dn0 Posted June 24, 2006 CID Share Posted June 24, 2006 I guess he should have bought a cup of joe once in a while. By Gregg Keizer TechWeb.com Thu Jun 22, 6:32 PM ET A Vancouver, Wash. coffee shop tired of seeing a 20-year-old man mooch off their free wireless Internet access called the police, who charged him with "theft of services." Brewed Awakenings employees dialed 911 after Alexander Eric Smith of Battle Ground, Wash. piggybacked off the shop's wireless Internet service for more than three months. "He doesn't buy anything," Emily Pranger, the shop's manager, told KATU, a Portland, Ore. television station. "It's not right for him to come and use it." Smith allegedly parked his truck in the parking lot to use Brewed Awakenings' wireless access. County deputies charged Smith with theft of services after returning to the parking lot after they told him to stop. The crime, which covers such crimes as bypassing a utility meter, stealing cable, and leaving a restaurant without paying, has been used in the past to prosecute hackers who have accessed a computer or network without paying for it. "It's something that is borderline creepy," Pranger said to KATU. The Clark County sheriff's office and its prosecutors are reviewing the case, the television station's Web site noted. Source: Yahoo.com URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20060623/tc_cmp/189600746 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resopalrabotnick Posted June 24, 2006 CID Share Posted June 24, 2006 hm. if the coffeshop made it a condition in their terms of use that a wireless user had to buy something then ok. if they failed to do so and simply provided free access, no case. and i wonder if the coffeeshops isp will be looking at their contract. what if it turns out that the shop had a residential cable or dsl hookup with the according terms of use... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dn0 Posted June 24, 2006 Author CID Share Posted June 24, 2006 That would be funny if the law turned against the coffee shop. If they do advertise free WI-FI, then you're right, the freeloader may have a case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark06 Posted June 24, 2006 CID Share Posted June 24, 2006 i do this all the time would b funny if the law turn on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommie gorman Posted June 24, 2006 CID Share Posted June 24, 2006 That would certainly be a Brewed Awakening for that coffee shop. WTF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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