Imagine you were dumb enough to fall for a government-run gun buy-back program. They take your weapons, name, banking info (so they can pay you) and then (oops!) leave all that information unsecured online.
That’s what happened in New Zealand. Remember them? The anti-gun geniuses down-under?
The Council of Licenced Firearms Owners told Newshub that information on 70,000 firearm hand-in notifications, the firearms and owner bank account numbers, was accessible to web page users.
“They were able to screenshot and download information. This means that gang members or other criminal elements could have accessed this information before our supporters found the breach,” a spokesperson says.
This registry of seized arms is an open invitation to thieves and ne’er-do-wells to pilfer bank accounts. But that’s just part of the problem. Criminals have access to the names and addresses of people who have willingly disarmed themselves.
Now, we can’t say they are entirely disarmed. But if you are not precisely the law-abiding sort this list is precious. Whether you use it or sell it, it represents thousands of targets of opportunity – places “right here in your area,” where you may be able to access valuables without fear of getting shot.
And seeing as you’ve probably not turned in your firearms – most of the law-abiding New Zealanders have not so why would criminals) if you encounter resistance you probably have a force advantage.
No one knows who if anyone screen grabbed what information, how much, or if any at all, but New Zealand’s gun buyback may now be able to take credit for not just an increase in crime but an increase in crimes involving guns.