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FBI Used Best Buy's Geek Squad To Increase Secret Public Surveillance

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D

DerekOfTheDykes

Member
Earthbound64 said:
Seriously.

You didn't have to be "looking for it."
You didn't have to be "tipped off to it."
People would just bring computers in and drop them off with shit all over them (sometimes literally).
Click to expand...

Yup.

Was never Geek Squad myself, but many years ago when I was a supe at Best Buy I was tight with all the agents at our precinct... we had a guy come in wanting us to make a backup of the entire "My Documents" folder for him, and he kept child porn right in there. I don't know how the dude planned on us NOT noticing. That guy was still smarter than the one who kept all his porn folders on his desktop, including one labelled with a fairly compromising name.

If these agents were actively snooping through people's files looking for illegal material, I'd be inclined to believe that those were arrangements made with specific individuals and not with Best Buy as a whole (considering Geek Squad's training specifically says not to do the thing in question). It really shouldn't come as a surprise that the most mainstream, nationwide computer repair chain might have a few people abusing their positions.
 
A

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
Earthbound64 said:
Can't tell when it got onto the computer, who viewed it, or when it was deleted?

Are they the same type of people who think they can fool their English teacher by renaming a file of a different extension to .docx, write up the paper afterwards, and when the teacher says they can't open the file / it's gibberish, hand in the paper they wrote after, saying it was a mistake?

(Note: If the teacher knows anything about computers, there are so many ways to check that as being false. Just as there are so many ways of finding out all of the previous information).
Click to expand...
That's from the article:
There are also technical weaknesses in the agency's pursuit of Rettenmaier. Just weeks before his arrest, federal judges ruled in a notable separate matter that child porn found on a computer's unallocated space couldn't be used to win a possession conviction because there is almost no way to learn who placed it there, who viewed it, or when or why it was deleted.
Click to expand...
I've read about this case in the past and that unallocated space term is something the defense has focused on. From what I can tell, allocated space is from all the files and the unallocated space would be the opposite.
 
s_mirage

s_mirage

Member
Moose Biscuits said:
Seriously though, there must be some dumb paedophiles out there. What kind of idiot would decide to take their computer with child pornography on it to a fucking tech shop?
Click to expand...

Gary Glitter. I'm guessing most people in the US won't have heard of him, but he was a UK popstar for many years and this is exactly what he did.
 
D

Dai101

Banned
Professor Beef said:
Probably the same kind of idiot who downloads shit like this:

aUOmgHm.jpg
Click to expand...

giphy.gif
 
E

Earthbound64

Banned
andthebeatgoeson said:
That's from the article:

I've read about this case in the past and that unallocated space term is something the defense has focused on. From what I can tell, allocated space is from all the files and the unallocated space would be the opposite.
Click to expand...

Well then, my comment is directed at the judge and prosecution.
 
M

Moose Biscuits

It would be extreamly painful...
s_mirage said:
Gary Glitter. I'm guessing most people in the US won't have heard of him, but he was a UK popstar for many years and this is exactly what he did.
Click to expand...
I'm UK so I am aware of him. And really, is that how they caught him? Jesus.

I don't know why I had such high expectations for paedophiles, honestly. I've always assumed they were the type to use the deep web and weird onion browsers and vpns and the like to conduct their awful deeds.
 
D

D4Danger

Unconfirmed Member
Moose Biscuits said:
I'm UK so I am aware of him. And really, is that how they caught him? Jesus.

I don't know why I had such high expectations for paedophiles, honestly. I've always assumed they were the type to use the deep web and weird onion browsers and vpns and the like to conduct their awful deeds.
Click to expand...

they're probably do know because of things like this. luckily some horrible people are bad at computers.

off-topic slightly but they caught the BTK killer after thirty years because he sent a word document to the police that had his name included as metadata in the file.
 
C

CarpeDeezNutz

Member
D4Danger said:
they're probably do know because of things like this. luckily some horrible people are bad at computers.

off-topic slightly but they caught the BTK killer after thirty years because he sent a word document to the police that had his name included as metadata in the file.
Click to expand...

Oh that's how they got him? I remember how he got cocky about it and was sending letters to whoever but not sure how it all went down.
 
P

Professor Beef

Banned
Dash_Riprock said:
I like to imagine that the sheer number of viruses/spyware/malware in that browser cancel each other out and makes it run normally.
Click to expand...
Ah, so Thr-
Spladam said:
Lol, Three stooges syndrome.
Click to expand...

Dammit!
killer rin said:
Just another reason to not use Geek Squad over learning how to, and fixing the problem yourself
Click to expand...

One of my friends who was a GS agent actually encouraged some of his customers to do that. Not in a "sabotage best buy huehuehue" sort of way, but just practical advice.
 
A

Arkeband

Banned
I used to be a Geek Squad Agent, there was never anything like this communicated to us. We reported people if we ever saw anything (edit: to the police, and were never paid) (and people are extremely careless - we had stories of people bringing in laptops with flabby husbands and wives naked as their desktop backgrounds) but we were expressly forbidden to go "snooping" - and backups were only ever done with client permission and they cost like eighty to a hundred dollars.

Edit: Re-reading the OP, I missed the name Justin Meade, he was a dude we talked to regularly on our internal forums and he helped us with troubleshooting and fixes. Crazy to see his name again.

Professor Beef said:
One of my friends who was a GS agent actually encouraged some of his customers to do that. Not in a "sabotage best buy huehuehue" sort of way, but just practical advice.
Click to expand...

I'd regularly teach my customers how to do things themselves or if they didn't have money for services I'd give them instructions if I felt they were competent enough to not fuck it up.
 
E

emag

Member
Zee-Row said:
Even living alone I still search for porn stuff in incognito mode just because I hate having to remember deleting my cookies and searches manually just in case someone comes over and has to use the computer.
Click to expand...

Your ISP still logs all that shit (and sells the logs to whoever will pay, mostly advertisers).
 
H

Herr Schwarz

Banned
s_mirage said:
Gary Glitter. I'm guessing most people in the US won't have heard of him, but he was a UK popstar for many years and this is exactly what he did.
Click to expand...

"You wanna be in my gang, my gang my gang, you wanna be in my gang"

Um yeah, no thanks Gary. He's perving around in Thailand now with Rolph Harris
 
A

Afrikan

Member
Dammit I still have like 6 years of Gamer's Club discounts.

BestBuy is will be shutdown before then. :/

They are fucked.

edit- oh and damn BestBuy started finger printing folks who traded in games like a few years ago. I'm sure that went straight to the FBI as well.
 
eso76

eso76

Member
Earthbound64 said:
Are they the same type of people who think they can fool their English teacher by renaming a file of a different extension to .docx, write up the paper afterwards, and when the teacher says they can't open the file / it's gibberish, hand in the paper they wrote after, saying it was a mistake?
Click to expand...

Hey, this has worked fine for me
 
R

RawNuts

Member
In 2016, the defense lawyer claimed the FBI made Best Buy an unofficial wing of the agency by incentivizing Geek Squad employees to dig through customers' computers, paying $500 each time they found evidence that could launch criminal cases.
Click to expand...
#squadgoals
 
N

Netherscourge

Banned
If Geek Squad is helping IC, we're all doomed.

I ain't paying $150 to IC agents to restore Windows Vista on my '08 Acer Aspire laptop anymore.

I was wondering my my laptop camera kept turning on whenever I tried to play Minesweeper.

Now it all adds up.
 
Q

QuickSilverD

Member
Moose Biscuits said:
I'm UK so I am aware of him. And really, is that how they caught him? Jesus.

I don't know why I had such high expectations for paedophiles, honestly. I've always assumed they were the type to use the deep web and weird onion browsers and vpns and the like to conduct their awful deeds.
Click to expand...
Don't worry, I'm sure there are plenty like that. We don't hear about them because they are not stupid enough to get caught.
 
J

John Rabbit

Banned
Earthbound64 said:
Seriously.

You didn't have to be "looking for it."
You didn't have to be "tipped off to it."
People would just bring computers in and drop them off with shit all over them (sometimes literally).
Click to expand...

We had a guy arrested in the store for suspicion of child pornography after bringing his desktop in for service. It was literally his wallpaper.
 
O

old manatee

Banned
Best Buy is so gross. I stopped shopping there because they removed the horror movie section and replaced it with an anime section.
 
V

Violet_0

Banned
The Exploder said:
Best Buy is so gross. I stopped shopping there because they removed the horror movie section and replaced it with an anime section.
Click to expand...

I dunno, I've found the anime section to be far more terrifying than their horror selection. I sleep at night with the lights on now
 
A

Agent Cooper

Member
Afrikan said:
Dammit I still have like 6 years of Gamer's Club discounts.

BestBuy is will be shutdown before then. :/

They are fucked.

edit- oh and damn BestBuy started finger printing folks who traded in games like a few years ago. I'm sure that went straight to the FBI as well.
Click to expand...

What??? I've never been to a Best Buy that finger prints anyone for trading in. Just IDs.
 
S

shoelacer

Banned
smurfx said:
child porn is usually how many governments try to justify any new law or program that intrudes on citizens privacy. after all who is going to say they are against catching pedos?
Click to expand...

Uhhh sure, the patriot act/PRISM/etc came into being as a result people's fear of pedophiles. Lol what
 
K

Kthulhu

Member
Moose Biscuits said:
Seriously though, there must be some dumb paedophiles out there. What kind of idiot would decide to take their computer with child pornography on it to a fucking tech shop?
Click to expand...

My coworker used to work at Best Buy and the dude told him not to look in a specific folder. He did it anyway and it was full of several TB of child pornography of various kinds.

Criminals usually aren't the smartest of people.
 
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