Inmate's Master Plan to Steal Crypto From Jail Ends When Doorbell Camera Spots His Goons

Robert Barr, a 29-year-old inmate serving time for fraud at HMP Edinburgh, tried to pull off a modern heist from behind bars. He directed two accomplices to break into a Scottish crypto investor's home in April 2024, force the victim to install remote-access software AnyDesk, and then take control of the computer from his cell to steal up to £2 million ($2.7 million) in cryptocurrency. The sophisticated plan involved months of digital reconnaissance to identify the target.

This high-tech crime met a very low-tech obstacle: a doorbell camera. When the two accomplices showed up late at night, the homeowners saw them on the camera feed and simply refused to open the door. One of the would-be burglars even paused to ask the camera lens if it was recording before they fled. The entire plot collapsed instantly, leading to an eight-year prison sentence for Barr and shorter terms for his crew. The takeaway? Even the most digitally savvy criminals can be undone by a $99 piece of consumer hardware and common sense.