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DrFriedGold t1_j59x2i9 wrote

It might seem absurd but the FBI has to look into these things just in case.

Adam Savage, from Mythbusters, has an amusing tale when the FBI called him after he left an answerphone message on a wrong number talking about a 'thermal detonator' he was making

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mindspork t1_j5ait8g wrote

I still remember the story about how they got bullied out of doing an RFID myth segment because 1) the security was actually atrocious on the damn things and 2) Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and their lawyers got on Discovery and were like "You will not do this episode."

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/Mythbuster-RFID-HOPE,6313.html

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nitefang t1_j5c66if wrote

It is really interesting though, I just did some VERY SHALLOW research into RFID security because I'm about to be traveling internationally. It turns out that paying anything extra for an RFID blocking wallet or passport holder is essentially a waste of money.

Short list of reasons is

  1. For most credit cards, you can't make a transaction with only the RFID info which could be potentially skimmed and copied. Even when you don't have to enter a PIN number or anything, there is a verification process going on that can't be saved and used again later.
  2. While security experts and "white-hat/grey-hat hackers" at the DEF-CON "hacker convention" proved it is possible to skim RFID data at long range, it appears no criminals have found a way to use this technology to steal information. At least there aren't any known cases of it being done to steal credit card data for nefarious reasons successfully.
  3. In the case of Passports, the information transmitted is encrypted, for it to be useful to skim a passport you'd also need access to an encrypted and secured government database.
  4. For large purchases and withdrawals, you should be required to enter a pin number.

​

I won't pretend to be an expert on this, I don't fully grasp how various public-key encryption technology works (tried to learn a few times, always seems like magic or math only a genius can understand). But here is an article I found.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/are-rfid-blocking-products-worth-your-money-we-asked-an-expert/

TL;DR: RFID isn't even that insecure, at least not anymore, I'm not sure what the credit card companies were freaking out about. If you are really worried about it, RFID wallets aren't too expensive, and just check for close-range skimmers by pulling on card readers to make sure they are real.

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a_rainbow_serpent t1_j5c9zlx wrote

Security on paywave/ rfid transactions is the spend limit ($100), transaction analytics and insurance. I had some teenagers pinch my card and go on a short shopping spree. The bank reversed the 20 odd transactions that I couldn’t identify without a second question.

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TeamGodzilla t1_j5cerak wrote

In Canada, the limit is up to the store and/or the card holder. I have mine set to $25.00

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bak3donh1gh t1_j5coz7j wrote

God that's low. Mines lower than $200 for sure. I've been pretty lucky in that the only time I lost a credit card at the bus stop, a nice older gentleman found it. Called all the people with the same last name in my area, and I think got in contact with my Grandpa at the time. I don't think I had noticed yet that I had lost it. I also didn't even know about Tap and pay at the time, somehow. So after he ID me when I came to pick it up and said well it's a good thing they don't have my pin, he explained that CCs have Tap on them.

Nowadays, I use Tap on my watch when I can.

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TeamGodzilla t1_j5cu8y7 wrote

I was just going to say, I use tap on my phone.

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bak3donh1gh t1_j5czomr wrote

I never bothered with the phone tap and pay b/ I was gunna pull something out, might as well be the card. That and some terminals being not compatible, while a card always is.

Though part of the reason for using the watch these days is it's basically always out and to help justify to myself how much I spent on it.(and now watch straps) Though when a terminal either doesn't have tap or the spot is in a weird spot I look kinda dumb, or at least in my head i do.

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blue_bomber697 t1_j5d5ndx wrote

I have forgotten/left my wallet at home/work several times before where the phone payment was clutch. I don’t use it often, but it’s great to have it as an option.

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blue_bomber697 t1_j5d5tob wrote

My tap is at $200. Very convenient for smaller purchases. It’s nice that Canada has allowed modifications for the card taps.

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MacDegger t1_j5cpu4n wrote

This is not true. For #1, 2 and 4 cloning is sufficient and does nit rely on breaking encryption (well, actually it does, kinda, but not in a way that is relevant to cloning).

Also, check this:

https://youtu.be/M0LBpFA0OuE

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nitefang t1_j5dh72a wrote

With 4 you can't just clone the card though, you also need the PIN which you cannot get via skimming. And I didn't see them explaining what method they used to skim the card.

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disruptioncoin t1_j5csmgf wrote

There was a vulnerability for a while where some researchers found that they could exceed the transaction value limit for "tap to pay" (RFID) by changing the currency on the app to a different currency (they changed it from US dollars to yen or something, for example). Typically you can only charge like $35 that way without any kind of pin or anything. They showed you could just tap your phone to someone's wallet in passing and charge thousands of dollars to their card. Imagine walking through the subway with an amplifier antenna on your phone and zapping thousands of dollars per person from every card you pass. I believe they notified the offending banks before publishing this research but still, just goes to show that sometimes these things slip though the cracks. It's probably pretty safe now but idk, better safe than sorry.

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nitefang t1_j5dhnqq wrote

Like I said, DEF-CON proved it was possible forever ago, but there haven't been large scale operations doing long range skimming. When it does happen it is done almost like a pick pocket or via a nefarious skimmer attached to a genuine POS.

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bad_robot_monkey t1_j5dp3s1 wrote

It’s more along the lines of “what’s the most efficient way of stealing credit cards without getting caught, equipment used on-site or a remote hack and downloading thousands at a time?”

If you’re specifically targeted, it’s a different deal…but then you have to ask yourself why you were being specifically targeted…

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Prinzka t1_j5c9oen wrote

Do they have to?
Like, the plan is to rob something by busting down the walls. Does it really require some special dangerous knowledge to come up with that?

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RightofUp t1_j5a5ohz wrote

Answer phone message? How young are you?

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Jetztinberlin t1_j5a8hse wrote

It's the British term for answering machine.

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JuanRico15 t1_j5c8eeb wrote

Thanks for explaining it. I thought it was an app. My friends make fun if me for still calling voicemail the answering machine.

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chizmanzini t1_j5atzjh wrote

Why the downvotes? I also had a confusing chuckle over the word.

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RightofUp t1_j5b2gki wrote

Because the British think they invented English.

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[deleted] t1_j5ba6rg wrote

The English inventing English. Fucking wild notion.

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thechilipepper0 t1_j5bg8jd wrote

Technically it was a cooperative effort with the French. Or maybe coercive is more apt

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saliczar t1_j5cec5f wrote

Then why do they bitch about the word "soccer"?

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YchYFi t1_j5eixa2 wrote

Soccer comes from the words Association Football. Americans take it too seriously when we rib you about it.

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warbreakr t1_j5c2ubi wrote

You are one of those people that get used as examples of how dense Americans are

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jawnsusername t1_j5c7ds4 wrote

Or because you were making an insult that was uncalled for, jackass.

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Landlubber77 t1_j59muhc wrote

It all seemed a little far fetched until they got to the part where Bruce Willis used a dump truck full of gold bricks to surf a gigantic wave through an aqueduct and then the authorities couldn't deny how likely this was to actually happen and began their investigation.

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DigNitty t1_j5adp4s wrote

FBI agent: (spinning in chair)

“…hey Johnson, I’ve got an idea, you want to meet Bruce Willis?”

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RustyShackleford1122 t1_j5b34at wrote

I also feel like stealing 13 dump trucks in the city isn't the easiest thing to do either. Plus the bad guys impersonated the city Engineers which is how they got access to these areas. But what happened to the real City Engineers they would have eventually shown up and the game would have been up

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Iaminyoursewer t1_j5c3ybx wrote

Lol, you think quite highly.of city engineers

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_WreakingHavok_ t1_j5cgpwe wrote

Yeah, like they would appear within few hours of the explosion...

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Iaminyoursewer t1_j5chuxs wrote

And in the 90s without the internet, its easy to believe that city engineer A showed uo before C.Engineer B, and no way of know that C.Eng A is actually a bank robber

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Doright36 t1_j5d9hjj wrote

That's how the Ghostbusters got busted. And they were professional busters.

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Groundbreaking_War52 t1_j5afho3 wrote

Was one of the last big movies that captured authentic, gritty NYC - complete with horrible traffic, abundant litter, and surprising kind, helpful, and weird residents. A ton of real locations used and you can tell.

This was before studios tried to either pass off Toronto or Atlanta as NYC - or just CGI in a bunch of landmarks.

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RustyShackleford1122 t1_j5b383x wrote

Every single alien planet looks like the forests outside Vancouver

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SpookySpice24 t1_j5blt6l wrote

The Pacific Northwest: Epicenter of all sci fi universes since 1993. (Or earlier.)

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zachzsg t1_j5byuqa wrote

Yup. I live in northernish VA, and it was always funny seeing mulder and scully roll through my hometown with trees in the background I’ve never seen in my life

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SpookySpice24 t1_j5bz0mz wrote

Same! And all the places in DC they get to WAY too fast.

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zachzsg t1_j5c2d9b wrote

You can tell the show is unrealistic because if it was realistic, half of the scenes would be them sitting in traffic on 66/495

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SpookySpice24 t1_j5c2m63 wrote

The hell you got to Georgetown in 15 minutes during daylight!

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jtmarshiii t1_j5bn4cw wrote

X-Files.CA

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JoeChristmasUSA t1_j5c0oeq wrote

The X-Files cracks me up. Ah yes, mountains covered with coniferous trees in the background, this is clearly rural Iowa.

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LameBMX t1_j5c23r7 wrote

Thanks and fuck you. Now my brain can't be unwired to catch details like that for the rest of my life.

Though in a strange twist, I know have a greater understanding why Cleveland is always used by marvel since Ohio doesn't exist.

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wthulhu t1_j5c9j8x wrote

Youd be shocked how many deserts in movies have joshua trees in them despite only existing in this range

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LostInDinosaurWorld t1_j5c1kif wrote

Also the best place to learn how to climb trees like a red tailed lemur, apparently

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timsredditusername t1_j5bn3dl wrote

Stargate fan?

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RustyShackleford1122 t1_j5bn6e4 wrote

Yup!

Best franchise ever

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[deleted] t1_j5boarb wrote

[deleted]

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esqualatch12 t1_j5btt7g wrote

Scotch Broom, scourge of two galaxies- my roommate's commentary on Stargate Atlantis

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coolpapa2282 t1_j5bw5ix wrote

Pssh, shows what you know. The forest moon of Endor looks lie northern CA redwood forests, WHICH ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

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Rampage_Rick t1_j5c7g5w wrote

Plus all the news anchors are from Vancouver too.

Chris Gailus is in Sonic the Hedgehog. Tony Parsons was in The Pledge and Saving Silverman (and Masterminds, which has parallels to DHWAV plus Patrick Stewart in a mustache!) Tamara Taggart was in a ton of movies in the early 2000s.

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glabonte t1_j5cvz75 wrote

Oh man, I used to love watching Masterminds.

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Rampage_Rick t1_j5d1h9y wrote

Surprisingly good supporting cast. Patrick Stewart, Matt Craven, and Callum Keith Rennie as I recall (though the fake accent on the latter...)

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Shart-Vandalay t1_j5c9wg0 wrote

You would like High Maintenance on HBO for all of these reasons.

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Jjex22 t1_j5dgbky wrote

That’s how I always remember it too, as one of the last blockbusters before GCI, every shot being filmed with grey and blue filters, etc.

It’s like we rewatched Band of Brothers over the Christmas period and I immediately noticed how they could portray night and capture all the essence of it being night whilst I could still see all the actors and set, but most shows and movies made in the last decade show darkness by being so dark and underexposed you can’t see anything on the screen at all u less you whack up the brightness and barricade the windows

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TDiffRob6876 t1_j59jezr wrote

Sounds more like an interview than interrogation. They wanted to know how he knew what he knew and consulted with him as a subject matter expert since his information was accurate. They were looking for feedback to increase security measures.

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LADYBIRD_HILL t1_j59yz9n wrote

The title does say investigation, not interrogation. Unless I'm missing something.

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danielcw189 t1_j59zr9q wrote

Yeah, but it says they investigated the writer, not the situation.

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TDiffRob6876 t1_j5a0zye wrote

Investigation implies wrongdoing or that a crime was committed when a law enforcement agency is mentioned. The title is stretching what occurred.

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DigNitty t1_j5adug1 wrote

He already showed them how to stop it though

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Doright36 t1_j5d9r91 wrote

Yea but Bruce and Samuel are not going to live forever. They need a back up plan.

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kerkula t1_j59ijhu wrote

wait what? The FBI investigated the writer and not the federal reserve????

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designer_of_drugs t1_j5a01ra wrote

They almost certainly didn’t “investigate.” This would have been closer to a “chat.” Not everyone at the FBI is an idiot and if someone has an interesting idea relevant to their interests, they’ll say what’s up to see if they can learn anything to revise this approach to a problem.

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Ihavenoideawhatidoin t1_j5aa234 wrote

> they’ll say what’s up to see if they can learn anything to revise this approach to a problem.

That’s called an investigation lol. Just because it was the FBI doing it doesn’t mean that there’s needs to be a crime involved. If argue that they’re not idiots because they investigated this. The real idiots wouldn’t have investigated and waited until someone actually tried it.

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designer_of_drugs t1_j5aby0b wrote

I suppose that might be somewhat true if it isn’t especially clear why you have that information/interest. Much of the time it’s just a professional discussion akin to one researcher reaching out to another.

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Ihavenoideawhatidoin t1_j5adhj5 wrote

Asking questions to find out if something is possible is literally the most basic definition of investigating. Which is what happened. It doesn’t mean that someone’s suspected of a crime.

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Doright36 t1_j5d9vzz wrote

It's also possible they maybe wanted to know if someone gave them the idea for the story. Like a city worker with a bunch of stolen blueprints their brother knows or something.

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fourleggedostrich t1_j5a6w87 wrote

They spoke to him as part of their investigation of how to increase security.

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RickDripps t1_j59ykz7 wrote

Sounds like the reserve first, then the writer.

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HotPocket_Consumed t1_j59x9xa wrote

Investigated is a misleading word. You can communicate with the FBI without being under investigation.

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DigNitty t1_j5ae3k0 wrote

Yeah but they stopped returning my calls.

I’m starting to think they really don’t care about my neighbor’s suspiciously clean gardening tools.

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clichesaurus t1_j5afplw wrote

Some heist movies never get finished because the crew realizes it's more lucrative to irl that shit

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slinger301 t1_j5bl7uy wrote

The Italian Job switched from "Fiction" to "Documentary" about a third of the way in.

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Nogohoho t1_j5bdxuu wrote

They already have the crew together after all.

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stupidGenius82 t1_j5bqhff wrote

HOT TOWN SUMMER IN THE CITY...... BOOOOM

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erocknine t1_j5bs5m8 wrote

Look around! You could steal City Hawl!

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rayinreverse t1_j5bxaqe wrote

We’re gonna need a couple more FBI guys.

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lampstore t1_j5ccpjf wrote

Sure, but the writer’s real gem was how to get 4 gallons of water.

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SolidPoint t1_j5b6vtx wrote

The screenwriter for “Simon Says” which was retro-fit to become a Die Hard movie

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NetDork t1_j5blz6i wrote

Writer to FBI: Holy shit, you mean this would really work?!? Damn, wish I'd kept it to myself....

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Wingardium_Draconis t1_j59gfi4 wrote

Thats fantastic. I mean, I loved the way the heist was planned. Out of the box and bold thinking.

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Voidbearer2kn17 t1_j5aa583 wrote

You should look into Leverage. There was an episode in Season 1 where the team are in a plane that is crashing due to a virus loaded in via the black box. One of the family of the execs enjoyed the show but pointed out that the plane shown doesn't make the flight. Nothing about the virus not working in that way.

Some of the villains in that show, based on real-world events are actually harrowing.

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HPmoni t1_j5de3zw wrote

Loved that show. Full of nonsense. One character always beats up several henchman. Always.

It was just multicultural A-Team but that's okay.

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MacDegger t1_j5cqa0v wrote

Leverage was pretty fake.

Mr. Robot on the other hand: every hack was based on real world exploits.

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Voidbearer2kn17 t1_j5eno19 wrote

I wasn't referring to the cons of the tricks the team used, but some of their villains or stories were taken from the headlines. One of the showrunners had a blog about it

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RedJay1982 t1_j5buwhh wrote

But wasn’t the plan to take over the Federal Reserve posing as civil engineers to repair damage? The initial subway bomb was to render the alarms unusable so that the FR turned them off.

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pavlik_enemy t1_j59wm14 wrote

Real life "Three Days of the Condor"?

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HPmoni t1_j5ddplw wrote

You would need a ridiculous team of badasses to try it.

Pretty sure cops would swarm once it's been breached. Can't spend money if you're dead.

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oceanduciel t1_j5cmbvn wrote

Seriously? Couldn’t they find something better to do? Like, actually making sure victims of various crimes get justice instead. Since the cops are so fucking useless.

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BisexualCactusNoises t1_j5buy22 wrote

I'm really tired of us making public really good plans on screwing over the government, even if it is artistic.

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masken21 t1_j59hn2b wrote

Okey fbi-4heads. Its a movie, there is a lot of things that are put in to places that would have boken the script in real life. Like the film crew, in real life they would have called the cop's at once. Now in the movie they are just hiding behind the cameras and out of picture DOING NOTHING. That plan would have been doomed to fail.

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