Seeing it is the Christmas season (here at least), I thought we'd get in the spirit of the Grinch and see a review of the biggest stolen goods in the past year.
This animation cell depicting the Grinch was stolen and recovered in 1999. Meta-heist!AP Photo/New York Police Department
On Christmas Eve, Americans remember the Grinch, who stole all the Christmas gifts from the Whos of Whoville. Thus, Quartz now takes a moment to remember the people in 2013 whose attempts to liberate others’ property for their own purposes merit comparison with the Grinch. (Note: Unlike the Dr Seuss character, who is overwhelmed with remorse and returns the goods, most of these thieves did not apparently experience sudden cardiac expansion after their deeds.)
The Great Belgian Diamond Heist. Takings: $50 million worth of uncut diamonds.
At first glance, you think this February caper might make a good movie, but not enough goes wrong to really sustain the plot. With precise timing, thieves cut through an airport fence in Brussels in June, drove onto the tarmac and arrived at a plane just as uncut diamonds were being transferred from an armored car. Threatening the guards and porters with assault rifles, the thieves were able to make off with 120 bags of jewels without firing a shot. Experts say it has all the markings of an inside job. While some of the diamonds have been recovered and arrests have been made, no one has been convicted yet.
The Excellent Electronic ATM Robbery.Takings:$45 million
You know that dream you have where money just pours out of ATMs for the taking? These hackers made it a reality by lifting withdrawal limits on big accounts and equipping bagmen with copies of their linked debit cards. The bagmen made the rounds of ATMs in cities around the world, withdrawing $2.4 million in New York City alone. Law enforcement caught up to the crew, indicting eight men, including a ring-leader who fled to the Dominican Republican and was killed there in suspicious circumstances.
The Big Bitcoin Bonanza. Takings: 4,100 bitcoins (around $2.7 million as of this writing)
Bitcoin’s wild ride and debates about its viability as a future currency took center stage once again this year. One thing to remember, though: Bitcoin isn’t more secure than any other store of value. That was driven home in November, when an unknown hacker was able to gain access to a cloud-hosting service and make off with 4,100 bitcoins stored there by unwitting users. That’s just one example of bitcoin theft—others include a Chinese exchange that simply went dark while holding onto millions of dollars worth of users’ bitcoins, and plenty of individuals whose computer security was not so tough as they thought.
The Great Booze Bamboozling. Takings: $26,000 worth of bourbon
But not just any bourbon—65 three-bottle cases of $130-a-bottle 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle, the most sought-after bourbon around, lifted straight from the distillery. There are still no suspects in the case, but the acclaimed (and delicious!) whiskey sells for as much as $900 in the secondary market (if you can find a seller) because of its rarity. Despite a $10,000 reward, there are no known leads in the case, and one criminal may be enjoying a very expensive eggnog indeed.
The Cannes Jewelry Smash ‘n’ Grab. Takings: $136 million
Another case of successful planning: This July, in Cannes, a lone gunman arrived at a hotel jewelry exhibition just as the most valuable pieces owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev were being unloaded. He took the jewels, hopped out of a window and disappeared into the street. Neither the thief nor the diamonds have been apprehended, but it’s possible that the heist was organized by a gang of thieves known as the Pink Panthers.
Targeting Target. Takings: 40 million people’s credit-card information.
It was revealed last week that hackers had compromised the checkout systems at Target stores around the United States for some three weeks after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. It’s not clear yet how much actual money will be lost after Target alerted banks to potential fraud, but the card data have been pouring on to the black market, and Target could face fines of up to $3.6 billion.
The Spy-Spying Scandal.Takings: Millions of top-secret documents
Is there more to be said about Edward Snowden? The former intelligence contractor made off with perhaps 1.7 million sensitive documents detailing US electronic surveillance methods and targets, giving them to reporters and igniting a domestic debate over spying while souring American relations with countries from Germany to Brazil. “The mission’s already accomplished,” he told the Washington Post this week of his efforts to publicize these practices, including dragnets that a judge recently ruled unconstitutional. Out of reach of US prosecutors in Russia, Snowden’s future residence and legal status remains unclear.
A Special Lifetime Achievement Grinchie: Ronnie Biggs, 1926-2013
The mastermind behind the United Kingdom’s Great Train Robbery of 1963 passed away last week. He and his crew stole £2.6 million (some $7 million at the time) from a mail train before he spent decades on the lam from Scotland Yard in South America. While (to our knowledge) he had committed no great capers this year, we recognize Mr. Biggs for a lifetime achievement award.
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Re: 2013 heists in review
Red Menace
January 1st, 2014 07:08 PM
Interesting how it seems half of these robbers have so far gotten away with it. I guess crime does sometimes pay.
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Re: 2013 heists in review
Silberio
January 2nd, 2014 06:39 AM
Looks like it's time to take my band to a new level.
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Re: 2013 heists in review
Crazy Wolf
January 2nd, 2014 10:21 AM
So, jewel heists seem the way to go, then. Probably easier to swim in than a sea of gold coins.
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Re: 2013 heists in review
Nemmerle
January 2nd, 2014 02:50 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Menace
Interesting how it seems half of these robbers have so far gotten away with it. I guess crime does sometimes pay.
Well, yeah, if it didn't no-one would do it. The deviation on your gamble's just higher.
You know, a lot more of human behaviour made sense to me when I understood the underlying theme behind 'all armies are the same size in the dark.'
What it's actually saying is that when you're in the weaker position you should act so as to increase the variance in possible outcomes. When you play conservatively the stronger side wins. So, take high-risk high-reward gambles, you have less to lose - depending on what your enemy would do if they won you may have effectively nothing to lose vs the alternative.
And then why people who just felt powerless acted seemingly irrationally, even if they still stood to lose quite a lot looking at things dispassionately, made a lot more sense to me. Because if they actually were in a really weak position, that sort of action really would make sense.
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Re: 2013 heists in review
Adrian Ţepeş
January 3rd, 2014 10:58 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nemmerle
And then why people who just felt powerless acted seemingly irrationally, even if they still stood to lose quite a lot looking at things dispassionately, made a lot more sense to me. Because if they actually were in a really weak position, that sort of action really would make sense.
I could be misreading this section, but I'm not entirely sure I got your meaning.
EDIT: Nvm, I think I've got it now -_^
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Re: 2013 heists in review
Admiral Donutz
January 4th, 2014 10:58 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy Wolf
So, jewel heists seem the way to go, then. Probably easier to swim in than a sea of gold coins.
I heared Wiskey is doing rather well these days aswell, growing demand for aged Wiskey from countries such as China. It makes perfect sense to me to set up a Wiskey heist and fill your pool with wiskey.
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This animation cell depicting the Grinch was stolen and recovered in 1999. Meta-heist!AP Photo/New York Police Department
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