On the flip side, it’s also pretty entertaining to read about dumb people attempting to pull-off outrageously difficult things. Watching them fail so magnificently is truly a joy to behold. From a simple Facebook post to the uncontrollable World of Warcraft addiction, bask yourself with stupidity with these dumb ways criminals were caught.
10. Getting caught while updating Facebook after the crime
Millions of people around the globe use Facebook and it is pretty much guaranteed that criminals use it too. Why wouldn’t they? They’re only humans, just like us.
However, when you’re hiding from the authorities, posting on Facebook should be the last thing on your mind. The Mexican criminal Maxi Sopo learned the hard way.
After committing a bank fraud and running off to become a fugitive, Maxi Sopo did the mistake of frequently updating his Facebook account. The stupidity did not end there. While Sopo was too busy on forgetting the fact that becoming a fugitive meant lying low from any unwanted attention, he also stupidly added a former justice department official on his friend list.
9. Google Maps capturing the crime in action
The innovation made by Google Maps is both fascinating and scary at the same time. Google Maps’ street view is nothing short of a revolutionary invention. The way it works is that Google dispatches cars with a camera on top of them and make them get a picture of every single road in the world.
And so the story begins where two teenagers robbed another kid’s bike and phone. Unfortunately for them, a Google photo car drove past them at the exact moment when they committed the crime. Needless to say, they immediately got what they deserve.
8. Leaving a pizza box with address on it
Back in Georgia, a storage unit facility that had been foreclosed was left unguarded. Needless to say, looters took advantage and decided to steal truckloads of items.
Fortunately, these looters weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. Among the things that they left after ruthlessly scavenging the storage unit facility was a pizza box with their home address on it. The police managed to track the said address and caught the dumb robbers.
7. “Killroy was here” vandalism
For those of you who don’t know, the phrase “Killroy was here” was an expression originated through the United States servicemen back in World War II. The soldiers would frequently write it on the walls and/or other places where they were stationed or encamped.
The British teenager named Peter Addison, fascinated of the pop-culture expression, decided to write it on a public wall. Unfortunately, it didn’t end well for him since the expression would require you to write your name. After vandalizing the public wall, it didn’t take too much effort for the authorities to track him down.
6. Distinctive cross-eyed stare
Around 2011, violence and riots plagued the streets of Britain. Break-ins, fires, and riots were seen all over the country.
One of the arsonists named Andrew Buris started a fire at a local shop and post office. The fire was so devastating that it cost more than £1 million and destroyed the home of six people. Fortunately for the police, they recovered a CCTV footage of the scene of the crime.
The footage led the police to Buris. Despite the cover on his face when he committed the crime, Buris was unable to ignore the evidence that the police saw the footage – his distinctive crossed-eyes.
5. Fake stolen phone report
Insurance companies make sure that you are secured in case of emergencies. If your phone went missing or got damaged due to an accident, rest assured that they are there to back you up.
Unfortunately, insurance companies are also frequent victims of scammers and malicious people. Oftentimes, people fake their reports in order to take advantage of insurance coverage. However, this scam requires a silver tongue and you have to be pretty good at weaving lies if you want to pull it off.
According to toptenz.net, a South African man attempted to commit such crime. Reports said that his phone was stolen from him at gunpoint. Unfortunately, when the police called the phone, it vibrated and rang in his pocket. It was then revealed that he did it in order to take advantage of the insurance.
4. Snow footprints
Sometimes, no matter how intricate and how clever your plan is, nature will find a way to mess you up if you give it the chance. Gregory Clark learned this the hard way.
After a snowstorm, Clark decided to rob the Michael Hayes Jewelry in Solon. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that the snow would be his downfall. The police immediately tracked him down by simply following Clark’s footsteps and tire tracks.
3. Swag
In Galveston, Texas, the CCTV captured footage of a burglar dancing before beginning to break in a vehicle.
After watching the said footage, the officers managed to identify the burglar due to his distinct dance moves. Their investigation led them to the 16-year teenager who apparently frequently practiced the distinct dance moves in the halls of their school.
When the police confronted the mother of the 16-year old suspect, she immediately asked her son what he was doing in the video.To this, the teenager just replied, “That’s my swag, mama.”
2. Crime scene tattoo
It is pretty common for most of the criminals to have some tattoos all over their body. They often symbolize their fearlessness and rebellious nature. Sometimes, they even symbolize the things their brutal past.
However, Anthony Garcia decided to cut the pretense and straight up tattooed an entire crime scene on his body. And no, not in the figurative sense like most tattoos you see. Garcia literally permanently inked an accurate image of the crime scene on his chest.
Unfortunately, it seems that it didn’t occur to the simple-minded man that this tattoo was enough evidence to be used against him. And so it did, and it landed him a heavy murder conviction.
1. World of Warcraft
Addiction is such a fascinating thing. When a person is addicted to something, it is pretty much guaranteed that he’d be willing to risk the high heavens just to maintain his addiction.
This‘s what happened to the fugitive drug dealer Alfred Hightower. After spending a year of fugitive freedom in Canada, he finally got caught after the authorities discovered that he was an avid player of the popular multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft.
After a series of interviews, the authorities discovered that one of Hightower’s characters in World of Warcraft was a level 80 Tauren Shaman named “Rastlynn.” Issuing a subpoena to the Blizzard Entertainment to discover his IP, the authorities managed to track down Hightower’s location.
