Dumb Criminals

From The San-Diego Union-Tribune: bq. A 911 call from a suspect led sheriff's deputies to a sophisticated North County identity theft operation that used credit card numbers stolen from the Internet, the Sheriff's Department said. bq. Three men were arrested late Friday in connection with the operation. Deputies from the Computer and Technology Crime Hi-Tech Response Team were still investigating late yesterday. bq. The investigation began when Michael Broome, 20, of Vista called 911 on his cell phone about 8 p.m. Friday. Broome complained that clerks at the Fry's Electronics store in San Marcos were refusing to return his credit cards, according to the Sheriff's Department. bq. When a deputy arrived, he learned that the clerks refused to return the cards because one had been reported stolen. While both cards bore Broome's name, the information on the magnetic strip listed someone else's name, the Sheriff's Department said. bq. Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Blanco said Broome and another man, Michael Mayfield, 23, of Oceanside, had been sent on a shopping spree to buy computers, MP3 players, digital cameras and other electronic equipment with the falsified credit cards. (emphasis mine) Talk about DOH!