October 27, 2006 7:27 AM PDT
Helpful hint: If you commit a crime, don't post it on YouTube
As an 18-year-old from Wales soon learned, posting YouTube prank videos that contain criminal activity can get you arrested. In this case, it was stealing a pair of glasses off a charity worker in the street. The theft was reported, and somehow the cops managed to find the video evidence on YouTube.
This is by no means the first time that goofy online postings have led to unexpected arrests. Remember "Smokey McBlunt"? He's the North Carolina resident who posted photos of his illegal pet snake on his MySpace profile back in August; thanks to eagle-eyed neighbors and intervention from animal control authorities, "Smokey" is now snakeless.
Thanks to Fark.com for the heads-up on the Welsh YouTube glasses thief.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline.
