International Arrests Involving Mobile Phones
We all love gadgets, and we hope you love them to. But when we look at the news lately, perhaps we're seeing that some people love them a little too well? Here's a round-up of recent stories in the news from all over the world of crimes involving cell phones. Would you people out there please behave yourselves?
Mobile Phone Virus Programmer in Custody
In Valencia, Spain, the suspected programmer behind a virus attack on mobile phones has been arrested. This was after a seven-month investigation, so it seems like they'd have to have something. A senior technology consultant for Sophos, an IT security company, explains that while mobile viruses aren't nearly as common as on desktop computer systems, they are a problem none-the-less.
Saudi Phone Snatcher Caught
This is becoming a common form of theft, especially for travelers. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, undercover police caught a thief with several cell phones on his person. Apparently, he was just doing the old snatch and run number. GSM World, amongst many others, has talked about the growing problem, and what to do about it.
Movie Pirate Busted
Here in Oz, a Sydney resident was the subject of a home raid, after he sold copies of the Simpsons movie online. It turns out he used a mobile phone's camera to record the film right in the theater, thus bypassing every DRM anti-piracy scheme known. He's 21. You can't help but wonder if his reaction when he saw the police bash his door down was "D'oh!"
Phone Caller Arrested On Plane
Oh, come on, we thought this was a myth! In Dallas, United States, a man was arrested for disorderly conduct when he got off his plane flight. Not only did he refuse to hang up when asked, but he retorted with profanity as well. Even though the notion that mobile phones interfere with plane equipment in some undefined way, we can still appreciate that hanging up in flight is just plain good, civil manners. After all, it's their plane.
Arrested Teen Uses Twitter To Alert Friends
In Egypt, TechCrunch broke the story of a UC Berkeley teen who used Twitter to alert his friends when he was arrested for photographing a protest. He was subsequently held for a day and released without incident. This is mainly notable for the history books; the first time Twitter on a mobile device is used to summon friends from inside jail.
Kidnapper Who Used Mobile Phone To Demand Ransom Arrested
In Kyodo, Japan, a man was arrested on suspicion of taking a 16-year-old girl hostage and demanding ransom from her family, using her phone to do so. The girl actually got the phone back and used it to call for help, then the police showed up. A very short kidnapping.
So, to wrap up: Don't make viruses, steal phones, pirate movies, disturb air traffic, or kidnap people while using a mobile phone. But if you manage to get arrested anyway, you can throw out a tweet to your back-up. And can the rest of our gadget geeks stay out of trouble now?
Filed Under: Security Technology
