Due to the extensive problems the TSA has had with its employees damaging property and stealing from passengers' luggage, the TSA should take a simple step to single out the worst TSA employees and discourage property damage and theft. All the TSA needs to do is eliminate anonymous inspections by making it mandatory that every baggage inspection notice that goes into an inspected bag gets stamped with the name (or employee number) of the TSA employee who conducted the search and the time, date, and location of that search. Each failure to include a stamped baggage inspection notice would result in a reprimand.
Under this simple system, the TSA could easily identify TSA employees who are stealing the most or causing the most damage. Why has the TSA not already implemented this amazingly simple solution? (Hint, there are at least five good answers to this question.)
Showing posts with label theft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theft. Show all posts
July 10, 2013
October 12, 2011
Police Opening Doors of Unlocked Vehicles
In another example of police overreaching into the lives of innocent civilians, police in Beverly, Massachusetts are actively looking for parked vehicles with unlocked doors. If a vehicle is unlocked, the police will open the door, lock the vehicle, then shut the door. The police are also leaving warnings for the owners informing them their vehicles are easy targets for thieves. This police action has caused some problems. Some owners left their keys in their vehicles and got locked out of their own vehicles.
This police action is just one element of a larger program in which the police are warning vehicle owners to not make their vehicles targets by leaving valuables in their vehicles in plain view, leaving doors unlocked, etc. The police are going from vehicle to vehicle and leaving written warnings on any vehicles the police feel might be attractive to thieves.
Sure, this sounds like the police are just trying to be helpful, but this is a perfect example of how governments now feel the need to get involved in even the most minute details of innocent people's lives. If people are too stupid to lock their vehicles and keep their valuables out of sight, that is too bad. Those people are taking a risk. If someone steals from the vehicle, the owner will have to face the consequences of being careless. The last thing the vehicle owner needs is some busybody cop putting a sign on the vehicle that advertises to all passers-by there are valuables in the vehicle. That is just idiotic. The cops are marking the targets for thieves.
The most troubling thing is that the cops are actually opening the doors of unlocked vehicles. These vehicles are private property, and opening a private vehicle without permission or a warrant is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. What happens if the cop opens a vehicle and notices something suspicious that might be visible only when a vehicle door is opened? Does the cop continue snooping around in the vehicle? Does the cop make an arrest or file a report if he finds something illegal?
Also, there are some good reasons to leave a vehicle unlocked. Anyone with a convertible or soft-top jeep knows to never lock the vehicle. Thieves cut through soft-tops to get in, and the cost to replace the soft-top far exceeds the value of the items inside the vehicle. Also, people know thieves will smash windows to get into vehicles. Some vehicle owners do not keep anything valuable in their vehicles, so they leave them unlocked, hoping no one will smash a window to get inside. After all, the windows are just glass and do not provide much security. They are, however, expensive to replace.
The bottom line is this. It does not matter why people leave their vehicles unlocked. If people want to do things with their private property that may seem careless, it is not the concern of the police. Here's a fresh thought. Instead of the police wasting time checking door locks, they should be out arresting thieves. The reason we have so many vehicle break-in is because the cops are not doing their jobs and putting the thieves in jail where they belong.
This police action is just one element of a larger program in which the police are warning vehicle owners to not make their vehicles targets by leaving valuables in their vehicles in plain view, leaving doors unlocked, etc. The police are going from vehicle to vehicle and leaving written warnings on any vehicles the police feel might be attractive to thieves.
Sure, this sounds like the police are just trying to be helpful, but this is a perfect example of how governments now feel the need to get involved in even the most minute details of innocent people's lives. If people are too stupid to lock their vehicles and keep their valuables out of sight, that is too bad. Those people are taking a risk. If someone steals from the vehicle, the owner will have to face the consequences of being careless. The last thing the vehicle owner needs is some busybody cop putting a sign on the vehicle that advertises to all passers-by there are valuables in the vehicle. That is just idiotic. The cops are marking the targets for thieves.
The most troubling thing is that the cops are actually opening the doors of unlocked vehicles. These vehicles are private property, and opening a private vehicle without permission or a warrant is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. What happens if the cop opens a vehicle and notices something suspicious that might be visible only when a vehicle door is opened? Does the cop continue snooping around in the vehicle? Does the cop make an arrest or file a report if he finds something illegal?
Also, there are some good reasons to leave a vehicle unlocked. Anyone with a convertible or soft-top jeep knows to never lock the vehicle. Thieves cut through soft-tops to get in, and the cost to replace the soft-top far exceeds the value of the items inside the vehicle. Also, people know thieves will smash windows to get into vehicles. Some vehicle owners do not keep anything valuable in their vehicles, so they leave them unlocked, hoping no one will smash a window to get inside. After all, the windows are just glass and do not provide much security. They are, however, expensive to replace.
The bottom line is this. It does not matter why people leave their vehicles unlocked. If people want to do things with their private property that may seem careless, it is not the concern of the police. Here's a fresh thought. Instead of the police wasting time checking door locks, they should be out arresting thieves. The reason we have so many vehicle break-in is because the cops are not doing their jobs and putting the thieves in jail where they belong.
July 25, 2011
TSA Worker Stole from LAX Passengers
If you come back from a flight and find that valuables are missing from your luggage, do not automatically blame yourself for being absentminded or careless. It is very possible a Transportation Security Administration agent stole items from you.
Paul Yashou of Torrance, California is the latest TSA employee to be caught stealing from passengers. Paul Yashou got caught stealing things such as luxury watches and a pre-paid debit card from airline passengers at the Los Angeles International Airport.
It should be noted that the TSA did not catch the thief. One of the theft victims broke the case upon noticing one of the stolen watches was listed on eBay. Paul Yashou was arrested on July 22, 2011. So, not only does the TSA hire criminals, they do such a poor job of watching them, that independent citizens have to be the ones catching the federally employed thieves.
These TSA workers are supposed to be looking for bombs and terrorists, but they are simply too busy stealing, groping, harassing, humiliating innocent people to be bothered with such burdens and formalities. The people are who supposed to be protecting you are much more likely to be the ones victimizing you.
Paul Yashou of Torrance, California is the latest TSA employee to be caught stealing from passengers. Paul Yashou got caught stealing things such as luxury watches and a pre-paid debit card from airline passengers at the Los Angeles International Airport.
It should be noted that the TSA did not catch the thief. One of the theft victims broke the case upon noticing one of the stolen watches was listed on eBay. Paul Yashou was arrested on July 22, 2011. So, not only does the TSA hire criminals, they do such a poor job of watching them, that independent citizens have to be the ones catching the federally employed thieves.
These TSA workers are supposed to be looking for bombs and terrorists, but they are simply too busy stealing, groping, harassing, humiliating innocent people to be bothered with such burdens and formalities. The people are who supposed to be protecting you are much more likely to be the ones victimizing you.
July 8, 2011
TSA Agent Stealing Electronics from Passengers
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| Nelson Santiago Photo: Broward County Sheriff's Office |
TSA Agent, Nelson Santiago, was arrested on July 4, 2011 after he was caught taking an iPad from a passenger's luggage and stuffing it into his pants. It turns out that Nelson Santiago had made stealing from passengers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport into a lucrative side business to supplement the money he normally made from his TSA job.
Santiago would steal iPads, computers, GPS devices, cameras, etc. from the luggage he was supposed to be screening, and he would sell the stolen items over the Internet. He would sometimes manage to sell the items before his shift was over. Police say Santiago managed to steal around $50,000 worth of electronics over the past six months. Of course, the TSA did not catch Santiago. The TSA does not care about your valuables and theft. It took an observant Continental Airlines employee to catch the thieving federal employee.
So, when you take your valuables on a flight, please know that they may be stolen by federal employees who have been granted nearly unlimited access to your personal possessions. That smart phone that contains loads of important personal information, that camera that holds your vacation photos, the computer that contains sensitive business information, and that GPS that can provide your home address to a thief who happens to know you just left for a vacation could just vanish from your luggage and be sold over the Internet before your plane lands. These TSA employees should be looking for explosives and weapons, but how can we possibly expect them to focus on that task when they are busy digging for treasure in your luggage?
January 9, 2011
Obama Wants Internet ID for Americans
Obama is planning to give the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a system to establish unique Internet identities for people. The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace is a plan to create a system that will allow participants to establish who they are online through the use of some sort of identification feature. There are many systems that would allow for this identification, such as digital passcode generators, hardware keys, biometric scanners, RFID cards, voice recognition, etc.
The Obama administration is selling this as something that is voluntary and will be driven by the private sector, but the potential for future abuses must be recognized. Certainly, it would be convenient to have a single and secure Internet ID that you could use to access all of your various Internet-based accounts, but this could make you extremely vulnerable to having your entire online life hijacked in one single move.
People are probably not going to feel terribly threatened by this Internet ID program at first. We are going to be told it is for our protection, and it is completely voluntary, but that is not the way things are going to work out in reality.
If this Internet ID program takes hold, here is what is could happen step-by-step.
1) The Internet ID will be introduced. Banks will offer it to clients. People will use it and enjoy the convenience and feeling of security.
2) After a while, some banks will require users to have an Internet ID in order to access their accounts online.
3) Internet IDs will be required by all major banks for online access.
4) Mortgage companies and credit card companies will require customers to use the Internet ID system online.
5) Credit card companies will require the Internet ID be used for online purchases.
6) After several years, Internet IDs will be commonplace. Internet users may even be required to have Internet IDs to use free resources such as Web-based email accounts, social networking sites, blogging sites, etc.
Eventually, what will happen is that many Americans will have all or most of their online lives under one single Internet ID, effectively placing people's online lives under one universal account. It will be very convenient for people. People will just be able to log onto their computers and do everything without the need to worry about passwords and screen names.
Not only will this be convenient for legitimate users, it also going to be very convenient for identity thieves. We are always told systems are hack-proof, but we often find out later some hacker beat the security. Nothing is hack-proof. Right now, it is really a headache if an identity thief steals your credit card number or manages to hack your email account. Now, imagine if a hacker got hold of your Internet ID and was suddenly able to access every single one of your online accounts. Imagine if a thief had access to your bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage, driver license, cell phone, email accounts, Facebook account, Amazon account, and everything else you have. Your online life would suddenly be in the hands of someone else, and you would have very few resources available to you to correct the problem. In cyberspace, you would virtually cease to be your virtual self.
Here is an even scarier thought. Imagine if the you had your entire online life under a single Internet ID, and you had some dispute with the government. What if your tax return got lost in the mail? Imagine how easy it would be for the IRS to get hold of your Internet ID information and freeze all of your accounts until the matter was resolved. What if the Department of Homeland Security mistakenly identified you as a security threat and just decided to shut off your access to all of your online accounts during an investigation?
The potentials for abuse are tremendous. If you use the Internet ID system, know that you will be placing all of your virtual eggs in one basket. If a thief or the government decides to come along and take your basket, where is that going to leave you?
The Obama administration is selling this as something that is voluntary and will be driven by the private sector, but the potential for future abuses must be recognized. Certainly, it would be convenient to have a single and secure Internet ID that you could use to access all of your various Internet-based accounts, but this could make you extremely vulnerable to having your entire online life hijacked in one single move.
People are probably not going to feel terribly threatened by this Internet ID program at first. We are going to be told it is for our protection, and it is completely voluntary, but that is not the way things are going to work out in reality.
If this Internet ID program takes hold, here is what is could happen step-by-step.
1) The Internet ID will be introduced. Banks will offer it to clients. People will use it and enjoy the convenience and feeling of security.
2) After a while, some banks will require users to have an Internet ID in order to access their accounts online.
3) Internet IDs will be required by all major banks for online access.
4) Mortgage companies and credit card companies will require customers to use the Internet ID system online.
5) Credit card companies will require the Internet ID be used for online purchases.
6) After several years, Internet IDs will be commonplace. Internet users may even be required to have Internet IDs to use free resources such as Web-based email accounts, social networking sites, blogging sites, etc.
Eventually, what will happen is that many Americans will have all or most of their online lives under one single Internet ID, effectively placing people's online lives under one universal account. It will be very convenient for people. People will just be able to log onto their computers and do everything without the need to worry about passwords and screen names.
Not only will this be convenient for legitimate users, it also going to be very convenient for identity thieves. We are always told systems are hack-proof, but we often find out later some hacker beat the security. Nothing is hack-proof. Right now, it is really a headache if an identity thief steals your credit card number or manages to hack your email account. Now, imagine if a hacker got hold of your Internet ID and was suddenly able to access every single one of your online accounts. Imagine if a thief had access to your bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage, driver license, cell phone, email accounts, Facebook account, Amazon account, and everything else you have. Your online life would suddenly be in the hands of someone else, and you would have very few resources available to you to correct the problem. In cyberspace, you would virtually cease to be your virtual self.
Here is an even scarier thought. Imagine if the you had your entire online life under a single Internet ID, and you had some dispute with the government. What if your tax return got lost in the mail? Imagine how easy it would be for the IRS to get hold of your Internet ID information and freeze all of your accounts until the matter was resolved. What if the Department of Homeland Security mistakenly identified you as a security threat and just decided to shut off your access to all of your online accounts during an investigation?
The potentials for abuse are tremendous. If you use the Internet ID system, know that you will be placing all of your virtual eggs in one basket. If a thief or the government decides to come along and take your basket, where is that going to leave you?
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