So if he took a taxi there, where did he put the entire office's looted computers?

Unless that is a bag of holding slung over his shoulder...

heh.... hubie

:p

What computer supplies did he steal, which nobody would confront him about as he leisurely made his rounds? CD labels?

"His nose is also a distinguishing factor."

This is the kind of criminal I want to be.

Cue MI theme....

Your mission, Mr. Phelps, if you choose to accept it...

"He is under six feeet tall and in his mid-thirties to mid-forties."

That must be those new metric feet.

Even if someone saw him doing it, most office folks' reaction is generally "Oh, it's someone from IT. Ah well, they know what they're doing. Back to work."

If you look like you belong and look like you know what you're doing, most people are more than happy to accommodate that particular illusion since you automatically become Not Their Problem.

From the video, police believe he could be Hispanic or African-American.

The laughable descriptions exclude only about half the American population (women).

Roadogs: At first I was,

"He's smart. He's done it before."

But then I was,

"His nose is also a distinguishing factor."

If it's real. Might be a fake nose to throw off the cops ;)

Vin Diesel? I know you haven't been around for a bit, but stealing computers?? C'mon, man!

I can appreciate competence in any field of endeavor. If you are going to be a criminal (or anything else), be the best one you can!

I don't typically call it a "suit" unless it has a jacket. "Business attire" I think the article calls it. The article says he "even took a suit" right after saying he was "taking computer supplies." I'm thinking the article should be read that he stole a suit, not that he wore one...but that's just my reading.

I can't imagine that he stole a lot of computers with just a bag, and riding in a cab. I would think as the article says, it was mainly "computer supplies."

If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

Not to surprising. I work IT at a hospital, and for a few years I worked in the dungeons, but after a while I was put on-call. So one evening I got called to fix a PC in ICU. I was out at the bar with some friends (I was the DD) and got called in, so I proceeded to walk into the ICU, in street clothes (Chucks, well used jeans, Rancid t-shirt) and proceeded to work on the PC, and nobody said a thing to me. I was there for 15min until the unit clerk came back from her break and I let her know who I was.

thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

If you wear a suit and carry a clipboard, you can go almost anywhere.

Add a hard hat, and you can go to places that don't even exist.

thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

and hold a mobile phone to your ear while walking past any kind of security...

LavenderWolf: thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

If you wear a suit and carry a clipboard, you can go almost anywhere.

Add a hard hat, and you can go to places that don't even exist.

When I was in the Navy, my ship was in drydock for overhaul. One of my co-workers was due to be getting out soon. He spent the last 30 days or so walking around the ship with a hard hat and clipboard. He would walk to a location, stop for a few moments and look at some wiring bundle or junction box, and then write something down on the paper. Then he would move to a new location and repeat the process. To the casual observer, he was hard at work inspecting progress. But in fact all he was doing was writing letters home.

We used to do this very thing with a cart and two IT guys in suits to test security of new sites. We'd show up, make sure we had to be buzzed in, and then just roamed the buildig emptying as many desks as we could. Fired a good many security staff.

thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

Totally true. I do industrial espionage now and then as part of my job, and if you are dressed appropriately and act like you should be there, nobody notices anything. You can get away with surprisingly sensitive information, which oftentimes is left just lying around.

Its my favorite part of my job, but only a small part of it. Most of the other aspects of my job suck.

thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

No one wants to stir the pot, or get in trouble if you happen to be who they think you may be. Social Engineering FTW!

I've gotten away with so much walking with a purpose, eyes forward and determined. No one will question you, ever!

Hagbard Celine Dion: Even if someone saw him doing it, most office folks' reaction is generally "Oh, it's someone from IT. Ah well, they know what they're doing. Back to work."

If you look like you belong and look like you know what you're doing, most people are more than happy to accommodate that particular illusion since you automatically become Not Their Problem.

Yep. People just ignore what's going on around them and nobody is going to say anything or question anyone because that would be rude.

They really emphasize security at my job, but the security of a building is only as good as the people working in the building. It just takes one person to be a weak link. Security policy also doesn't go hand in hand with being polite, so a lot of people shy away from being careful out of the need to be polite to everybody.

Our office building has doors everywhere that you have to use your ID to open. I saw some guy loitering around in the hallway outside of the doors. I'm sure he works here, but I don't know who he his. As I exited one of the doors, he went towards it. I made sure the door closed, instead of holding it open for him, and he just looked at me like I was both crazy and very rude. I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but holding secure doors open for people you don't know is bad for security and irresponsible.

Roukzeptea23: Our office building has doors everywhere that you have to use your ID to open. I saw some guy loitering around in the hallway outside of the doors. I'm sure he works here, but I don't know who he his. As I exited one of the doors, he went towards it. I made sure the door closed, instead of holding it open for him, and he just looked at me like I was both crazy and very rude. I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but holding secure doors open for people you don't know is bad for security and irresponsible.

In places that really need good security (like credit card factories), you're actually forbidden to hold doors even for people you know. You have to close it behind you, forcing the next guy to swipe his own ID.

Juline Bubbles nd Rickey

TFA: "Nobody noticed him because he fit right in with other business professionals."

So he fit in with the business people because he stole everything that wasn't nailed down?

hubiestubert: I guess my question is, how much stuff could he really take with that tiny bag?

Go through the whole office, unscrewing the cases on all the systems during the day, maybe even removing half the RAM chips on the seemingly unused ones. Go back after closing, popping open all the cases previously unscrewed and pop off the CPU's, slip out the video cards and take the rest of the ram.

All very lightweight, small in size, high value, easy to resell items.

Thinking like criminals isn't very hard.

/They are usually very lazy.

Roukzeptea23: Our office building has doors everywhere that you have to use your ID to open. I saw some guy loitering around in the hallway outside of the doors. I'm sure he works here, but I don't know who he his. As I exited one of the doors, he went towards it. I made sure the door closed, instead of holding it open for him, and he just looked at me like I was both crazy and very rude. I'm sorry, I don't want to be rude, but holding secure doors open for people you don't know is bad for security and irresponsible.

I'm caught on both sides of this issue, working as a biotech researcher in an academic setting. Random people coming and going in our building have walked off with laptops and other equipment, and regularly vandalize the break room snack vending machines. On the other hand, I collaborate with another lab in a different building. When I visit there, I have to pass through a card key door that I don't have a key for. I have to use the phone to call someone from the lab I'm visiting to let me in...the hassle being they never answer their phone. Usually I get let in by someone with a key passing through the door. Convenient for me, but sure not a boon to security. The moral is, wear a white lab coat, and you can get into any lab.

A thief did this at a place I worked several years ago. Hit the offices on long holiday weekends, spent the time going from cubicle to cubicle removing cards and drives from the newest high end computers we just got. hit offices in three states before he got caught. former employee, of course, so he knew the weakspots.

MORB: In places that really need good security (like credit card factories), you're actually forbidden to hold doors even for people you know. You have to close it behind you, forcing the next guy to swipe his own ID.

How the military does it at secure locations:



Only one person can get through per unlocking. Each person has a coded card that gets swiped, then you punch in a code on the keypad. Very Secure locations add the need to use biometrics and get your fingerprint/retina scanned as well.

/Show up early for work so you don't get stuck waiting in the lines.

thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

Because at least in our office, we typically think you're from another office or a client. Not unusual for people to see a stranger in the office, and one person will ask another if they know who it was that just walked by. There was an IT guy who actually stopped one of our clients he'd never seen before in the men's room and asked him for proof that he belonged in the office. Upper management politely spoke to the IT guy, but he was just being careful.

Omnivorous: From the video, police believe he could be Hispanic or African-American.

The laughable descriptions exclude only about half the American population (women).

while it may seem that half the U.S. population is ethnic, I can assure you that 75% of the population is actually white.

Race Percentage Number
White alone
(Not including the 29.2 million
White Hispanic and Latino Americans: 65.4% or 198.9 million) 75.0% 228.2 million
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, of any race 15.4% 46.9 million
Black or African American alone 12.4% 37.6 million
Some other race alone 4.9% 15.0 million
Asian alone 4.4% 13.4 million
Two or more races 2.3% 7.0 million
American Indian or Alaska Native alone 0.8% 2.4 million
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone 0.14% 0.43 million

/wiki truth

LavenderWolf: thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

If you wear a suit and carry a clipboard, you can go almost anywhere.

Add a hard hat, and you can go to places that don't even exist.

THIS, hardhats and clipboards will get you a look at any cool new construction going on in your area

skinink: thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

Because at least in our office, we typically think you're from another office or a client. Not unusual for people to see a stranger in the office, and one person will ask another if they know who it was that just walked by. There was an IT guy who actually stopped one of our clients he'd never seen before in the men's room and asked him for proof that he belonged in the office. Upper management politely spoke to the IT guy, but he was just being careful.

Everybody knows that you don't talk to each other in the mens room. That's how you catch teh gay.

An acquaintance told me a story of how her office had the Xerox machine stolen during the workday by some "repairmen" who decided that the unit couldn't be fixed onsite. Wasn't discovered until the office manager went to make a copy on the missing machine and since they were the one who authorized such things it soon unravelled. heh.

Was on a jobsite where the contractor decided to save on security and had his brother in law be the night time security. Flat deck pulls up and said they were taking away the shipping container where they stored the electrical tools to set up on another site. Brother in law was really helpful and helped them load it up. Monday morning rolls around and all hel broke loose. We all lol'd

MilitaryTigger: Go through the whole office, unscrewing the cases on all the systems during the day, maybe even removing half the RAM chips on the seemingly unused ones. Go back after closing, popping open all the cases previously unscrewed and pop off the CPU's, slip out the video cards and take the rest of the ram.

All very lightweight, small in size, high value, easy to resell items.

RAM and CPUs from office computers are not high in value. You'd be lucky to get $50 for any single item. Doesn't seem worth it IMHO.

Officer Augello said, "You could see him when he grabbed the door handles, that he doesn't leave forensics behind. He's smart. He's done it before."

They have him on video. That's smart? Um...

I have learned through experience that if you have a safety vest on (the type road workers wear) and carry a clipboard, you can do anything you want in this world. It is quite interesting the way people just assume you are on official business.

-Sort of like carrying a big black DSLR will get you inside the yellow tape and first responders will tell you things you aren't supposed to know 'cuz they think you're Press.

/I hear

LavenderWolf: thisispete: If you walk purposefully, preferably with a piece of paper in your hand, you could probably get away with a lot.

If you wear a suit and carry a clipboard, you can go almost anywhere.

Add a hard hat, and you can go to places that don't even exist.



/approves

Quote from article: "But, cabs don't keep a record of their drop-offs, only their pick ups..........."

So they never actually pick him up... They just drop him off... Farking what?

BuzzzKil: Quote from article: "But, cabs don't keep a record of their drop-offs, only their pick ups..........."

So they never actually pick him up... They just drop him off... Farking what?

I think it means that they can verify that they did, indeed, pick up a person that matches the description, but they can't say for sure where they dropped him off.

All it takes is one cabbie giving information he thinks is true but is actually false, and a spoke is thrown into the wheels of investigations.

Jument: Officer Augello said, "You could see him when he grabbed the door handles, that he doesn't leave forensics behind. He's smart. He's done it before."

They have him on video. That's smart? Um...

He's trying to blend in. If you work somewhere with security cameras, you stop noticing them pretty quickly. It would be pretty revealing if he was trying to pose as a normal office worker and was slinking past all the cameras or holding a folder up to shield his face.

My Red Swingline!!! Its GONE!!!! Please for the love of all that is holy, SOMEBODY STOP THIS GUY!!!!!

MilitaryTigger: MORB: In places that really need good security (like credit card factories), you're actually forbidden to hold doors even for people you know. You have to close it behind you, forcing the next guy to swipe his own ID.

How the military does it at secure locations:



Only one person can get through per unlocking. Each person has a coded card that gets swiped, then you punch in a code on the keypad. Very Secure locations add the need to use biometrics and get your fingerprint/retina scanned as well.

/Show up early for work so you don't get stuck waiting in the lines.

They had this at the Meijer warehouse I used to work at.