Shuttle Parts Bizarre

I just can't get over folks trying to sell shuttle debris on eBay. Whatever the motivation, do they not realize it is a cinch they'll be caught?

eBay keeps creaking along precisely because it makes it very easy for people to find the odd junk they crave. It is the exact opposite of a secretive method to fence hot, notorious goods. You'd be better off just putting up a Web site shuttledebris.com.

I suppose you could try to sell fake shuttle debris as seller-side fraud remains an issue eBay battles against constantly. As long as you don't get greedy the penalties for simple fraud have to be less than the 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine the real debris collectors face. But the law would still find you.

It is a lesson that black market cable box makers recently learned. Private detectives working for cable companies simply responded to an eBay sale in order bring cops down on them.

The Internet was never as anonymous as it seemed.

Comments

[Jim]

A friend of mine works on cybercrime for the Oakland County Sheriff here in Michigan and told me about a case he was working on that involved a guy who did maintenance at a GM plant who was selling plant equipment on E-bay that he stole from work. He apparently was smart enough to not use his real name or address online, but when the cops purchased some through E-bay the guy shipped it with his correct name and return address because he was worried about UPS losing it. What a dumbass. I'm not sure if the lesson here is 'crime doesn't pay' or 'crime doesn't pay for stupid people'.

[Billy Oblivion]

The hard bit is getting the money in some useful form--everything else is trivial.

Except for payment the internet *can* be far more anonymous than you'd believe.

[Chris]

I couldn't get any info on shuttledebris.com, but, according to the 'whois' database, shuttledebris.net, and .org were registered on February 1st of this year.