Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with thief

Are locker keys magical?

amicamentis — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:53:01 -0800

Can one make a copy of a public locker key? Inspired by this question last week, I started thinking about good places to steal bags from. An obvious place was from the luggage lockers at train terminals. It seems like a thief could put in some money, get the key, make a copy (if he had a complicit locksmith buddy), and then wait for someone to use the locker after him. He waits for this guy to leave and then uses the fake key to open the locker.

Is this uncommon only because locker keys are somehow uncopyable? Does it have something to do with the orange blocky thing at the end? Is it because it's under surveillance and too risky? Is there not enough of a payoff?

I know some museums that won't allow you to take in backpacks and instead provide lockers; these seem like easy targets for finding tourists' bags with cameras or wallets.

Thanks for any help!

DVD Fake-Out!

newfers — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:13:34 -0800

How can I make a phony DVD, that starts off promisingly, but eventually turns into something totally unexpected...with the intention of pranking a DVD thief? A friend of mine at work made a copy of a concert DVD for a friend... please attempt to disregard issues of legality and whatnot... Please?
Anyway, he left the DVD out for the friend, but it was eventually taken by an unknown person. And this is not the first time it has happened, sooooo.... we have a DVD nabber in our midst!

I had the idea of making a fake DVD, with the title of a tasty new release written on it, but at some point within the film, I'd insert either fake footage, something disturbing, or maybe even a personalized message to the DVD nabber...

I alternate between evil thoughts and simpler ideas, and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to pull this off, in order to legitimitely waste the viewer's time... I have visions of the guy (gotta be a guy, right?) bringing home the DVD to watch with his girlfriend, and then, 30 minutes into it....SOMETHING FOUL HAPPENS!

Any suggestions or ideas?

Movie in which thieves sync their heist with songs?

oxit — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:13:06 -0800

What's that movie in which two male thieves synchronise the timing of their heist by whistling jazz songs? I've seen it probably in the eighties, the jazz songs most probably where swing standards and the whistling might have been singing or even humming. Still I think the respectives parts of the movie where accompanied with the real music, played by a band.

Unfortunately search engines and movie database's similarity features didn't help. Thanks for letting me tap your memorisation.

Help Me Stop the Tomato Thief

mygothlaundry — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:44:19 -0800

Somebody is stealing my tomatoes. How do I stop them? I have a big vegetable garden in my front (1st photo shows how close it is to my house; 2nd how close to my street) yard. It's on a fairly busy street; there are lots of cars, dog walkers, joggers, etc. I just moved into the house last October and I'm on a friendly basis with all my immediate neighbors - not, you know, much more than chatting acquaintances but not silence and icy looks either.

My vegetable garden has been yielding a giant crop of squash and cucumbers and peppers but I couldn't figure out why the tomatoes weren't ripening until Saturday, when I realized that two tomatoes I had had my eye on as probably being ripe by the weekend were just - gone. There are six tomato plants in the garden. Suddenly it all clicked into place: the persistence of green only tomatoes, the weird non ripening and the peculiar shortage of tomatoes. I have a tomato thief and, clearly, it has to be somebody who is keeping a close eye on the garden, because they're taking them right as they ripen. They're even taking the cherry tomatoes.

So, how do I get this person to stop? I thought about a sign "Please leave my tomatoes alone" or something but my experience with passive/aggressive signs has always been that they backfire and also, I don't want anyone to see the sign and think "Aha! I too could be getting free vegetables here!" I thought about tying my dogs up in the front yard but that's a bit rough on the dogs. I am still thinking about trying to find some kind of electric eye apparatus that would whoop and blink but I'm a complete electronics ignoramus and don't want to spend the earth on this either. I really would like to have a couple of ripe tomatoes this summer, so, please help!

Calling Boris and Natasha....

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:39:25 -0800

Squirrel! Crazy squirrel is eating my tomatoes! What can I do besides offering it napkins? OK. As part of my ongoing War On Nature (tm), a squirrel has decided that the home-grown tomatoes we have in tubs in the back patio are just damned delicious!

The problem is that I agree, and that I'd like to have a chance to enjoy one or two myself. The cheerful little critter (grr) has taken to biting even the green tomatoes.

I put a bowl of water out, because it was mentioned on another board that squirrels tend to eat tomatoes during droughts. So far, it's been happy nicking tomatoes.

I wouldn't mind if I had, say, 30 or so tomatoes growing. But I only have five, and I don't hold out much hope of seeing them ripen unmolested by grabby little rodent hands.

So -- what works as a squirrel deterrent? Couldn't find blood meal, which was recommended. I was thinking of trying to find some fine mesh to wrap the plants in.

Suggestions? Commiserations?

Teach me how pro robbers work

Bookhouse — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:23:09 -0800

Where can I read about the techniques and crimes of modern professional armed robbers and thieves? I'm looking to read more about modern professional bandits and thieves. Yes, I know that Heat is fiction, and yes, I know that most bank robberies and break-ins are done by pathetic, ill-skilled and desperate men. I write crime fiction and I'm a true crime nut, so I've read lots of books on the subject, but none that get in-depth as I want to go. (The best one I've read, BTW, is Where the Money Is).

I'm looking to stay truly up-to-date. Are there any blogs or magazines that I could read? Any books or pamphlets meant for law enforcement, maybe? Or just well-written and insightful journalism about a crew or crews?

Old Thief Want to Repay Victims

Deep Dish — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:39:34 -0800

When I was younger I stole some stuff from a store and I want to make reparations now, how do I do this? The store went under a long time ago, and I have no way to track down the owner. There is a parent corp but that debt is settled.

I peg the value of these items at about $240, and I will adjust this amount to $500 for interest. Since this happened, I have done a fair amount of good things but this bothers me. A legal confession at this point would not be taken seriously (and even if it was, would be a juvenile offence which I would probably dodge - no witnesses). I don't really know much about the owner other than his rough age, first name, and that he was South Asian.

I will not contribute to any political or religious organization, and have done several months worth of full time volunteer work - so I don't think this is the answer. Can anyone advise me on how to make amends? Bonus points if you can answer this from a neo-pagan religious viewpoint.

OS X Home Security

bloodniece — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 09:27:27 -0800

Recently my bike and some other trivial stuff has been stolen off my porch. My bike was locked. :( I want to bait this thief with another bike (my broken one) and see who this jerk is. I have a mac and want to use a wireless webcam. Infrared is key since I believe he strikes at night. Is there an app for OS X and a compatible webcam for this situation? Ideally, it would not capture footage unless their is activity. -thanks

Securing an air conditioner in the window

toddst — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 06:22:50 -0800

I live on the first floor in a city. Now that summer is finally here, I want to know if anyone has any ideas on how to secure an air conditioner in the window so a potential thief cannot push the air conditioner in the house or pull it out of the window in order to break into our apartment. I would prefer not to put a grate over the air conditioner, and, if possible, I do not want to drill into the windowsill.

Is blog plagiarism now just customary?

tula — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 14:14:10 -0800

Can or should I bother to bust a blogspot blogger for blatant plagiarism? I found a old blog entry where some dope posted an entire David Sedaris story as her own, changing so few words--the title of the story (the youth in asia) is the same for chrissake! Can anything be done? Stealing creative works rankles me. I'm unfamiliar with blogspot, and blogging in general. Is there such a thing as a cross-site pile-on? Or is this kind of thing so common that I should just get over myself and go take a walk?

What pinched my peck of peppers?

Asparagirl — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 14:47:06 -0800

What's stealing my jalapeño peppers? And how can I stop it/them? I'm growing the jalapeños in a container on my roof, so I assume the culprit is some sort of bug, bird, or bat. I had several nice red ones ready to pick today, some almost as big as my thumb. But when I went outside, they were completely gone from the plant--not nibbled, just totally gone. I thought birds and other animals wouldn't eat jalapeños because they're too spicy and the capsacin acts as a natural deterrent? And my red bell peppers and red tomatoes, a more usual prey for the birds, are right next to the pepper pot and are undisturbed. What gives?

How can I tell if my neighbor is stealing phone service from me?

pieoverdone — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 13:37:51 -0800

Short version: How can I tell if my neighbor is stealing phone service from me?

Short version of a much, much longer story inside:

Homeowner's Insurance

luriete — Fri, 10 Sep 2004 13:11:13 -0800

Following up on yesterday's "I was robbed" question, I now ask a question about homeowner's insurance, claims, etc - please come inside. I very carefully itemized everything, priced the items (mostly electronics, lots of cameras and rare photographic equipment, and some fancy family treasure jewelry of my wife's) and my large criterion/kino dvd collection, consulted receipts, which we only have a few of, and came up with a very large number - about US$17,000, not counting damage to the back door and locks and the need for repairs thereof.

Can I honestly expect my insurer (California Casualty) to pay for much of this? Will they honor the claim at all? I have heard that some insurers don't pay at all for theft, even though the policy does allow it. Our deductible is about $700 and we filed a comprehensive police report and the cops came out and verified how the thieves forced the door and jimmied the lock, etc. The only thing I'm really pissed about is the loss of income now from my laptop being gone - I can't get any freelance work done at all and had to beg two clients for extensions and resign from one smaller project already.