14 DAY TRIAL // A man from Jackson, Mississippi, allegedly robbed a business and during the heist he took the time to log-in to his Facebook page, giving away his identity to authorities.
According to Clarion Ledger, 30-year-old Jackson Andrew Smith, is now prosecuted for breaking in twice at the U-Haul truck and rental services company.
You might wonder why twice?
He initially broke in on August 17. At that time, firm owners reported the break-in to the police, mentioning that Smith's Facebook page was left open on one of the computers.
Five days later, on August 22, U-haul reported another similar incident in which the computer containing the evidence was stolen.
Even though the computer wasn't yet recovered and Smith's lawyer states that anyone could have accessed the Facebook profile of the defendant, a Hinds County Judge believed there was enough evidence to indict the suspect.
The conclusion came after law enforcement representatives mentioned that the accused was logged in to his account when the PC was found.
Now, what are the chances that a man formerly accused of burglary and false pretense has his Facebook credential phished. Actually, the chances are pretty high.
The prosecutors should find other ways to prove his guilt otherwise he might be relieved of any charges. Even though common sense tells us it was probably him, this being the reason why the device that held the most important evidence was stolen some time later, these days a social media account is hardly enough to connect someone to an illegal operation.
If we consider all the phishing operations that target such networks it could be highly possible that someone can steal our credentials, rob a place and access our accounts just to distract the attention of authorities.
If the crook is a bit clever, he could come back a few days later and steal the computer to make sure he escapes.