Despite advances in technology, thieves are always one step ahead. Of the many things they steal, one prominent one this time of year are tax refund checks. This is accomplished of course through identity fraud.

Take the case of 71-year-old Mike Bucalo Jr. Mike never lived in Miami, having lived the past 25 years in Akron, Ohio. Somehow, his tax return for last year had him residing in Florida.

How does this happen?

According to the Huffington Post, the thief used a fake Florida address and Bucalo's stolen Social Security number and somehow conned the Internal Revenue Service into paying them Bucalo's tax refund earlier this year.

How did Mike find out? The retired pipe-fitter learned this the hard way when his legitimate tax return was rejected by TurboTax, claiming his Social Security number had already been used.

Still working on the mountain of paperwork, Bucalo won't get the $900 tax refund for another year.

Increasing Problem

Mike is far from alone. Identity thieves are increasingly filing false tax returns to get their hands on refund money. It's not only costing the government billions in stolen refund money -- it's slowing down legitimate returns for others.

In 2011, the IRS saw a massive jump in such scams over 2010. It stopped 262,000 fake returns and $1.4 billion in refunds because of identity theft in 2011, compared to fewer than 50,000 falsified returns and $247 million dollars in 2010.

This, like the epidemic theft in all other aspects of our lives these days, is quite disturbing. Perhaps mandatory Florida theft classes for all school children might curb the upward spiking trend of theft. In the meantime, guard yourself.

Oh, the shame of it all. How far can alcohol make you fall?  How about stealing penguins from Sea World! Yes, that is no joke, three drunkards from the United Kingdom broke into Australia's Sea World and stole a penguin.

Penguin Thieves

The three drunken friends from Wales began their expedition into Australia's Sea World to swim with dolphins. They now face criminal charges after waking up the next day with a small penguin chilling in the apartment they were staying at in Queensland.  Sounds like something out of the movie “The Hangover.” This as reported in audubon.org.

Their guilt could not be in question as the hung over Welshmen made a video of their thievery.

The stolen penguin, Dirk, seven years old, had never been out of the enclosure at Sea World before the incident. 

Making matters worse, the three morons, feeling extreme remorse for their actions, released Dirk into a nearby shark-infested estuary. Sharks chased Dirk out of the water and a dog chased him back in again.

Fortunately we have a happy ending as Dirk was returned safely to Sea World.

The penguin-nappers face charges of trespassing, theft, and unlawfully keeping a protected animal.

A funny story, but still sad that they had the idea to take something that did not belong to them. I hope the Australians force these three into a serious theft class and make them seek counseling.

Why would a nun steal? If a nun was stealing what do you think she stole?

There is no doubt the Catholic Church and some of the priests have had some very bad publicity over the years. The nuns, however, seemed to have lived good, clean lives. Until now that is!

An 80-year old Spanish nun has been charged for her involvement in a baby theft ring that dates back to the Franco era. This according to Fox News.

Sister María Gómez Valbuena appeared before a judge and refused to testify, invoking her right to remain silent on charges that she kidnapped a newborn girl from a Madrid hospital in 1982.

Sister María also faces formal charges of false imprisonment and forgery.

The mother in Sister María's case, Maria Luisa Torres, accuses the nun of snagging her baby girl soon after she gave birth in the Santa Cristina hospital. Sister María also allegedly threatened to take away another baby and turn Torres in for adultery when she questioned the nun on what happened to her child.

On a more happy note, Torres was finally reunited with her daughter, Pilar, last year.

A crowd outside of the courthouse jeered Sister María as she left the courtroom clad in the habit of her Sisters of Charity order.

Political Abductions

It is believed that thousands of children were kidnapped from their parents during the years of Franco’s dictatorship and afterward. The suspected thefts are believed to have started during the 1936-39 Civil War continuing up until the 1990s.

The kidnappings are believed to be part of an effort to take children away from left-wing parents and give them to "approved" right-wing families.

It is sad to see one of God’s servants involved in this shameful act. She will have to confront her Maker soon enough.

Why does an 87-year-old woman shoplift? You would think perhaps out of necessity. More likely, they are stealing because they think they can get away with it. Combine the notion they can get away with it and perhaps a need to get caught for attention and you might be right on track.

 Such is the case with June Kurtz.

According to newsnet5.com, Kurtz, an 87-year-old woman has been convicted of shoplifting four times and is now facing new charges. Kurtz has been charged with two counts of theft and one count of criminal.

Kurtz was stealing from retail stores Macy’s and Dillard’s What was she stealing? Police who confronted her in the parking lot found clothes.

She took more than $400 worth of merchandise from those two stores.

Interestingly, the criminal trespassing charge was added because Kurtz was banned from Dillard’s due to a previous incident at the store.

Kurtz appears to be stealing and getting caught with more frequency. Her previous convictions are all for petit theft in 1999, 2007, 2010, and 2011.

It is sad that an 87-year-old has to be arrested. However, I agree with the arresting officer that age should not make a difference on whether or not a suspect is arrested. Being able to get away with it was one of the reasons she probably stole in the first place.

Do you think she could be helped by an online Ohio shoplifting class?

What you keep on your computer could be very dangerous if the device gets stolen. In addition to personal financial information, thieves may also turn into extortionists. Take the latest case about a Minnesota man.

The Star Tribune reports that the case involves his theft of a laptop belong to a 20-year-old Ohio State University student late last year. Not only did the thief want the laptop, but was extorted the 20-year-old coed because of the incriminating content on her hard drive.

Demonte Johntrell Latimore sent increasingly menacing e-mails threatening to put nude photos and videos of the student from her laptop on the Internet.

Career Criminal

Latimore, a six-time felon from St. Paul, is being held in jail on federal weapons charges while authorities investigate him for alleged extortion in connection with the stolen laptop.

Back in December, the college sophomore reported that someone had stolen her Apple MacBook when she took a study break in the library on the Newark, Ohio, campus. Two weeks later, she began receiving disturbing e-mails demanding hundreds of dollars to keep the sender from posting her private photos online.

The incident illustrates what can happen when computers, hard drives, cellphones, flash drives or anything with a digital storage device falls into the wrong hands.

The thief was caught by the FBI's Cyber Crime Task Force in Minneapolis which the e-mail came from iwant 300dollars@gmail.com, which traced back to a St. Paul address. Another, similar e-mail arrived in the woman's inbox from bigmoneyyt@gmail.com, which traced back to the same address.

What was so incriminating – nude photos of course!

Not only were there nude photos of the pre-med student but also videos of her having

Previous offenses for the 24-year-old Latimore include convictions of burglaries and car thefts, and St. Paul police were looking for him in February in connection with a series of armed robberies.

That’s a frightening story about a serial criminal that needs to spend time behind bars. I hope Latimore’s rehabilitation includes a Minnesota theft class and counseling.

If you read my blog regularly, and I hope you do, you know there are thefts that really stick in my craw. Anyone who steals from children, the helpless and by those who have been entrusted to safeguard someone really tick me off.

Stealing from a PTA account certainly qualifies.

Tens of thousands of dollars have been stolen from the PTA and school foundation at E. Rivers Elementary School in Buckhead, Georgia. This according to AJC.com. So far no one has been arrested.

PTA authorities are being way too hush hush. They admit they have recovered $54K, but will not disclose the amount of the theft.

There is a lead and of course it is a parent with access to the account. Checks in excess of $20,000 were deposited into a bank account a person suspected in the theft worked at the bank.

How the PTA got these funds is unknown, however, the money never actually hit its account. The parent and bank employee intercepted the funds first.

The employee has since been canned!

This is not only criminal it is appalling. Why on Earth would a parent steal from her child and the future of our society. Hopefully they will get a Georgia theft class and some counseling to eradicate a problematic behavior.

A Chicago man was arrested last week and charged with misdemeanor retail theft after he was caught with allegedly stolen pork chops in his pants. This according to the Huffington Post.

The 46-year-old man was spotted in the 700 block of Circle Avenue in near west suburban Forest Park, Illinois, at 3:15 p.m. March 23, TribLocal reports. Police witnessed him removing packages of meat from his pants and placing them inside a vehicle.

Plain-clothes police proceeded to approach the man who told officers he had just finished a work shift at the nearby Ultra Foods grocery store, the Forest Park Review reports. When police questioned the meat seen hanging out of the cuff of his left pant leg, the man claimed he had gotten the meat from his sister's house -- though his sister denied that report, saying that she was not missing any meat and had not been visited by her brother that day. He also failed to produce a receipt for the meats.

All told, the man -- whom store managers told TribLocal was suspected of other previous thefts though never charged -- allegedly nabbed meats valued at $63.24, including four packages of pork chops and "western style" ribs and three packages of skirt steak. The meats were reportedly destroyed at the store. Was all this worth it? Should he have to attend an Illinois shoplifting class?

New Jersey

A Jersey City, New Jersey man was charged with shoplifting after allegedly taking frozen meat from the Bayonne ShopRite.

Police responded to a shoplifting call at 1:49 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27 at ShopRite. Store security notified police Richard Smith, 39, had been observed putting frozen meat into his backpack. Officers recovered the meat, with a total value of $169.60. 

Officers also Smith to be in possession of a hypodermic syringe. He had an outstanding warrant from Roxbury Township and was taken to the county jail in Kearny. This was reported in NJ.com.

As a counselor for both in-class and online theft classes I have heard all kinds of excuses from people caught stealing. Here is one I have never heard.

Police arrested a woman from Portland, Oregon who returned to a store in with money to pay for items police said her “twin sister” had shoplifted. This according to the Tennessean.com.

Leslie Gail Briley used her adolescent daughter to help her steal items from a beauty supply store. While her daughter diverted clerks’ attention, the mother placed a number of unpaid for items in her handbag.

When confronted by a store employee to look in her bag, the 37-year-old Briley refused and then abruptly left.

Later that day, Briley, in disguise with dark sunglasses, a ball cap pulled over her eyes and a change of clothes, returned claiming she wanted to pay for items her twin sister had stolen.

Unfortunately for Briley, police were able to research her alibi and it turns out she does not have a twin sister.

Not only was Briley charged with theft and fined $500, but she also was charged with contributing with the delinquency of a minor because she had he daughter with her.

What is wrong with people these days? I guess this type of behavior has been going on for all eternity, but it is obviously Briley did not need to steal those items. Worse than even stealing was the horrific example she set for her child. I would hope both mother and daughter would take an Oregon Shiplifting Class and keep from impulsively stealing.

How many police stations get robbed each year? You would have to think that robberies from police stations are inside jobs, right?

Keep these questions in mind as you read the following story.

According the the Chicago Tribune, a man who stole 3 kilos of heroin from a sheriff's evidence container died of heart disease with heroin in his system within days of the break-in. Who ever said drugs don’t kill?

The man discovered that police were storing seized drugsin an outdoor evidence container after he was asked to go there to identify recovered items that may have been stolen from him. In addition to the drugs, the victim also recovered a number of his personal items which had been stolen.

It is ridiculous that police would even consider storing drugs in an outdoor container. The police department most certainly is negligent of common sense. Whiel it may not have been an inside job, police certainly are not inculpable. We would recommend Illinois theft classes for them.

Beware of Refrigerator Bandit

Do you think the theft of food from a refrigerator inside a police department was an inside job? You bet it was. While culprit was nabbed, charges are not being pressed. Why not?

Kevin Yang was nabbed in a sting operation at a police station in Houston, Texas. Yang was not a very good thief as surveillance cameras caught him repeatedly stealing colleagues' food and drinks from the refrigerator in the station's break room. This was reported in theeagle.com.

Yang was charged with misdemeanor theft and suspended for 30 days without pay. In a sign of the crazy lawsuits, Yang agreed not to sue the city over the investigation if the class C misdemeanor charge was dropped.

Yang is back on duty after his 30-day suspension, which cost him $4,500 in lost pay.

Shameful behavior by one of America’s finest. Perhaps he should have been ordered to take a Texas theft class too.

How bad is the problem of sheep theft in Southern Australia? Some incidents have become major talking points, dividing communities and raising fears about the future of families.

The increasing problem has brought a new focus from local police, which is not yet winning the war but it is starting to make inroads. According to news.com.au, police recently apprehending a gang of thieves for stealing valuable bales of wool.

Much like narcotics officers here in America, the police are also closing in on sheep duffers by quietly gathering evidence about various people and activities as they attempt to build cases that will stand up in court.

Technology is the Answer

One of the reasons sheep theft is so rampant in Southern Australia is there had been little or no security. The SA police force significantly advanced its efforts to stop the crime with the introduction of Operation Poach in mid-2011.

Security Cameras

One of the primary deterrents for sheep theft was when the pastoralists began using security cameras and other surveillance measures.

Combined with the police efforts, the hope is for a major decrease in sheep theft in 2012.

Australia's most famous livestock theft occurred back in 1870,. Then a man named Harry Redford stole a mob of 1,000 cattle in central Queensland and drove them nearly 2,000 miles. Ultimately arrested and sent to trial, a sympathetic, hand-picked outback jury acquitted him.

If you read the news you can’t help but see theft everywhere. Anything that is not bolted, including some things that are, are being ripped off on a daily basis.

The answer is more education. Theft classes combined with greater religious training will enable future generations to respect other people’s property.