January 25, 2002

9:08 AM

There's no justice like angry mob justice."But like vigilante gangs of the American frontier, ad hoc communities seeking justice on the electronic frontier sometimes trample the very laws they seek to enforce, as their quest for justice warps into a plot for revenge." Sounds familiar. Man swindles eBayers out of 125 grand; angry mob takes control of his e-mail account, grills his mother and assumes his identity.
posted by Big Fat Tycoon (3 comments total)

When marketers, nurses, and accountants form a posse:

"Listen, I can get into his Yahoo mail account and his PayPal account (want an instant refund?) right now if I have his mother's maiden name, last 4 digits of his SSN," one man wrote on the site. "I could also get more info if someone could get the first 12 numbers of his Visa card."

Oh yeah and the expiration date too!
posted by skallas at 10:17 AM on January 25, 2002

Bully for these folks!

If I were called to be on a jury if an ill-advised authority decided to prosecute these folks for any actions they might have taken, I'd certainly vote to acquit. [Damn. Now I can't serve on such a jury. Oh, well, I'll just have to block my comments from my mind later.]

If law enforcement can't protect the citizenry, such new-age "vigilance" communities are entirely justified in fighting back on their own.
posted by dissent at 10:40 AM on January 25, 2002

Gotta love how the crack eBay investigative team drags its feet to give the guy a 30 day head start.
posted by MegoSteve at 1:09 PM on January 25, 2002