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Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

nofreelunch.co.uk

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Re: Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

#241

Post by Scoundreller »

andy99 wrote: post #235
Scoundreller wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s nothing, in Canada we had a guy steal half point (200g) gold nuggets… internally… from the Mint. Only got caught when he deposited lots of big cheques from a gold coin shop at his bank and they learned he worked at the Mint. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/royal-canadian-mint-emp... In 2015, this fellow was making $55k/yr, contrast to the guy in the article making $31k in 1981.

The 38k/year was the most striking part of the article. According to a (US) inflation calculator that would be 130k today https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ which seems very good for an apparently entry level job.

I wonder if the fellow had to be a licensed electrician for that job. It would explain a lot, especially in Alberta where they were in high demand throughout the 70s to work the oil patch.

Re: Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

#242

Post by foooorsyth »

ilamont wrote: post #217

Skimming from public transit is an old trick. There was case like this in Boston about 15 years ago that came to light as they were switching away from tokens to Charlie Cards. It was an MBTA mechanic. IIRC he was caught because it looked strange that someone kept showing up with bags of tokens to exchange for cash at one of the stations. Even with the new card system, someone figured out a scheme to steal: https://w…

In Boston in the '90s and early 2000s, an out of order parking meter meant you could park for free. There was a sensor in the coin slot to detect jams which would in turn put the meter out of order. If you ripped off the flip up lid from a Dunkin Donuts coffee cup and inserted it into and removed it from the coin slot, the meter would go out of order. It was almost as if that's what the Dunkin engineers designed it for. It worked every time.

Many a cold morning in Boston my father would prefer to pay the $1 for his Dunkin coffee than pay for parking as we ran errands in the city. A trail of disabled meters laid in our wake. Not the best lesson for 8 year old me but a funny memory nonetheless. RIP Dad.

Re: Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

#243

Post by andy99 »

whycome wrote: post #152
macshome wrote: post #127

As an American, the part of the story that is very interesting to me is that Canadian coins have enough ferrous content to be picked up by a magnet. Wouldn’t the ability for coins to become magnetized cause all sorts of issues for the internal workings of vending machines and other coin slot using mechanisms?

Looks like all current Canadian coins can be picked up -- $1, $2 .25, .05, .10. (couldn't test pennies as Canada hasn't had them for a while). I suspect US quarters would have the same makeup

Pretty interesting table here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(Canadian_coin)#Composit...

I had thought pennies were made of zinc towards the end but that was only for a couple years. Then they were made of steel which should be magnetic.

Re: Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

#244

Post by Scoundreller »

genman wrote: post #147
xpe wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Dude just got greedy. It seems to me that once a person builds an illegal habit, it demonstrates they: (a) probably have a higher risk tolerance than most people and/or an inaccurate understanding of the empirical risk level and/or (b) they have, perhaps only temporarily, found a self-interestedly-rational aspect of law/society to exploit. Once one's behavior crosses into that realm, "dude just got greedy" seems to…

He could have stopped stealing when he wanted to have a more lavish life style and they wouldn't be have been able to catch him (at least not red handed).

If they improved their auditing and revised their models, they might get suspicious if dude quit and their revenue suddenly went up 25%.

Or not ask any questions at all and get big bonuses…

Re: Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

#245

Post by Scoundreller »

kodt wrote: post #237
hinkley wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't picture how you stand there long enough to steal thousands of dollars per week without anybody noticing for 13 years.

He did it in the middle of the night

Probably nothing else to do other than listen to the radio. Dude probably kept the machines in tip-top shape because it made them more money that way while reducing the total amount of work required.

Re: Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

#247

Post by dmix »

Scoundreller wrote: post #40

> In 1981, Kara was hired on a $ 38k-a-year salary to maintain and fix the 68 ticket machines of Edmonton’s LRT – light rail transit system. If that was their 1981 salary, that’s damn impressive.

It was a technical job and union.

Looking at a similar job in Toronto they make $80-100k today

https://career17.sapsf.com/career?career%5fns=job%5flisting&...

Re: Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

#248

Post by Scoundreller »

aaron695 wrote: post #115
tiborsaas wrote: post #86

> He removed the face plate from the ticket machines, which as a repairman would raise no suspicion, then rigged a car antenna with a magnetic tip, like a make-shift fishing rod. Coin-by-coin, Kara hooked his catch out of the ticketing machine cash box into a shaving bag, which acted as his keep net. I can't picture how his rig worked, the article would have benefitted by anything visual help :/

It'll be fake and he just broke in, maybe legally it was better to not have 'broke' anything but this was how he started it all. Do the napkin math - 1. There was no AliExpress to get amazing magnets from, and there were no amazing magnets. Average of $3k / week $3000 / 6 days working / 8 hours = $62.5 per hour Personally I get rid of lower coins into machines. So lets say 4 coins to get $1. He's pulling out 200 coin…

$1 coins were common in Canada for most his operation.

Excellent magnets available inside any speaker, just crack off a piece of the length you need. Basically free.

Re: Salim Kara stole $2M in coins with a magnet and a car antenna (2022)

#250

Post by gruez »

beambot wrote: post #226
margalabargala wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Holy cow. 5% would be high. 30% is dizzying. You're saying that if I pick a random recently sold BC property, there's a one in three chance it's bought with cash? That's not a money laundering problem, that's a money laundering infestation.

1 in 3 U.S. Homebuyers Are Paying All Cash, the Highest Share in Nearly a Decade Just over one-third (34.1%) of U.S. home purchases in September were made in cash, up from 29.5% a year earlier and the highest share in nearly a decade. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231108812516/en/1-i...

AFAIK "Paying All Cash" doesn't necessarily mean the buyer has $1M (or whatever the purchase price of the house) saved up. It just means their offer isn't contingent on them securing a mortgage, and they have the money secured somehow (probably through a preexisting loan).

https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/all-cash-offer-upfront-...

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