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Social Networks Crime Facebook

Crooks Keep Revealing Their Crimes on Social Media (qz.com) 46

Posted by EditorDavid from the look-at-me dept.
Quartz tells the story of a large-scale heroin and methamphetamine dealer named Francisco Ruelas-Payan who's now serving 15 years in prison: While phone records and GPS location devices were useful in helping investigators keep tabs on Ruelas-Payan's location and near-term plans, it was his public Facebook activity that not only confirmed many of these leads but also offered additional clues authorities used to build their case. Ruelas-Payan posted lengthy videos to the social media network of himself driving to suspected drug deals, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration search warrant application unsealed late last month. The trips were further corroborated by GPS data from electronic tracking devices investigators placed on Ruelas-Payan's cars and phone...

In a 2012 survey, 4 out of 5 law enforcement officials said they used social media to solve crimes, and nearly 7 out of 10 said social media helps to close cases faster. Facebook received nearly 130,000 data requests from governments around the world during the first six months of 2019, according to the most recent figures available. Between January and June of last year, the U.S. government requested data from Facebook related to more than 82,000 accounts. About 88% of those requests were granted. The second-most requests came from the government of India, which asked for data on 33,000 accounts. Facebook agreed to provide about half of them.

Yet people often leave a trail of clues on their public social media profiles that investigators can see without ever needing a subpoena. Some, for example, take to Facebook Live to discuss an impending $10 million extortion attempt... Others post selfies in the same clothes they wore while robbing a bank.
It all provoked a bemused response from a former New York City detective sergeant interviewed by Quartz who now teaches police procedure at John Jay College.

"The 'look at me' generation can't help themselves."
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Crooks Keep Revealing Their Crimes on Social Media More

Crooks Keep Revealing Their Crimes on Social Media

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  • Whaddya expect?! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 08, 2020 @12:49PM (#59808642)

    The prez is leading the example of law breaking look-at-me-ism

    • Don't worry, after president Trump finishes his second term, maybe the good reputation of the office can be restored by President Ivanka.

  • Holy Shit (Score:3)

    by AndyKron ( 937105 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @01:19PM (#59808708)
    A country with three times the population of the US had 1/3 fewer requests. That's my takeaway on this

  • *Bad* crooks. (Score:3)

    by BAReFO0t ( 6240524 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @01:48PM (#59808760)

    Just like with the news, we only get to see the unsuccessful ones.
    An intended portrayal that is mirrored by entertainment too. (Like the countless "Hail the police!" shows and movies.)

    But you go by people reporting crimes, the majority never get caught. And that is not even including all the "What's the point of reporting it? They won't catch them anyway!" and "I have nothing on them and nothing I could tell the police anyway.".

    • Successful ones too. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 08, 2020 @01:57PM (#59808780)

      This guy has been admitting [businessinsider.com] to his crimes for years now. [vox.com]

      Unlike the low level criminals if you stick to the narcissists prayer:

      - That didn't happen.
      - And if it did, it wasn't that bad.
      - And if it was, that's not a big deal.
      - And if it is, that's not my fault.
      - And if it was, I didn't mean it.
      - And if I did...
      - You deserved it.

      and have enough pull you can really get away with it.

  • He deserves to be locked up just for that.

    • Oh come now, you can't blame the guy for a crime his parents committed.

      This affidavit is made in support of an application for a search warrant for information associated with the following Facebook user name and ID number: "Azaeel Mediina," with the Facebook ID number 100002599842950 and URL: https://www.facebook.com/jesusoctavio.rodriguezpayan1 [facebook.com]

      But "Azaeel Mediina" and "Jesus Octavio Rodriguez Payan the First" are worthy of a life sentence.

  • They want to get caught? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by AlanObject ( 3603453 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @02:17PM (#59808824)

    When I was a kid which was long before the public Internet was around I recall hearing the statement "crooks want to caught." My dad was a criminal defense lawyer and he would often bring home stories of really really stupid things his clients did before they got arrested. They didn't need Facebook to build a trail from the crime scene to their door.

    Often the only explanation that would make sense is that these people wanted to get caught.

    Back then I thought that was stupid. I have never been inclined to do criminal things but I always thought that if I did I sure as hell wouldn't want any of the penalties that go with it. That seemed only logical. If I went to steal money for example you would think I wanted to keep the money I stole.

    Some of this is just basic stupidity. But the cases reported these days really seem to go beyond that.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by roman_mir ( 125474 )

      People crave recognition, including people who are working in the undeground economy, providing their clients with substances, products and services that are for some reason illegal (shouldn't be illegal, I believe that there shouldn't be any product or service that is illegal in itself as long as the consumer is only inflicting it upon himself, but in our stupid society we don't understand nuance).

      So people want to be recognized and a successful drug dealer is no less deserving recognition than a successfu

    • Bragging rights (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @04:19PM (#59809050)
      The money is only part of the allure. Being able to boast about it to others is also a large motivating factor. The toughest criminals to catch are the ones who don't boast about what they did. That's why you sometimes hear of priceless paintings being stolen from a museum, and just completely disappearing. The thief or person who hired the thief is content to hang the painting in their private gallery, and never tell anyone that they have it.

      I've heard of a few cases where the urge to boast is so strong, that they will explain exactly how pulled off the crime during a police interrogation. They're under the belief that they are impressing the police interrogating them, with how clever they were in pulling off the crime. People crave attention.

    • That's what a police officer said during my ride-along. As said above, we're looking at a dramatic case of sample bias.

    • You can get away with most crimes if you don’t have an obvious reason to commit them (you can easily kill some rando, not so easily your wife) and you keep your mouth shut. The police are effective, but they’re not omniscient.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by rtb61 ( 674572 )

      Smart thieves commit white collar crimes, get promoted and blame it all on the new guy and the company pays the penalty. Dumb thieves, well, do dumb crimes, ego demands the brag about it so they do and they get caught.

      Some to look forward too in the future, the growing legal liability for the use of public roads, how responsible is government to ensure the safe use of public roads. Should all public roads be AI monitored at all times to ensure the safety of users and to protect them from a psychopathic crim

    • My guess as to why you have so much stupidity among low level criminals is that low level criminals in general aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. If you're above average intelligence you're going to have an easier time finding ways to support yourself that don't involve committing crimes as well as understanding the consequences of those crimes better than someone with an IQ of 90 or lower.

    • Maybe they needed/wanted housing, or food, or basic medical care (ping!).

      And they were willing to accept the consequences of incarceration to get the benefits.

      If you are on the bottom, what would you accept? A cell is heated/cooled as is the food. The street is not (lot of food-bank experience).

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cusco ( 717999 )

      The sadly-cancelled 'News of the Weird' used to have a regular slot for "Too Stupid To Be A Criminal". People who burgle a house and then leave tracks in the snow straight to their back door. People who write their hold-up note on the back of their deposit slip or a bill. People who try to run from police but trip over their low-rider jeans. And my all-time favorite:

      Two guys pulled up to a drive-in only bank branch brandishing guns. The tellers, safely behind bulletproof glass, refused to give them any

  • No kidding. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ktakki ( 64573 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @06:44PM (#59809358) Homepage Journal

    So I'm sitting in the tank in the Moakley federal courthouse in Boston a couple of years back, waiting for a probation violation hearing, with all the usual suspects. One of the half-dozen people in my holding cell was a white kid in his 20s, maybe three teeth in his head, who styled himself a rapper. Dime a dozen in every jail and prison. Annoying kid, kept retelling how they grabbed him up at the home of his "side piece", when he wasn't freestyling. I figured if I got revoked that day he'd be sure to be my cellie, the kind of luck I have.

    Anyway, the kid goes up for his revoke hearing. Comes back down about an hour later, white as a mf ghost, thousand-yard stare in his eyes.

    Turns out, this wannabee had made some music videos, with guns, drugs, wads of cash, posted up on FB, Insta, Snapchat, etc. And the prosecutor played them in court, which is ridiculous for a probation hearing, since probation can be revoked so easily (lower bar than "beyond reasonable doubt", and hearsay is admissible). And for an encore, the AUSA unsealed five new charges from the grand jury. Kid was now looking at 25 years for Felon In Possession of a Firearm instead of a 6-month violation.

    After he related this whole scene, all he could do was mutter, "He dimmed the lights. He dimmed the mf lights," about the prosecutor showing the videos in court.

    -k.

  • Just "this" generation? (Score:3)

    by Waccoon ( 1186667 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @07:18PM (#59809416)

    I seem to recall that history is full of crooks who bragged. With today's generation, it's just easier.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cusco ( 717999 )

      By and large they don't become thieves because they were bored being rocket scientists.

  • In the past it was the wealth to be seen in better pubs, clubs, music halls, restaurants..
    Then to play golf, country clubs, international holidays, buying a car, holiday cabin... easy to trace via tax.
    Buying into the best education system for the next generation due the rate of income from crime.
    Later it was forums, IRC.
    Finally social media.
    Take an average poor person doing crime and they dont have the operations security (OPSEC) to never mention their new found wealth.
    They need to be seen enjoyi

  • Prison IQ (Score:3)

    by nehumanuscrede ( 624750 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @10:58PM (#59809706)

    Most of the US prison systems population aren't known for their mind-boggling intelligence.

    Though it never ceases to amaze me how folks who KNOW they have warrants out for their arrest do stupid shit like post on social media.

  • The last thing we want is smart criminals. So let them keep posting and lock the f***kers up for good.

    • Well, with the low hanging fruits being the ones that get picked, and since this satisfies the quota they aim at, why try harder to get the smart crooks? If anything, this ensures that we DO get smart criminals. Or rather, that the smart ones stay out on the road and continue their criminal activities.

  • Most criminals aren't really particularly bright!

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