for man who demanded nude teenage photos - 03/04/11
http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/loc
A man who hounded a teenage girl, sending her nude photos and threatening to kill her is sentenced to prison in Seattle for cyber stalking.
Everett man convicted of cyber stalking - 03/04/11
http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/ap_
An Everett man who sent angry e-mails to a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor was convicted Thursday of felony cyber stalking.
Rose McGowan’s Alleged Cyber-Stalker Appears In Court - 03/04/11
http://valley.newhavenindependent.org/i
A Derby man who suffers from mental health problems allegedly made a threat to Rose McGowan involving the actress meeting his “Smith & Wesson,” according to a prosecutor. Louis Santo, 36, was arrested Friday morning for allegedly cyber-stalking McGowan, best known for her role on the television show “Charmed.”
Delete the rebate@hmrc.gov.uk phishing email - 03/04/11
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigation
At the risk of stating the obvious, if you get an email that looks like HM Revenue & Customs are offering you a tax rebate, it's a phishing scam, delete it. There's rash of them doing the rounds at the moment, apparently from the address rebate@hmrc.gov.uk and reading: "After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax rebate of: £ 244.79."
Everett man convicted of felony cyberstalking - 03/04/11
http://heraldnet.com/article/20110304/N
Jurors weren't convinced the anger-fueled e-mail sent to a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor was harmless. Instead they decided that James R. Swanson committed a crime when he fired off two messages to a prosecutor in 2009 after the lawyer declined Swanson's request to file criminal charges against his now ex-wife.
Internet predator had sex with underage teenager after approaching 1,000 girls on Facebook - 03/04/11
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/arti
A homeless man who approached more than 1000 teenage girls for sex on social networking site Facebook was yesterday jailed for having intercourse with an underage girl. Dylan Lewis, 21, who is originally from Bethesda, North Wales, admitted taking the fifteen year old to a B&B in Holyhead, Anglesey, where they had unprotected sex five times.
Turkey blocks Google Blogger in football broadcasting row - 03/04/11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/science
Google’s Blogger site has been blocked by the Turkish authorities after a row broke out over who can broadcast football matches in the country. The ban comes after Turkish satellite firm Digiturk went to court to protect its right to broadcast Spor Toto Super League fixtures on their Lig channel.
Peoria man guilty of cyberstalking - 03/03/11
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x868517527/P
A North Valley man was convicted Thursday of cyberstalking a WEEK-TV news reporter. Joseph A. Beadles, 40, of 605 Bryan Ave. now faces either probation or up to three years in prison when sentenced by Peoria County Circuit Judge Steve Kouri, who ordered Beadles held without bond pending his April 21 sentencing.
One in five motorists surf the internet while driving survey reveals - 03/03/11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/science
A shocking one in five drivers claim to surf the web while behind the wheel, a new survey has revealed. The survey of 912 drivers was conducted in November and found 19 per cent of those asked admitted using their mobile phones to access the internet while driving a car. In the same survey 74 percent said they made or received calls while driving and 35 per cent admitted to sending or receiving texts.
Builder, 39, hanged himself in park after Facebook message told him 'If you don’t kill yourself, someone else will' - 03/03/11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
A builder killed himself after being threatened on Facebook that if he did not do so, others would do it for him, an inquest has heard. Christopher Herbert, 39, was found hanged in a park after receiving the threats via the social networking site, a coroner in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was told. He had threatened suicide during a Facebook conversation after an incident with a former girlfriend’s father.
Attacks on forums raise concerns of cyberbullying - 03/03/11
http://www.northjersey.com/news/1173196
In a day in age where legislation is creating laws with penalties against cyber-bullying amongst the schools, it is this very act of abuse and harassment that is becoming rampant on various adult forums throughout the Vernon community, as well as several media driven websites.
Two national newspaper websites found guilty of contempt of court - 03/03/11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
Two national newspaper websites were today found guilty of contempt of court over the use of internet photographs. In what are believed to be the first cases of their kind, the High Court in London ruled the contempt occurred when Mail Online and The Sun carried pictures on their websites of a murder trial defendant ‘posing with a gun’.
Chicago Retail Stores on High Alert for Thefts by Teen 'Flash Mobs' - 03/03/11
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/03/ch
Chicago retail stores are being advised to look out for unruly groups of teens who have been entering businesses, creating disturbances and then escaping with stolen merchandise. In recent weeks, three stores have been targeted by these so-called teen "flash mobs," who coordinate their plans through Twitter, CBS Chicago reports.
Pictured with piles of cash: The public schoolboy jailed for five years for masterminding £18m internet scam - 03/02/11
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/arti
A public schoolboy who masterminded an £18million banking scam and boasted he was a 'legendary' fraudster was jailed for five years today. Nick Webber, 19, built an internet empire using IT skills honed at exclusive boarding school Bradfield College by accessing school records to cancel his friends' detentions.
Social media passwords off limits, Simons says - 03/02/11
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c
A politician running to lead the B.C. New Democrats says he is refusing to comply with a requirement of leadership hopefuls to hand over the passwords to their social media accounts. Nicholas Simons, an NDP MLA who's hoping to run in the leadership race, says he's left that information off his nomination package.
Star must identify anonymous posters to website, judge rules - 03/02/11
http://www.indystar.com/article/2011030
A Marion County judge has ruled, for the first time in Indiana, that news media outlets can be ordered by the court to reveal identifying information about posters to their online forums. In rulings this week and last week, Marion Superior Court Judge S.K. Reid became the first judge in Indiana to rule on whether the state journalism shield law protects media outlets from being forced to disclose names of anonymous posters on their websites or other identifying information about those posters, said Kevin Betz, an attorney for Jeffrey Miller, former chief executive of Junior Achievement of Central Indiana.
Man pleads guilty to duping moms into abusing kids - 03/01/11
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/ma
In real life, Steven Demink didn't have children, a college degree or a lasting career. Online, prosecutors say, he presented himself as Dalton St. Clair, an attractive single father and psychologist a fantasy image authorities say the Michigan man used to persuade mothers across the country to commit unspeakable acts on their children.
Camera prettifies subjects, even adds "makeup" - 03/01/11
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110301/od_
Photos are everything for Yuka Obara, a well-known Japanese blogger who insists anything showing her online be picture-perfect -- especially because it's hard these days to delete poor-quality photos once on the web. The 20-year-old Obara, known by her online profile Yunkoro, has honed her art for four years in line with Japan's cult of the "kawaii" or cute, which has given rise to creative profile picture-taking.
Woman dressed as dead mom arrested in pension plot
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110305/ap_
Bullies torment schoolgirl, 15, with fake online boyfriend before telling her on Facebook he'd killed himself - 03/07/11
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/arti
Cyber-bullies tricked a girl into believing she had an online boyfriend for three months before cruelly killing him off. Their 15-year-old victim was deeply traumatised after reading Facebook reports that he had committed suicide. The victim, from Blackburn, Lancashire, has now come face to face with her tormentors at a restorative justice meeting after police began investigating.
Authorities say a Washington state woman suspected of pension fraud was arrested when she tried to open a bank account in her dead mother's name while disguised as her mother.
Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo says 59-year-old Loewen B. Craft was wearing a gray wig and makeup to make her look older when she arrived this week at a credit union branch in Ferndale, Wash.
The sheriff alleges Craft fraudulently collected more than $145,000 in pension benefits since her mother, Betty Becker, died in 2007.
Detective John Allgire was waiting at the credit union. He arrested Craft for investigation of first-degree identity theft, criminal impersonation and multiple counts of forgery.
The sheriff says the scheme began to unravel when the detective started investigating an unrelated arson case. He learned that Becker had been admitted to St. Joseph hospital in 2007 and died on April 23, 2007.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit WHOA on the web at http://www.haltabuse.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NEWS TO USE AND PASS ALONG!
(DISCLAIMER: The following news items were found on the web and were not written or endorsed by WHO@; they are for informational purposes only)
Computers, cameras seized from Irby home - 03/05/11
http://www.wlbt.com/Global/story.as
The search of Stuart Irby's home in Eastover Thursday turned up items that will be analyzed in connection with the City of Madison's cyberstalking charge against him. "During the execution of the search warrant yesterday, the investigators seized seven digital cameras, two laptop computers, a thumb drive, and a few SD cards that go with the cameras," says Master Sergeant Kevin Newman with the Madison Police Department. "They're going to be taken to the Attorney General's office to be sent out for forensic testing."
Prison for man who demanded nude teenage photos - 03/04/11
http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/loc
A man who hounded a teenage girl, sending her nude photos and threatening to kill her is sentenced to prison in Seattle for cyber stalking.
Everett man convicted of cyber stalking - 03/04/11
http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/ap_
An Everett man who sent angry e-mails to a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor was convicted Thursday of felony cyber stalking.
Rose McGowan’s Alleged Cyber-Stalker Appears In Court - 03/04/11
http://valley.newhavenindependent.org/i
A Derby man who suffers from mental health problems allegedly made a threat to Rose McGowan involving the actress meeting his “Smith & Wesson,” according to a prosecutor. Louis Santo, 36, was arrested Friday morning for allegedly cyber-stalking McGowan, best known for her role on the television show “Charmed.”
Delete the rebate@hmrc.gov.uk phishing email - 03/04/11
http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigation
At the risk of stating the obvious, if you get an email that looks like HM Revenue & Customs are offering you a tax rebate, it's a phishing scam, delete it. There's rash of them doing the rounds at the moment, apparently from the address rebate@hmrc.gov.uk and reading: "After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax rebate of: £ 244.79."
Everett man convicted of felony cyberstalking - 03/04/11
http://heraldnet.com/article/20110304/N
Jurors weren't convinced the anger-fueled e-mail sent to a Snohomish County deputy prosecutor was harmless. Instead they decided that James R. Swanson committed a crime when he fired off two messages to a prosecutor in 2009 after the lawyer declined Swanson's request to file criminal charges against his now ex-wife.
Internet predator had sex with underage teenager after approaching 1,000 girls on Facebook - 03/04/11
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/arti
A homeless man who approached more than 1000 teenage girls for sex on social networking site Facebook was yesterday jailed for having intercourse with an underage girl. Dylan Lewis, 21, who is originally from Bethesda, North Wales, admitted taking the fifteen year old to a B&B in Holyhead, Anglesey, where they had unprotected sex five times.
Turkey blocks Google Blogger in football broadcasting row - 03/04/11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/science
Google’s Blogger site has been blocked by the Turkish authorities after a row broke out over who can broadcast football matches in the country. The ban comes after Turkish satellite firm Digiturk went to court to protect its right to broadcast Spor Toto Super League fixtures on their Lig channel.
Peoria man guilty of cyberstalking - 03/03/11
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x868517527/P
A North Valley man was convicted Thursday of cyberstalking a WEEK-TV news reporter. Joseph A. Beadles, 40, of 605 Bryan Ave. now faces either probation or up to three years in prison when sentenced by Peoria County Circuit Judge Steve Kouri, who ordered Beadles held without bond pending his April 21 sentencing.
One in five motorists surf the internet while driving survey reveals - 03/03/11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/science
A shocking one in five drivers claim to surf the web while behind the wheel, a new survey has revealed. The survey of 912 drivers was conducted in November and found 19 per cent of those asked admitted using their mobile phones to access the internet while driving a car. In the same survey 74 percent said they made or received calls while driving and 35 per cent admitted to sending or receiving texts.
Builder, 39, hanged himself in park after Facebook message told him 'If you don’t kill yourself, someone else will' - 03/03/11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
A builder killed himself after being threatened on Facebook that if he did not do so, others would do it for him, an inquest has heard. Christopher Herbert, 39, was found hanged in a park after receiving the threats via the social networking site, a coroner in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was told. He had threatened suicide during a Facebook conversation after an incident with a former girlfriend’s father.
Attacks on forums raise concerns of cyberbullying - 03/03/11
http://www.northjersey.com/news/1173196
In a day in age where legislation is creating laws with penalties against cyber-bullying amongst the schools, it is this very act of abuse and harassment that is becoming rampant on various adult forums throughout the Vernon community, as well as several media driven websites.
Two national newspaper websites found guilty of contempt of court - 03/03/11
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
Two national newspaper websites were today found guilty of contempt of court over the use of internet photographs. In what are believed to be the first cases of their kind, the High Court in London ruled the contempt occurred when Mail Online and The Sun carried pictures on their websites of a murder trial defendant ‘posing with a gun’.
Chicago Retail Stores on High Alert for Thefts by Teen 'Flash Mobs' - 03/03/11
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/03/03/ch
Chicago retail stores are being advised to look out for unruly groups of teens who have been entering businesses, creating disturbances and then escaping with stolen merchandise. In recent weeks, three stores have been targeted by these so-called teen "flash mobs," who coordinate their plans through Twitter, CBS Chicago reports.
Pictured with piles of cash: The public schoolboy jailed for five years for masterminding £18m internet scam - 03/02/11
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/arti
A public schoolboy who masterminded an £18million banking scam and boasted he was a 'legendary' fraudster was jailed for five years today. Nick Webber, 19, built an internet empire using IT skills honed at exclusive boarding school Bradfield College by accessing school records to cancel his friends' detentions.
Social media passwords off limits, Simons says - 03/02/11
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c
A politician running to lead the B.C. New Democrats says he is refusing to comply with a requirement of leadership hopefuls to hand over the passwords to their social media accounts. Nicholas Simons, an NDP MLA who's hoping to run in the leadership race, says he's left that information off his nomination package.
Star must identify anonymous posters to website, judge rules - 03/02/11
http://www.indystar.com/article/2011030
A Marion County judge has ruled, for the first time in Indiana, that news media outlets can be ordered by the court to reveal identifying information about posters to their online forums. In rulings this week and last week, Marion Superior Court Judge S.K. Reid became the first judge in Indiana to rule on whether the state journalism shield law protects media outlets from being forced to disclose names of anonymous posters on their websites or other identifying information about those posters, said Kevin Betz, an attorney for Jeffrey Miller, former chief executive of Junior Achievement of Central Indiana.
Man pleads guilty to duping moms into abusing kids - 03/01/11
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/ma
In real life, Steven Demink didn't have children, a college degree or a lasting career. Online, prosecutors say, he presented himself as Dalton St. Clair, an attractive single father and psychologist a fantasy image authorities say the Michigan man used to persuade mothers across the country to commit unspeakable acts on their children.
Camera prettifies subjects, even adds "makeup" - 03/01/11
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110301/od_
Photos are everything for Yuka Obara, a well-known Japanese blogger who insists anything showing her online be picture-perfect -- especially because it's hard these days to delete poor-quality photos once on the web. The 20-year-old Obara, known by her online profile Yunkoro, has honed her art for four years in line with Japan's cult of the "kawaii" or cute, which has given rise to creative profile picture-taking.
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