How to break into a museum

This story is a great example of the truism that no security system can be better than the people operating it. Thieves broke into a museum at the University of British Columbia and stole gold artwork worth over $2 million. They got around the security system simply by calling the guards, pretending to be from the alarm company, and telling them to ignore any alarms that might go off that night. From cbc.ca:

Four hours before the break-in on May 23, two or three key surveillance cameras at the Museum of Anthropology mysteriously went off-line. Around the same time, a caller claiming to be from the alarm company phoned campus security, telling them there was a problem with the system and to ignore any alarms that might go off. Campus security fell for the ruse and ignored an automated computer alert sent to them, police sources told CBC News.

Con Artists Law/Police/Crime

Posted on Wed Jun 04, 2008


Comments

This is straight out of the Trailer Park Boys movie! (Well, except the Boys would be after change and not art).
Posted by Floormaster Squeeze  on  Wed Jun 04, 2008  at  03:03 PM
I'm from your web host. Ignore any hacking attempts at the Museum of Hoaxes today.
Posted by cindik  on  Wed Jun 04, 2008  at  05:20 PM
Stupid security not to have "manual" procedures when the cameras go down. Get up and walk around/patrol the areas every once in a while. False alarms or not, your job is to keep an "eye" on things, not sit there and stare at blank monitors.
Posted by Tah  on  Wed Jun 04, 2008  at  07:50 PM
That's actually pretty clever - all those heist movies with suspension ropes and laser beams got it wrong - the simplest method is the best.
Posted by Nona  on  Thu Jun 05, 2008  at  05:39 AM
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