Oh yeah, I can totally get that data back for you!

So here’s the scenario:

Say you’re a computer repair guy.  The economy is in rough shape, business is down, you need some work.  What’s the best way to drum up some business? 

The solution this guy came up with probably wasn’t high on your list of possible solutions, was it? 

Allegedly, Mr Kevin Andrew Lutes, computer repairman extrodinaire, thought his best bet was to break into the office of a realtor he had done work for in the past, steal the hard drive out of one of their computers, then wait for them to phone up! 

The best part:  He apparently told them “Oh yeah, I can totally get that data back for you, don’t worry!”  Then he put the disk back in the computer, charged them something like $2000, and tried to laugh all the way to the bank.

Unfortunately for him (but fortunately for non-dumbasses everywhere who hate to see people like this win) the people at the realty office called up Dell, who told them they were pretty sure there was no way someone could magically recreate the data from a PHYSICALLY MISSING hard drive.  The cops were called, and Mr Lutes was busted.

I gotta say, that at least took some balls to try.  Stupid as hell, but ballsy.