When it comes to crime, not all criminals are reckless—some are incredibly calculated, leaving investigators puzzled for years.
From meticulously planned heists to loophole-exploiting scams, people online are sharing the most ingenious crimes ever committed. These stories showcase criminals who almost outsmarted the law, proving that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Keep reading to uncover some of the most cleverly executed crimes in history.
#1
A friend of my brother's named Dave habitually ditched high school. One winter we got a pretty good snowstorm and his dad made him shovel the sidewalk before he left for school. Dave told his dad to write him a note because he was going to arrive late. Dave threw away the note, rewriting it and signing his dad's name in his own handwriting. He finished shoveling and then took the new note to school and handed it in to the school office. Since Dave was a known ditcher and the note looked like it was written by a teenage boy, they called his dad who backed up Dave's story, saying "Didn't he show you my note?"
The office ladies then put the forged note on file, and any time Dave wanted an excuse (for whatever), he just wrote himself a note that exactly matched what they had on file.
The office ladies then put the forged note on file, and any time Dave wanted an excuse (for whatever), he just wrote himself a note that exactly matched what they had on file.
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155points
#2
I'm not sure what year this happened, but prob within the last 50 years.
A number of people received a letter in the mail predicting the outcome of a sporting event. Amazingly, the prediction came true. Not much later, they received a second letter, predicting the outcome of another sporting event, and it too was correct. Then a third letter, and the same thing.
Then they received a fourth letter, and it said that for x amount of dollars the recipient would be told the outcome of another sporting event. Many people sent in the money, but never received the prediction.
The way the criminals did it was they started with a large number of people, then sent half of them one prediction and half of them another. Whichever group's prediction came true, they sent a second letter. And so on. I always thought that was a pretty clever scam.
A number of people received a letter in the mail predicting the outcome of a sporting event. Amazingly, the prediction came true. Not much later, they received a second letter, predicting the outcome of another sporting event, and it too was correct. Then a third letter, and the same thing.
Then they received a fourth letter, and it said that for x amount of dollars the recipient would be told the outcome of another sporting event. Many people sent in the money, but never received the prediction.
The way the criminals did it was they started with a large number of people, then sent half of them one prediction and half of them another. Whichever group's prediction came true, they sent a second letter. And so on. I always thought that was a pretty clever scam.
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124points
#3
A guy dressed like a road maintenance worker robs a cash truck outside of a bank.
BUT prior to this, he put an ad on Craiglist offering work for $28/hour, and anyone interested had to show up at the bank, wearing the same road maintenance attire.
A dozen guys, all unwitting decoys, were milling about the parking lot as the robber escaped...on an inner tube floating down a nearby river.
Here's an article.
BUT prior to this, he put an ad on Craiglist offering work for $28/hour, and anyone interested had to show up at the bank, wearing the same road maintenance attire.
A dozen guys, all unwitting decoys, were milling about the parking lot as the robber escaped...on an inner tube floating down a nearby river.
Here's an article.
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96points
Crime has always been a complex and intriguing topic, sparking debates across history, literature, and even casual conversations. What compels someone to break the law?
The reasons vary widely—sometimes it's desperation, other times it's opportunity, and in some cases, it's the result of deep-rooted psychological or social influences.
#5
I read about a guy up in Canada who got a clipboard and stopped people on the sidewalk for a few weeks, saying that the city was doing a test of how many calls the 911 switchboard could handle. This was before smart phones and cel phones and all that. So for weeks, he gets a lot of people to sign up to call 911 at 5pm on Friday, January the 16th or whatever. Then on Friday, January the 16th at 5pm, he robbed a bank that had all the payroll deposits for a whole bunch of companies but the cops never got the news because it was buried under the 600 phone calls that suddenly lit up the switchboard at 5pm. He got away with it, too. He left the bank and hopped on a ferry to the mainland and no one ever saw him again.
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79points
#6
Wage theft. Happens all the time and almost no one ever faces any consequences for it.
Wage theft in the U.S. is estimated to be about $50 billion annually, and represents those with the most money taking from those with the least. (No one is wage-thefting surgeons or partners in law firms.) But it's almost guaranteed that you'll get away from stealing from your low-income employees.
That CBS article begins, "If someone steals money from their employer, they could be guilty of a serious crime. But what if an employer takes money from their employee's paychecks?" Well, good for them--they'll probably get off scot-free. It's a genius crime: take advantage of our propensity to punish poor folk and let rich folk skate. F*****g brilliant. Deplorable, but brilliant.
Wage theft in the U.S. is estimated to be about $50 billion annually, and represents those with the most money taking from those with the least. (No one is wage-thefting surgeons or partners in law firms.) But it's almost guaranteed that you'll get away from stealing from your low-income employees.
That CBS article begins, "If someone steals money from their employer, they could be guilty of a serious crime. But what if an employer takes money from their employee's paychecks?" Well, good for them--they'll probably get off scot-free. It's a genius crime: take advantage of our propensity to punish poor folk and let rich folk skate. F*****g brilliant. Deplorable, but brilliant.
75points
Studies have long shown a strong link between financial hardship and criminal activity. People born into lower-income families often face limited opportunities, making them more vulnerable to risky choices.
A study by the Brookings Institution found that individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly those born between 1980 and 1986, were statistically more likely to end up incarcerated due to their socioeconomic struggles.
#7
Pretty Boy Floyd, a bank robber who'd destroy people's mortgage papers freeing them from their debts mid-robbery.
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72points
#8
Don't know if it's technically a crime, but the guy who sold $50 clotheslines as "solar powered clothes dryers" is an evil genius.
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68points
#9
My parents made me give the money back, but I robbed almost all of my classmates as a third grader.
We took a trip as a class across a bit of the Mississippi River in a ferry boat. This was in the spring so everyone's on deck enjoying the weather, watching the water. I go down some steps I find and notice that there's a food court area with ridiculously low prices. A nickel for a soda, a quarter for a refill. Quarter pizza slices. Quarter candy. The cheapest prices I've ever seen. I go back upstairs and a kid that I hated saw what I got, and told me to go grab him some pizza. He gave me a $5 and asked how much the pizza was. I said $2. I went and got it for him. Another kid overheard and didn't want to go downstairs so they had me get something, too. That was another few bucks. Even the kids that didn't like me thought I was too naive to rob them. I ended up with $42. No one wanted to go downstairs to look for themselves.
I started the trip with $10 so the $42 was hard to hide, and I decided when I'd get home I'd put all the money into a sock under my bed. Spring cleaning happened, my parents found the sock and assumed at first that I stole it from them, told them I didn't, actually it was from my classmates, and a large scale refund happened the following Monday.
We took a trip as a class across a bit of the Mississippi River in a ferry boat. This was in the spring so everyone's on deck enjoying the weather, watching the water. I go down some steps I find and notice that there's a food court area with ridiculously low prices. A nickel for a soda, a quarter for a refill. Quarter pizza slices. Quarter candy. The cheapest prices I've ever seen. I go back upstairs and a kid that I hated saw what I got, and told me to go grab him some pizza. He gave me a $5 and asked how much the pizza was. I said $2. I went and got it for him. Another kid overheard and didn't want to go downstairs so they had me get something, too. That was another few bucks. Even the kids that didn't like me thought I was too naive to rob them. I ended up with $42. No one wanted to go downstairs to look for themselves.
I started the trip with $10 so the $42 was hard to hide, and I decided when I'd get home I'd put all the money into a sock under my bed. Spring cleaning happened, my parents found the sock and assumed at first that I stole it from them, told them I didn't, actually it was from my classmates, and a large scale refund happened the following Monday.
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62points
When life gets tough, crime might feel like the only way to survive. Some people turn to theft to put food on the table, while others get involved in illegal activities just to make ends meet. But desperation-driven crime comes with heavy risks, and often, the consequences far outweigh the short-term relief.
#10
Scene: the town of Köpenick, a suburb of Berlin. The year is 1906.
An unfamiliar Prussian Guards Captain walked into the army barracks and ordered a small group of enlisted men to come with him. At the Captain's direction, the soldiers arrested the Mayor and City Treasurer on embezzlement charges. The captain made arrangements for the local police to "see to law and order" and prevent outgoing phone calls for one hour, sent the soldiers to escort the arrested officials to a particular Guard headquarters in Berlin for interrogation, and personally took custody of the town's cash box as evidence. When the soldiers and their prisoners arrived at headquarters, they were met with surprise and confusion, as the people there had never heard of the Captain or of any cause or orders to arrest the officials. Back in Köpenick, the Captain was nowhere to be found.
Turns out the Captain was a former shoemaker named Wilhelm Voight, who had a few months previously gotten out of prison on charges of burglary and fraud. In the meantime, he had cobbled together a passable uniform from bits he'd bought at second-hand stores, and the entire operation was an elaborate robbery. He got caught a week and a half later because he'd been careless in talking about his plans before the heist.
A little over a year into his four-year sentence, the Kaiser pardoned him on grounds of "I'm not even mad, that was amazing".
An unfamiliar Prussian Guards Captain walked into the army barracks and ordered a small group of enlisted men to come with him. At the Captain's direction, the soldiers arrested the Mayor and City Treasurer on embezzlement charges. The captain made arrangements for the local police to "see to law and order" and prevent outgoing phone calls for one hour, sent the soldiers to escort the arrested officials to a particular Guard headquarters in Berlin for interrogation, and personally took custody of the town's cash box as evidence. When the soldiers and their prisoners arrived at headquarters, they were met with surprise and confusion, as the people there had never heard of the Captain or of any cause or orders to arrest the officials. Back in Köpenick, the Captain was nowhere to be found.
Turns out the Captain was a former shoemaker named Wilhelm Voight, who had a few months previously gotten out of prison on charges of burglary and fraud. In the meantime, he had cobbled together a passable uniform from bits he'd bought at second-hand stores, and the entire operation was an elaborate robbery. He got caught a week and a half later because he'd been careless in talking about his plans before the heist.
A little over a year into his four-year sentence, the Kaiser pardoned him on grounds of "I'm not even mad, that was amazing".
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61points
#11
Whoever convinced the world to pay for bottled water deserves a spot on this list. They're basically selling free stuff with a lid.
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61points
#12
The World’s Littlest Skyscraper!
In the 1910’s there was an oil boom happening around Wichita Falls Texas and there was a massive influx of people. J.D. McMahon saw an opportunity and announced that he would build a high rise building downtown to accommodate the rising population. He put together blueprints for what everyone thought would be a 480 ft skyscraper, one of the tallest in the world at the time.
He gathered up enough investors to collect $200,000 (roughly $3.5 million in today’s money), started building a tiny building about 3 stories tall using his own construction crew, and pocketed the remaining cash. Naturally all of the investors tried to sue him to get their money back, but on all of the legal documents and on all the signed off blueprints he had the building listed as 480” (inches) instead of 480’ (feet). And he had built 480” building.
A local judge declared it legally binding and McMahon skipped town with all the remaining cash prior to the end of construction. The only portion of their investment the investors recovered was from the elevator company, which refused to honor the contract after learning how small the building was.
The “Newby-McMahon Building” is still standing in downtown Wichita Falls today.
In the 1910’s there was an oil boom happening around Wichita Falls Texas and there was a massive influx of people. J.D. McMahon saw an opportunity and announced that he would build a high rise building downtown to accommodate the rising population. He put together blueprints for what everyone thought would be a 480 ft skyscraper, one of the tallest in the world at the time.
He gathered up enough investors to collect $200,000 (roughly $3.5 million in today’s money), started building a tiny building about 3 stories tall using his own construction crew, and pocketed the remaining cash. Naturally all of the investors tried to sue him to get their money back, but on all of the legal documents and on all the signed off blueprints he had the building listed as 480” (inches) instead of 480’ (feet). And he had built 480” building.
A local judge declared it legally binding and McMahon skipped town with all the remaining cash prior to the end of construction. The only portion of their investment the investors recovered was from the elevator company, which refused to honor the contract after learning how small the building was.
The “Newby-McMahon Building” is still standing in downtown Wichita Falls today.
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55points
The people we surround ourselves with can have a huge impact on our choices—including whether or not we engage in criminal behavior.
Research has shown that individuals with delinquent peer groups are more likely to follow in their footsteps. Sometimes, it’s about peer pressure; other times, it’s simply the environment shaping their actions.
#13
The Hatton Garden Heist is coming up on 10 years ago. That was described by a lawyer on the case as the largest theft in UK legal history...
6 Elderly men dressed as gas repair workers, got in through a fire escape, abseiled down a lift shaft and spent a 4 day Easter holiday weekend drilling through the vault wall of a safety deposit company vault. They stole the contents of 70 deposit boxes and got away.
They were eventually arrested based on CCTV footage and their existing criminal records, but only £4 million of the £14 million worth of cash, gold and jewels was ever recovered.
6 Elderly men dressed as gas repair workers, got in through a fire escape, abseiled down a lift shaft and spent a 4 day Easter holiday weekend drilling through the vault wall of a safety deposit company vault. They stole the contents of 70 deposit boxes and got away.
They were eventually arrested based on CCTV footage and their existing criminal records, but only £4 million of the £14 million worth of cash, gold and jewels was ever recovered.
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54points
#15
The great Canadian maple syrup heist is in the top 10 in stolen goods by value to ever be stolen anywhere in the world. A guy worked at a maple syrup storage facility over the course of years and the only reason anyone found out is that one day on inspection an engineer saw that some of the barrels were sweating. They had replaced the syrup with water. Now maple syrup is considered a valuable limited resource in Canada because maple trees take decades to grow to the point where they can produce a significant quantity of sap without dying and even adult trees can die from over harvesting.
In order to prevent this the government buys all of the syrup produced every year and stores the surplus at pre decided rates. This creates a surplus on years with good harvests. Which is stored in a maple syrup storehouse. As of 5 years ago it was estimated that tens of millions of dollars of syrup sales in the USA is sourced from black market syrup every year. They never caught the people who did it.
In order to prevent this the government buys all of the syrup produced every year and stores the surplus at pre decided rates. This creates a surplus on years with good harvests. Which is stored in a maple syrup storehouse. As of 5 years ago it was estimated that tens of millions of dollars of syrup sales in the USA is sourced from black market syrup every year. They never caught the people who did it.
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50points
Drug and alcohol abuse also play a significant role in crime rates. According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, around 65% of incarcerated individuals in the U.S. struggle with substance use disorders.
Another 20% committed their crimes while under the influence. In many cases, addiction and crime form a vicious cycle, where one problem feeds into the other.
#16
Pretty horrific, but also bizarrely complex, was the assassination of [Kim Jong Nam](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Kim_Jong-nam), the elder brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
The two assassins didn't know they were being trained to kill anybody. They were hired on as talent for a prank-based TV show. Their signature "pranks" were to run up on people in public with hand sanitizer on their hands and wipe it on someone's face. Then they'd go, "sorry!" and run away giggling. The other gal would run up and spray cologne on the prank target, and similarly run off. They were trained after a successful "prank" to immediately discard of the supplies, wash their hands and change clothes if I recall correctly, then dissappear into the public crowd and regroup elsewhere to film another one. Anyway, this went on for some time, just a harmless prank show.. Until it wasn't.
Kim Jong Nam came in through the airport, on his way to take his kids for some very Western vacation time, like I think they were on their way to Disneyland. He was very different from the rest of the dynasty back home. He was disinterested in politics and brought shame to his family with an untoward interest in western lifestyles and entertainment. So he was kinda sneaking through, he was trying to keep this trip on the down low.
Anyway, here come our ersatz pranksters to play their tricks. Only this time, the "hand sanitizer" and "cologne" are two parts of a deadly nerve toxin, that once combined on his face, killed him in minutes. The two would-be TV stars scattered, washed their hands, disposed of the supplies, just as they always had. They get caught by CCTV, and the whole affair is just crazy. I probably have all the details wrong so check out this instead.
The two assassins didn't know they were being trained to kill anybody. They were hired on as talent for a prank-based TV show. Their signature "pranks" were to run up on people in public with hand sanitizer on their hands and wipe it on someone's face. Then they'd go, "sorry!" and run away giggling. The other gal would run up and spray cologne on the prank target, and similarly run off. They were trained after a successful "prank" to immediately discard of the supplies, wash their hands and change clothes if I recall correctly, then dissappear into the public crowd and regroup elsewhere to film another one. Anyway, this went on for some time, just a harmless prank show.. Until it wasn't.
Kim Jong Nam came in through the airport, on his way to take his kids for some very Western vacation time, like I think they were on their way to Disneyland. He was very different from the rest of the dynasty back home. He was disinterested in politics and brought shame to his family with an untoward interest in western lifestyles and entertainment. So he was kinda sneaking through, he was trying to keep this trip on the down low.
Anyway, here come our ersatz pranksters to play their tricks. Only this time, the "hand sanitizer" and "cologne" are two parts of a deadly nerve toxin, that once combined on his face, killed him in minutes. The two would-be TV stars scattered, washed their hands, disposed of the supplies, just as they always had. They get caught by CCTV, and the whole affair is just crazy. I probably have all the details wrong so check out this instead.
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47points
#17
The most genius and clever ones, are the ones you don't know about.
But two of the most genius criminals that *DID* get caught are Al Capone and Ted Kaczynski.
_________________________________________
Al Capone got bagged on tax evasion. Not bootlegging. Not racketeering. Not extortion. Not Murder. Not Blackmail.
Tax Evasion.
His criminal system was so well designed he was effectively insulated from being held accountable for anything. Ultimately the only thing they could nail him on was not paying taxes on his illegal income.
________________________________________
Ted Kaczynski was extremely intelligent. Unhinged yes, but also extremely intelligent. He made something like 16 improvised explosive devices using very basic tools and materials.
People had no clue who he was, and the only reason they got a lead on him was when his manifesto got published, his brother happened to read it and recognized the stylistic prose, and tipped off the FBI that he thought it might be Ted.
How tenuous is that for a lead? "Hey, the way this guy writes reminds me of my brother, you guys should check that out."
If his brother had not read the publication, and recognized the prose as familiar, the Unabomber may not have been caught.
But two of the most genius criminals that *DID* get caught are Al Capone and Ted Kaczynski.
_________________________________________
Al Capone got bagged on tax evasion. Not bootlegging. Not racketeering. Not extortion. Not Murder. Not Blackmail.
Tax Evasion.
His criminal system was so well designed he was effectively insulated from being held accountable for anything. Ultimately the only thing they could nail him on was not paying taxes on his illegal income.
________________________________________
Ted Kaczynski was extremely intelligent. Unhinged yes, but also extremely intelligent. He made something like 16 improvised explosive devices using very basic tools and materials.
People had no clue who he was, and the only reason they got a lead on him was when his manifesto got published, his brother happened to read it and recognized the stylistic prose, and tipped off the FBI that he thought it might be Ted.
How tenuous is that for a lead? "Hey, the way this guy writes reminds me of my brother, you guys should check that out."
If his brother had not read the publication, and recognized the prose as familiar, the Unabomber may not have been caught.
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41points
#18
The McDonald's Monopoly scam- the head of security of the marketing company that helped McDonalds administer their famous monopoly game led a scheme where he stole the winning pieces and with a group of people helped cheat the company out of like $24 million over the course of several years. He was responsible for carrying the winning pieces in a sealed package and taking them to packaging centers where he was responsible for applying the winners to soda cups and fry packages that were going to be sent out to mcdonalds that had already been randomly selected by a computer.
Basically he was accidentally sent a bunch of tamper proof seals that allowed him to swap out the winning pieces that he was responsible for carrying with non-grand prize ones; he'd dodge the auditor by hiding in an airport bathroom and doing the swap there. then he'd do his job as usual, but sent the losing tickets out while he pocketed the winners. He'd then get his friends and family to help find people to "claim" the winning prize for a promise of splitting the money. Eventually the feds got a tip about one of the winners and noticed that there was an unusual cluster of winners of the game in states like Florida and Georgia, where the guy and his family lived (remember, the tickets were supposed to go out to random destinations around the US). Several people got arrested.
Basically he was accidentally sent a bunch of tamper proof seals that allowed him to swap out the winning pieces that he was responsible for carrying with non-grand prize ones; he'd dodge the auditor by hiding in an airport bathroom and doing the swap there. then he'd do his job as usual, but sent the losing tickets out while he pocketed the winners. He'd then get his friends and family to help find people to "claim" the winning prize for a promise of splitting the money. Eventually the feds got a tip about one of the winners and noticed that there was an unusual cluster of winners of the game in states like Florida and Georgia, where the guy and his family lived (remember, the tickets were supposed to go out to random destinations around the US). Several people got arrested.
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40points
Education can be a powerful tool in crime prevention. Studies have found that children who attend early childhood education programs are far less likely to engage in criminal activities later in life.
When kids have access to quality education, they develop better coping skills, career opportunities, and social connections—all of which lower the chances of them turning to crime.
#19
A guy in Springfield Mass robbed a bank in a wheel chair. He got the money, and left, then proceeded to circle the block, passing the police many times.
Nobody told the police he was in a wheelchair.
Long story a little shorter: It was winter and freezing cold. He WANTED to get arrested because he had just be release from prison and wanted to go back where it was warm and had food.
Nobody told the police he was in a wheelchair.
Long story a little shorter: It was winter and freezing cold. He WANTED to get arrested because he had just be release from prison and wanted to go back where it was warm and had food.
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38points
#20
There was a parking attendant who collected the parking fees for a public zoo. He worked there for decades. One day he just stopped showing up. After a few days they called the city and said the parking attendant quit and they needed to hire a new one. The city told them that it didn't cost any money to park on that lot.
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35points