True Crime Online Newsletter - December 16, 2013
I couldn't make this up if I tried. . .N.H. Craigslist ad says unicorns for sale
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/12/1
A Craigslist ad placed in New Hampshire has raised eyebrows for offering two "purebred" unicorns for sale. The cost is a paltry $1.86 million.
The ad states: "We are selling 2 purebred unicorns. Male is 3 years old named Pagasus. Female is 5 years old and named Daisy. Price of $930,000 USD is per unicorn."
It goes on to request -- in all caps -- "serious offers only please," WBZ-TV, Boston reported.
The seller claims to be the only fully licensed unicorn breeder in North America and said there's a nine month waiting list to buy a unicorn.
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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)
Online behaviors that increase the risk of identity theft - 12/16/13
http://www.net-security.org/secworld.ph
PrivacyGuard released the results of a survey aimed at observing and identifying a number of online behaviors that consumers willingly partake in that could put them at risk of fraud and identity theft. The survey identified five behaviors and asked a panel of 1,000 consumers whether they had performed any of the following potentially jeopardizing behaviors:
Made a purchase over Public WiFi
Made an online purchase using a payment method other than a credit card
Ordered an item from a website they were unfamiliar with
Had overlap in the passwords they use for online accounts
Had their billing info stored at more than 10 eTailers (or not know how many sites had their billing info stored)
Revenge porn: A pernicious form of cyber gender harassment - 12/15/13
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-1
Being a woman, especially a woman of color, raises one's risk of cyber harassment the intentional infliction of severe emotional distress through persistent online speech. The University of Maryland studied online attacks occurring on an Internet chat medium and found that users with female names received, on average, 100 "malicious private messages" defined as those with "sexually explicit or threatening" language for every four received by male users. User gender had a "significant impact" on the number of malicious private messages sent and "no significant impact" on other kinds of attacks, such as attempts to send files with viruses to users, the study said. It noted that males "specifically" targeted females.
Guy Launches International Facebook Stalking Expedition to Find Girl, Then Doesn’t Contact Her - 12/14/13
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/14/g
Your worst cyber stalking nightmare became a reality for a young woman named Katie whose only crime was hanging out with a seemingly innocuous New Zealander when she lost the friends she was traveling with in Hong Kong last New Year’s Eve.
Man charged with Naperville ‘cyberstalking’ crime - 12/13/13
http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/c
A man from Chicago’s south side stands accused of harassing a former relative from Naperville with lurid text messages and the posting of her personal information to Internet websites, including some offering escort services. Bail was set at $75,000 for Mark A. Nunnally, 47. He faces trial in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton on a felony charge of cyberstalking/causing fear for one’s safety, according to court records.
Man who admitted to dog theft online returns canine - 12/13/13
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/12/1
Police in Texas said a 10-month-old dog reported stolen during an ice storm was returned by a man who admitted to the theft online. Fort Worth police said Heidi, a 10-month-old Greater Swiss Mountain breed, was stolen from Crawford and Mary Clay Gupton's home by someone who used a tool to cut through a fence during an ice storm Dec. 6, has been returned to her owners, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Friday.
Fmr. UMKC student charged with stalking instructor - 12/13/13
http://fox4kc.com/2013/12/13/fmr-umkc-s
Prosecutors have charged a former University of Missouri Kansas City student with cyber stalking a university instructor. Court documents allege Kenna Haight, 27, sent over 100 threatening emails to the instructor who has remained unidentified. Haight’s emails at times said she wanted to killed and sexually assault the female instructor. Haight started sending the emails in September 2012.
Why Doesn’t Twitter Take Gender-Based Harassment More Seriously? - 12/13/13
http://thinkprogress.org/health/201
Twitter caused quite a stir late Thursday regarding a change in its block policy, provoking outrage from victims of online harassment and advocates. The new policy, which would have allowed blocked users to keep following and retweeting their blockers, was reversed hours after its debut. But while the decision to reverse the change was welcomed, it may not go far enough for those most vulnerable to violent threats and harassment specifically women, people of color, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.
Young 'digital champions' sought to teach Internet to adults - 12/13/13
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/1
A British telecom company and a charity are recruiting schoolchildren to become "digital champions" to help adults learn to use the Internet.
Online fraudsters target ski tourists - 12/13/13
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25373
Travel agencies have warned of a new internet scam targeting holidaymakers who are booking skiing accommodation online. Some people have transferred thousands of pounds to conmen posing as the owners of luxury chalets. Chalet operator Consensio Holidays has asked for dozens of fraudulent chalet listings to be taken down from rentals websites. Travel association Abta said it was a "growing problem".
Two men arrested for anti-Semitic tweets after Spurs v West Ham match - 12/13/13
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-be
Two men have been arrested for posting anti-Semitic tweets following Tottenham Hotspur's match with West Ham. A 24-year-old man from Croydon and a 22-year-old man from Wiltshire posted the comments about Hitler and the gas chambers after the Premier League match on 6 October.
Protective order service leads to drug, firearm, cyberstalking charges - 12/12/13
http://www.rrdailyherald.com/news/prote
An alert deputy in Halifax County turned the service of a protective order into drug charges Tuesday. Maj. Scott Hall, of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, said Cpl. Matt Brown went to a residence in Weldon on Tuesday to serve an ex-parte protective order. Upon encountering Paul Lewis Fitts, 53, at the residence, Hall said, Brown noticed drug paraphernalia “in plain view,” including smoking pipes.
Man pleads guilty to stalking teenage neighbor - 12/12/13
http://www.lenconnect.com/article/20131
A Clinton-area man admitted Wednesday he posted “love letters” on the Internet and carved large teddy bears to get the attention of a 14-year-old neighbor. The admissions were made by 46-year-old Kent Ellsworth Losee during a plea hearing in Lenawee County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to unlawful posting of a message and to stalking of a minor.
Murdered by porn: We've all been horrified by high-profile cases of child killers hooked on extreme porn. But they're just the tip of the iceberg - 12/12/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
He wore a freshly laundered shirt and smart dark suit for his appearance in the dock. Jamie Reynolds was also sporting a short new haircut and trim goatee beard instead of his scruffy stubble. In truth, he looked less like the man he is a monster now locked up in the same psychiatric unit as Moors Murderer Ian Brady than the boy he once was: a teacher’s son from a Shropshire market town, who had enjoyed a comfortable, middle-class upbringing.
Man names top Washington officials in $60M suit that claims the government's been stalking him since Google mistakenly made his web search about building bombs - 12/11/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
A man claims he suffered serious emotional trauma at the hands of the federal government after Google auto-corrected his innocent web search into something sinister.When he typed ‘how do I build a radio controlled’ in October 2009, former government contractor Jeffrey Kantor says Google auto-completed his search to read: ‘how do I build a radio controlled bomb.’ Now he’s implicated some of Washington’s top brass in a bizarre $60 million lawsuit that alleges he was fired from his job after the government stalked him and used his co-workers to emotionally abuse him.
San Diego man charged with operating 'revenge porn' site - 12/10/13
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d
Authorities in San Diego have charged a man with operating a “revenge porn” website which allegedly humiliated and blackmailed women by posting nude photographs along with their names and addresses. Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of extorting money from women who found compromising images of themselves often supplied by ex-boyfriends and husbands posted on the internet.
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/12/1
A Craigslist ad placed in New Hampshire has raised eyebrows for offering two "purebred" unicorns for sale. The cost is a paltry $1.86 million.
The ad states: "We are selling 2 purebred unicorns. Male is 3 years old named Pagasus. Female is 5 years old and named Daisy. Price of $930,000 USD is per unicorn."
It goes on to request -- in all caps -- "serious offers only please," WBZ-TV, Boston reported.
The seller claims to be the only fully licensed unicorn breeder in North America and said there's a nine month waiting list to buy a unicorn.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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)
Online behaviors that increase the risk of identity theft - 12/16/13
http://www.net-security.org/secworld.ph
PrivacyGuard released the results of a survey aimed at observing and identifying a number of online behaviors that consumers willingly partake in that could put them at risk of fraud and identity theft. The survey identified five behaviors and asked a panel of 1,000 consumers whether they had performed any of the following potentially jeopardizing behaviors:
Made a purchase over Public WiFi
Made an online purchase using a payment method other than a credit card
Ordered an item from a website they were unfamiliar with
Had overlap in the passwords they use for online accounts
Had their billing info stored at more than 10 eTailers (or not know how many sites had their billing info stored)
Revenge porn: A pernicious form of cyber gender harassment - 12/15/13
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-1
Being a woman, especially a woman of color, raises one's risk of cyber harassment the intentional infliction of severe emotional distress through persistent online speech. The University of Maryland studied online attacks occurring on an Internet chat medium and found that users with female names received, on average, 100 "malicious private messages" defined as those with "sexually explicit or threatening" language for every four received by male users. User gender had a "significant impact" on the number of malicious private messages sent and "no significant impact" on other kinds of attacks, such as attempts to send files with viruses to users, the study said. It noted that males "specifically" targeted females.
Guy Launches International Facebook Stalking Expedition to Find Girl, Then Doesn’t Contact Her - 12/14/13
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/14/g
Your worst cyber stalking nightmare became a reality for a young woman named Katie whose only crime was hanging out with a seemingly innocuous New Zealander when she lost the friends she was traveling with in Hong Kong last New Year’s Eve.
Man charged with Naperville ‘cyberstalking’ crime - 12/13/13
http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/c
A man from Chicago’s south side stands accused of harassing a former relative from Naperville with lurid text messages and the posting of her personal information to Internet websites, including some offering escort services. Bail was set at $75,000 for Mark A. Nunnally, 47. He faces trial in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton on a felony charge of cyberstalking/causing fear for one’s safety, according to court records.
Man who admitted to dog theft online returns canine - 12/13/13
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/12/1
Police in Texas said a 10-month-old dog reported stolen during an ice storm was returned by a man who admitted to the theft online. Fort Worth police said Heidi, a 10-month-old Greater Swiss Mountain breed, was stolen from Crawford and Mary Clay Gupton's home by someone who used a tool to cut through a fence during an ice storm Dec. 6, has been returned to her owners, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Friday.
Fmr. UMKC student charged with stalking instructor - 12/13/13
http://fox4kc.com/2013/12/13/fmr-umkc-s
Prosecutors have charged a former University of Missouri Kansas City student with cyber stalking a university instructor. Court documents allege Kenna Haight, 27, sent over 100 threatening emails to the instructor who has remained unidentified. Haight’s emails at times said she wanted to killed and sexually assault the female instructor. Haight started sending the emails in September 2012.
Why Doesn’t Twitter Take Gender-Based Harassment More Seriously? - 12/13/13
http://thinkprogress.org/health/201
Twitter caused quite a stir late Thursday regarding a change in its block policy, provoking outrage from victims of online harassment and advocates. The new policy, which would have allowed blocked users to keep following and retweeting their blockers, was reversed hours after its debut. But while the decision to reverse the change was welcomed, it may not go far enough for those most vulnerable to violent threats and harassment specifically women, people of color, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community.
Young 'digital champions' sought to teach Internet to adults - 12/13/13
http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/1
A British telecom company and a charity are recruiting schoolchildren to become "digital champions" to help adults learn to use the Internet.
Online fraudsters target ski tourists - 12/13/13
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25373
Travel agencies have warned of a new internet scam targeting holidaymakers who are booking skiing accommodation online. Some people have transferred thousands of pounds to conmen posing as the owners of luxury chalets. Chalet operator Consensio Holidays has asked for dozens of fraudulent chalet listings to be taken down from rentals websites. Travel association Abta said it was a "growing problem".
Two men arrested for anti-Semitic tweets after Spurs v West Ham match - 12/13/13
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-be
Two men have been arrested for posting anti-Semitic tweets following Tottenham Hotspur's match with West Ham. A 24-year-old man from Croydon and a 22-year-old man from Wiltshire posted the comments about Hitler and the gas chambers after the Premier League match on 6 October.
Protective order service leads to drug, firearm, cyberstalking charges - 12/12/13
http://www.rrdailyherald.com/news/prote
An alert deputy in Halifax County turned the service of a protective order into drug charges Tuesday. Maj. Scott Hall, of the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, said Cpl. Matt Brown went to a residence in Weldon on Tuesday to serve an ex-parte protective order. Upon encountering Paul Lewis Fitts, 53, at the residence, Hall said, Brown noticed drug paraphernalia “in plain view,” including smoking pipes.
Man pleads guilty to stalking teenage neighbor - 12/12/13
http://www.lenconnect.com/article/20131
A Clinton-area man admitted Wednesday he posted “love letters” on the Internet and carved large teddy bears to get the attention of a 14-year-old neighbor. The admissions were made by 46-year-old Kent Ellsworth Losee during a plea hearing in Lenawee County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to unlawful posting of a message and to stalking of a minor.
Murdered by porn: We've all been horrified by high-profile cases of child killers hooked on extreme porn. But they're just the tip of the iceberg - 12/12/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
He wore a freshly laundered shirt and smart dark suit for his appearance in the dock. Jamie Reynolds was also sporting a short new haircut and trim goatee beard instead of his scruffy stubble. In truth, he looked less like the man he is a monster now locked up in the same psychiatric unit as Moors Murderer Ian Brady than the boy he once was: a teacher’s son from a Shropshire market town, who had enjoyed a comfortable, middle-class upbringing.
Man names top Washington officials in $60M suit that claims the government's been stalking him since Google mistakenly made his web search about building bombs - 12/11/13
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar
A man claims he suffered serious emotional trauma at the hands of the federal government after Google auto-corrected his innocent web search into something sinister.When he typed ‘how do I build a radio controlled’ in October 2009, former government contractor Jeffrey Kantor says Google auto-completed his search to read: ‘how do I build a radio controlled bomb.’ Now he’s implicated some of Washington’s top brass in a bizarre $60 million lawsuit that alleges he was fired from his job after the government stalked him and used his co-workers to emotionally abuse him.
San Diego man charged with operating 'revenge porn' site - 12/10/13
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/d
Authorities in San Diego have charged a man with operating a “revenge porn” website which allegedly humiliated and blackmailed women by posting nude photographs along with their names and addresses. Kevin Christopher Bollaert, 27, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of extorting money from women who found compromising images of themselves often supplied by ex-boyfriends and husbands posted on the internet.
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