Most criminals aren't masterminds, rather they're people who felt like crime was their only option. Often that means they weren't smart enough to achieve anything the normal way, and their crimes reflect that. These criminals committed the cardinal sin of crime, however, by telling on themselves online. Nothing says guilty like bragging about a crime on Facebook.
Take 19-year-old Rodney Knight Jr. who broke into the home of a Washington Post reporter. His first mistake was thinking that a writer would have anything worth stealing, but after swiping as much cash as he could find, he decided to hang around for one more thing. After discovering the reporter's son's laptop, he opened up its camera and snapped a picture of himself holding some cash, then left the laptop at the scene of the crime. Police used that photo to help apprehend him.
See that pic, along with 23 other criminals who gave themselves away online.
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19-year-old Hannah Sabata uploaded a video of herself to YouTube called called "Chick Bank robber"where she bragged about stealing a car and robbing a bank. Her ex-boyfriend saw the video and called the police.
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Robber James Tindell posted repeated status updates like “I’m in Alabama.” His parole officer saw them, and it helped in his capture.
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44-year-old Nathaniel Troy Maye and his girlfriend were traveling around the country stealing identities, when Nathaniel uploaded a picture of a steak, their location, and the caption "Morton's." They were promptly caught.
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He was arrested one month later.
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20 year old Michael Baker posted this photo of himself stealing gas from a cop car. He was promptly arrested.
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Two Utah men constructed this deadly trap in the woods intended for malicious use. They were discovered after posting comments about it on Facebook.
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Rodney Knight Jr, 19, broke into a Washington Post reporter’s house, and stole some cash among other things. Before leaving, he opened the reporter’s son’s laptop, and took this picture of himself on it.
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A wanted man named Craig Lynch repeatedly posted taunting photos to police on his Facebook page. Despite evading capture despite the taunting for many months, he was eventually caught.
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Rashia Wilson of Tampa, Florida proclaimed herself the “Queen of IRS Tax Fraud.” She took 20 million dollars, and bragged about it on Facebook. She is currently serving a 21-year term.
