Wow. I googled DG Auto, and they even have an app for thieves to check prices.
Really wish the cops would download a list of who installed this app and find their location data on top of a map of reported thefts...
Really wish the cops would download a list of who installed this app and find their location data on top of a map of reported thefts...
Uh... So, I too found the website and couldn't believe how brazen the business is. I too was surprised about the app. If I downloaded the app because I was so surprised, should my name be given to the police as part of this investigation?
That's ridiculous.
What?! Is Apple a co-conspirator then? What about the people who did app review? Should we round them up and charge them, too?
Probably not? Is doing something that is likely aiding in a crime, but that you don't know for certain is, enough to make you a co-conspirator? Does it change if you do it frequently enough that you're sure you've aided in a crime a fair number of times? I think not, but I'm not sure what the relevant legal standards are.
> What about the people who did app review
Even less likely than Apple, and even if it's technically illegal it would be a good exercise of prosecutorial discretion to not charge them.
An inadvertent customer of a criminal organization is still a customer of a criminal organization.
If you're not dealing in stolen catalytic converters not really sure why you would care if the cops know you downloaded an app for that.
Well, for starters, to prevent the police from kicking my door in and shooting me or my pets simply because I was placed on a list of people who downloaded an app. Simply "police chase and abandon leads all the time" is not a strong enough rationale to justify the original suggestion to me.
Here's what I _would_ be in favor of:
-Police bust Catalyic Converter Kingpin in one form or another
-Police learn in the course of investigation that said kingpin was a prolific user of said app
-Police subpoena the usernames of accounts that corresponded directly with the kingpin
There's a compromise to be had here without throwing 50,000 into a digital suspect bin when maybe half were people actually complicit to...wait for it...a crime.
I know the BLM astroturfing had a profound effect on the rest of the internet, but it’s disappointing to see such a skewed version of reality presented here on HN.
I just downloaded the app. Bring on the marauders. If they end up blasting me, you can start a charity in my honor, Vogt.
If somebody in power wants to make a name for themselves by starting a "war on cat thieves" or similar you may face the same treatment.
The people that were arrested accepted money from PV for the stolen property.
Nice try.
The world is a scary place, cops can be bastards, and terrible things have happened, but it's straight up hyperbole and nonsense to pretend that a random internet nerd is going to get killed by police because they downloaded an app. I downloaded it (it's crap, as expected), so if I'm wrong on this then I'm willing to face the music, yet somehow I think I'll sleep fine at night.
Looking back on the wording of my original reply, it was too hyperbolic. My post was not meant as an "ACAB, the police are literally here to kill you on behalf of rich old men". My position is that the fewer opportunities for folks to be thrown into a pile of suspects for the police or any other law enforcement institution like the FBI, the better. I'm in favor of the police being able to subpoena Apple and Google for user data if there's reasonable, articulable suspicion those users committed a crime. To me, simply downloading a publicly available app in the app store does not satisfy that condition.
In my country scrapped vehicles are issued a certificate that you can use to reclaim taxes. Maybe manufacturers should start adding unique codes to all parts so you can be sure it comes from a legitimate source.
This would be a massive time unless their goal is to find and harass every small time used car parts dealer.
Thieves don't really care about precise prices on cats. They just know that certain year/make/model ranges are what to go after.
The target market of this app is people who sell used car parts for money and want to know the value of the parts. When you are buying a random car for $500-1k with the intent of selling wheels/tires and a couple other big ticket items before scrapping the car for a couple hundred you care a lot about whether the cat is $200 or $1200 for obvious reasons.