Police investigation into mass cellphone buys now includes stolen propane tanks - Polidicks

[url]http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/13/cops-investigating-more-suspicious-cellphone-buys-propane-tank-thefts/[/url] [QUOTE]The bulk purchases of more than 200 cellphones from seven Missouri Walmarts over the course of a single weekend continues to draw the attention of law enforcement – particularly combined with the theft of more than 48 propane canisters in the state during the same time frame. There is no information to suggest the suspicious cellphone purchases and propane thefts are related at this time. Police in Columbia, Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Lebanon, Ava, Jefferson City and Macon have each said they’ve received reports about large numbers of cellphones bought in area Walmarts. The majority of purchases occurred during the late-night hours of Dec. 4 and the early-morning hours of Dec. 5.[/QUOTE]

Well it's good to be attentive I guess. We'll see.

oohh boy

Hey look, FOX News speculations on two wildly separate cases crafted to fearmonger.

I work Loss Prevention and we are were contacted by FBI and alerted of this sort of thing. For the cellphones they used self-check out and those pre-paid Visa cards. I don't even sell this sort of merchandise but it's still kinda crazy the FBI called to talk to me.

[QUOTE=Da Big Man;49309494]Hey look, FOX News speculations on two wildly separate cases crafted to fearmonger.[/QUOTE] Explain how they were doing that, and not reporting on an investigation?

[QUOTE=Da Big Man;49309494]Hey look, FOX News speculations on two wildly separate cases crafted to fearmonger.[/QUOTE] Lets hope it's nothing more than fearmongering.

[QUOTE=Da Big Man;49309494]Hey look, FOX News speculations on two wildly separate cases crafted to fearmonger.[/QUOTE] Fox News isn't the only agency reporting on this. And the FBI ARE investigating because 200 burner phones being purchased via self checkout with pre-paid gift cards is pretty concerning. You can't buy propane self checkout and if you don't want a paper trail stealing them is an option. And all these purchases and thefts are happening in the same area. It's possible this is just your average Organized Retail Crime. Pre-Paid Phones have a good resale value and move fast. Propane is going to be a desired item as it gets colder so they'll be a good market to sell those on the cheap too and make some quick cash. Personally I think it's unlikely it's Terrorism. Stealing propane attracts too much police attention if you ask me. And people use stolen credit cards to buy tons of gift cards and use them to buy merchandise like this all the time. I don't really blame the FBI for looking into it.

[QUOTE=Da Big Man;49309494]Hey look, FOX News speculations on two wildly separate cases crafted to fearmonger.[/QUOTE] Both on their own have the potential to be serious. The phones are most likely for gang communication or resale, but who knows what the propane is gonna be used for. Propane tanks do make for some terrible IEDs due to their weight, size, and lack of power relative to a homemade ANFO/PETN charge, but [i]are[/i] readily available. To me, that sounds more like someone was looking for some money as the propane can be sold. Or, it could be a prepper that wanted fuel but couldn't afford spending $700 to fill a 500gal tank. Regardless, there's still a threat here and both need to be investigated.

it's almost guaranteed to just be normal retail crime. pre-paids (ie. burners) bought at a store have a paper trail, but if you buy them online already activated there's nothing to link it to you. people steal propane all the time too

Probably some drug lab needed the propane, the tanks themselves are useful plus the gas is essential for fuel

[QUOTE=Da Big Man;49309494]Hey look, FOX News speculations on two wildly separate cases crafted to fearmonger.[/QUOTE] See CodeMonkey's post below- [QUOTE=CodeMonkey3;49309503]I work Loss Prevention and we are were contacted by FBI and alerted of this sort of thing. For the cellphones they used self-check out and those pre-paid Visa cards. I don't even sell this sort of merchandise but it's still kinda crazy the FBI called to talk to me.[/QUOTE] If they're using visa gift cards then they likely have already stolen someone's bank account information. Thats a huge red flag of fraud. They get your information, make small gift card purchases so the bank doesnt flag it, then goes and buys what they want with the cards. This is a very common technique used by white collar criminals. If they're buying prepaid phones with visa gift cards you should be on alert because thats not normal and likely part of a bigger crime string. As for this particular situation- 4 dozen propane tanks being stolen a day after all the phones were is not coincidental. Its deliberate. This is a completely normal response to something like this. Its not fear mongering. You'd probably complain that law enforcement didnt do enough if, and more likely when, a bomb goes off.

something something dangit bobby something something

[QUOTE=Code3Response;49309672]This is a completely normal response to something like this. Its not fear mongering. You'd probably complain that law enforcement didnt do enough if, and more likely when, a bomb goes off.[/QUOTE] Pretty sure they're saying FOX is the one fearmongering, not the feds, by reporting them together like there's a link between them despite saying that there's no actual reason to tie them together

[QUOTE=Bazsil;49310063]Pretty sure they're saying FOX is the one fearmongering, not the feds, by reporting them together like there's a link between them despite saying that there's no actual reason to tie them together[/QUOTE] Fox is reporting on the investigation. If you take it as fear mongering, well tell that to your tinfoil hat.

[QUOTE=Code3Response;49309672]See CodeMonkey's post below- If they're using visa gift cards then they likely have already stolen someone's bank account information. Thats a huge red flag of fraud. They get your information, make small gift card purchases so the bank doesnt flag it, then goes and buys what they want with the cards. This is a very common technique used by white collar criminals. If they're buying prepaid phones with visa gift cards you should be on alert because thats not normal and likely part of a bigger crime string. As for this particular situation- 4 dozen propane tanks being stolen a day after all the phones were is not coincidental. Its deliberate. This is a completely normal response to something like this. Its not fear mongering. You'd probably complain that law enforcement didnt do enough if, and more likely when, a bomb goes off.[/QUOTE] people also buy things with visa gift cards because sometimes they can get them for a cheaper value than what is on the card - and by mass purchases they can turnover profits by selling things like prepaid mobile phones separately with big profit margins doesn't necessarily mean they are stealing peoples credit card info

[QUOTE=Raged;49312947]people also buy things with visa gift cards because sometimes they can get them for a cheaper value than what is on the card - and by mass purchases they can turnover profits by selling things like prepaid mobile phones separately with big profit margins doesn't necessarily mean they are stealing peoples credit card info[/QUOTE] Obviously people are not going to care if you buy clothing, a video game, grocery, sheets, whatever with a gift card. Thats how it works. Making small purchases so it seems normal and doesnt get flagged. There are far more valid uses of gift cards than there are criminal, but that doesnt mean that it doesnt happen every single day. $20 a week could go missing from your bank account and you probably wouldn't know unless you constantly watch your bank transactions. Ask Serj in the Automotive thread. He caught someone using his stolen PayPal to buy CSGO items. Something like $600. If he was missing, lets say $10, would he have noticed it as much? Maybe not. Someone walking into a walmart at 11pm to buy a dozen phones at self checkout with a visa gift card is suspicious and should be investigated.

I still think it's unlikely it's Terrorism as I said before. I think that post by Raged isn't quite correct. Someone purchasing a huge dollar amount in gift cards with credit cards is like "I have a stolen credit card 101" and it almost always is stolen when we check into it. It's like getting Travelers Checks. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use a "legit" travelers check and I wish we'd stop accepting them because they're always fraudulent and I swear to god who even uses these things for real these days? Normal people don't make $500+ transactions in one visit to a store unless they're buying appliances, TV's or other high value electronics. It's not normal behavior and it's incredibly suspicious. So if you work for a business like Wal-Mart and see someone spending over $500 in CELLPHONES than it's worth looking at because something isn't right. I will also say this that despite the whole "It's just a gift card, what's so suspicious about a gift card being used?" gift cards and store credit are literally the #1 driving force for people to steal from my store. Where I work people will steal merchandise; not to sell them, not to keep them. They'll steal and just go to another store in the next town over, return like $300 of it without a receipt, get a store credit gift card and than they'll go sell the gift card for straight cash at pawn shops, bodegas and places like that. It's a quick way to get fast cash. Usually they'll use the cash they get to buy drugs, you can't buy drugs with women's suits so I get it. Hell even the Chinese Buffet behind my store buys gift cards. They also pay boosters to steal shrimp and bacon from our local grocery stores. Fuck I hate the concept of no-receipt returns.