in reply to BallShapedMan
This is perfect for the NYPD entrapment operations mentioned by another comment under this post. Imagine their surprise when they realize they have ro deal with a urine-soaked wallet now. You'd probably still get arrested for disturbing the peace or indecency or whatever charge that jurisdiction uses to arrest people without an actual cause, but it would be worth it.

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in reply to 👍Maximum Derek👍
Absolutely this. NYPD used to set up "stings" where they'd place a wallet like this down and then arrest the first person to pick it up. Doesn't matter if you were going to take it to the police station to turn it in or not, they just arrest you on the spot.

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in reply to cattywampas

I found an article that backs this up. Still not sure precisely what the crime is. Theft, I guess?

policemag.com/news/nypd-lucky-bag-sting-snares-300-offenders

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in reply to Sentient Loom
From the article they consider it to be theft if not turned in with all contents. So not arrested for picking it up, but also entrapment bullshit in my opinion since police love to keep unclaimed cash for themselves. Criminalizing that for regular people removes competition.

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in reply to [deleted]
Well that’s easy to solve. Turn on phone camera as you walk up to it, look around and capture the surroundings, and then pick it up. There’s your evidence. The case would be thrown out.
Esta entrada fue editada (jueves, 30 de julio de 2026, 19:00)
in reply to gravitas_deficiency
in reply to [deleted]

The article is from a site called "Police Mag" and quotes NYPD representatives. I would take what they say about how successful, fair, and justly enforced these stings were with a grain of salt.

It literally says they stop-and-frisk if the "perpetrator" didn't immediately return the wallet to the officer. On a crowded street or subway, it's very possible to see a wallet on the ground and not see who dropped it, and now you're getting pulled into one of the most bullshit warrantless search practices of modern policing?

in reply to Sentient Loom
in reply to kungen
Well it's something like entrapment. They're just creating fake crimes to catch people. It's like making a robot who antagonizes a pedestrian until the pedestrian assaults the robot, and then charging the pedestrian with assault even though it was a non-feeling robot.
in reply to Sentient Loom

Giving an opportunity isn't entrapment. It would be if someone said "hey dude, that girl there dropped her phone, do you want it?"

But yeah I get what you mean, and that's what I meant with "there's probably more impactful stuff they could be doing instead"... Because no one who does finders-keepers on someone else's personal belongings (when they can easily see the owner) is a good person tbh.

Normal people lose their stuff all the time; it's a good thing if opportunistic thieves think again before considering hurting an actual person, instead of just being a quota-filler.

in reply to cattywampas

Theft. Pickpocketing. You've got a wallet that isn't yours, so you must have stolen it. Nevermind that the officer arresting you put it there and watched you pick it up, because it's your word against theirs.

It was a quick and easy way for cops to hit their quota, even if the DA didn't end up prosecuting. Although usually they'd at least try to threaten you into a plea just to help their conviction rate.

Edit: I've been the victim of autocorrect.

Edit to the edit: Every time I read this back, I find another typo. Anyone have good Android keyboard recommendations?

Esta entrada fue editada (jueves, 30 de julio de 2026, 18:50)
in reply to LifeInMultipleChoice

....what? Where do you live that cops get fired? Certainly not the US.

And, yes, people have sued the NYPD. Often and repeatedly. That has only changed how they define their practices, not what those practices are. For example, NYPD officially stopped having quotas for stop-and-frisks after the lawsuit ~15 years ago, but everyone inside the department knows that if you have the fewest stops, you'll get worse assignments and are more likely to be passed over for promotion.

in reply to tmyakal
I've been using the FUTO keyboard for a couple of months after Florisboard was driving me nuts with the typos (I refuse to accept that I have fat thumbs and dislexia). So far it's a huge improvement. It does take a while to 'learn' to change to the correct words when I hit space, and I'm always choosing the right word (when I remember to, lol) to improve the suggestions over time. Also, I had to get some good dictionaries for it. I liked Swiftkey a lot, but I not willing to bend over to the surveillance, so in my opinion, this is the best ~~FOSS~~ non-commercial option I could find.
Esta entrada fue editada (viernes, 31 de julio de 2026, 0:32)
in reply to youmaynotknow

Might be a bit pedantic, but it is good to note they're not actually FOSS, they're non-commercial source available.

The intent is somewhat reasonable, you can't use their source to make a commercial product.

That said, i'm pretty glad the FOSS community doesn't work that way.

Also of point, i trust them far more than any of the other non-FOSS options.

in reply to 👍Maximum Derek👍

Yeah no normal person is carrying that much cash. Its either a trap or a crime.

The closest normal reason I can think of is a poorer person having to pay rent in cash to their underhanded landlord. Such a loss is devastating.

But the police probably aren't getting it all back to them though, esp since theyd have to go in and ask (AFTER dropping it off), including explaining their carry amount. NZ cops aren't as insane as US cops but they're overstretched and these jobs aren't a priority for them.

...so I'd rather look for contact info of some kind, but then we're back to trap or crime.

Esta entrada fue editada (jueves, 30 de julio de 2026, 18:36)
in reply to cannedtuna
Without touching it, stake it out. Let other people passing by know about it. Maybe ask someone else to stake it out so I could go make a sign that says "Stack of Cash, found Unmonitored. If you know the owner, plz notify her or him. Possibly a police sting op, handle at your own risk."

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in reply to mrmisses

Nice. I never even noticed that… although now that I’ve taken a closer look that black thing behind the bill with the board certainly could be a dye pack!

Lots of interesting engineering stuffed in there… I’m going to have to do a bit of research. There’s got to be an article somewhere. I’d imagine that a great deal of care went into something of this kind; you’d want it to go off on a delay, never in the bank, potentially if the money was removed from the envelope… that’s probably where the string comes into play.

Fascinating!

in reply to AlphaOmega

I tried that with a ring. They never filled the paperwork to release it back to me and instead sold it at auction and kept the proceeds.

I was a young teenager, and my dad was trying to use this as a lesson about doing the right thing. We both learned a lesson, but it wasn't the one he expected.

Esta entrada fue editada (viernes, 31 de julio de 2026, 6:52)
in reply to cannedtuna

If I was a child of god, I'd probably take that money, and buy a baby to rape.

but seeing as I'm not a child of god, That I'm just a bog standard decent, normal person, I'd probably turn it in.. and perhaps be elated if I get the call that no one claimed it after 30 days, so I can have it..Would do wonders towards bills.

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in reply to cannedtuna
Honestly I'd try to find the owner and secretly hope they'd be grateful enough to give me some of that cash lmao. My mom had her wallet stolen once and whoever stole it took all the cash but left everything else. We found the wallet on our porch the next day. It was weird. The credit cards didn't even get yoinked

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in reply to LaunchesKayaks

I've lost my wallet and had someone return it with all the cash gone, and I've done the same with a wallet I found. Call it a finders fee.

The fact that they returned it cards in tact show that they're at least somewhat of a decent person. Would've been easier to take the cash and throw the rest in the trash. Credit card fraud is a whole different crime.

I was thankful to not have to go to the DMV for a new ID and call the bank for new cards (although I probably should've anyway), the cash was lost anyway.

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in reply to neomachino
I had some asshole pickpocket me in Vegas in a casino. He took all the cash and threw the wallet into a trash can. At least I was able to get the wallet back with my IDs and credit cards, but all my gambling budget for the weekend was gone instantly. I was shocked he was bold enough to do it in a place so notorious for having cameras everywhere. Apparently the casinos only care about their own money because they didn't do a goddamn thing. I figured they'd at least throw me some free play or something.

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in reply to neomachino

That's not a finders fee, it's theft. Most places consider it such in the US at least.

It's decent to return the other stuff, but that doesn't change the fact the money was stolen. If there was no cash would you bother returning the wallet? If not then essentially you're charging the person for the return which doesn't make it an act of kindness. If so then you're just penalizing a person for having cash on hand. Weird how people will rationalize whatever behavior they want to do.

in reply to LaunchesKayaks
Stealing and spending cash is theft. Stealing and using a credit card is theft plus fraud. The sketchy guy I bought weed from in high school taught me many life lessons but the most important one is this: don't break the law unless you have to, but if you do have to, break only one law at a time. Of course, he got arrested, but that itself taught me not to get involved with organized crime and not to sell drugs out of your landlord's house. Ray was a smart guy.
Esta entrada fue editada (viernes, 31 de julio de 2026, 5:49)
in reply to cannedtuna

I once found like 200$ in 20$ bills on the ground in a park near my home.

I live in Hochelaga, Montréal. It is the neighborhood with the most homeless encampments in all of Québec.

There just so happened to be a bus across the street that serves hot food and gives clothes to the homeless from the "Dans la rue" non profit organization.

I walked up to the bus and asked if they took donations. They said yes. So I gave them the money.

If I ever win the big prize at the lottery, I'm going to help anyone I can in my neighborhood and my city to find shelter, food and clothes and allow them to be independent so they can get their life back on track.

And I also want to open a grocery co-op in my neighborhood and expand across the province to compete with the price gouging grocery chains in Canada that are responsible for food insecurity and inflation.

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in reply to potoooooooo 🥔

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in reply to Mr.Chewy

What would Captain Janeway do?

Okay bad example she'd totally gank the money and run off if it meant more coffee what would Captain Hair do? Or what kind of log entry would Captain Sisko delete about it?

idk i was kind of raised by tv too

Esta entrada fue editada (viernes, 31 de julio de 2026, 18:46)

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in reply to cannedtuna

You always return the wallet. This is not a Christian thing, this is just a human thing. But here's the pros and cons.

Number one scenario: it belongs to an insanely rich person. If you keep this wallet they will barely miss that money because they have plenty, however the police will work very hard to find you and then they will beat the ever living shit out of you and you will be sent to jail for stealing from an oligarch.

Scenario two: it belongs to somebody for whom this is their entire life savings and without it they will become destitute. You will face no repercussions for keeping the wallet and the money because they have no power. But you will have completely destroyed someone else's life which makes you a vile disgusting POS.

Scenario three: it belongs to a drug dealer. And eventually that drug dealer will find you and murder your entire family because you stole from some cartel somewhere. Because the war on drugs has made drug cartels insanely powerful and contemptuous of the rule of law.

Esta entrada fue editada (viernes, 31 de julio de 2026, 13:27)

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in reply to cannedtuna

Years ago, in the pre-cell phone 80s, at a trade show in Las Vegas, someone left their wallet in our booth. It had money in it, but I didn't touch it.

I took it back to my room, and pulled out the Drivers License, from Nebraska. I called the phone operator and asked to be connected to the area code for that city. That operator gave me the only phone number in that city with that last name, but a woman's first name. I called that number, and it turned out to be the wallet owner's mother.

I told her I had her son's wallet, so she should call his hotel room, and tell him he could pick it up at our booth, and gave her my hotel room phone number. He called, obviously hugely relieved that his wallet was safe, and told me to take $50 out of it and go out, but I didn't.

The next day, he came in to retrieve his wallet, and asked if I spent the $50 having fun, and I told him I didn't want a reward. He opened the wallet, threw $50 on the counter, and ran out of the booth.

I gambled it on slots, and won a couple hundred, which I proceeded to gamble away to nothing.

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in reply to BarneyPiccolo
Esta entrada fue editada (viernes, 31 de julio de 2026, 15:25)

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in reply to Agent641
then he tries to give me some moonshine (blackberry flavour) in a plastic sandwich bag (he run out of jars) and I accept that (this was before I got sober and gained the common sense not to drink strangers mystery homebrew out of a plastic bag)


Best part! How was it?

in reply to cannedtuna

I'd try to return it to the owner, which will allow me to forget the whole situation eventually.

If I kept it, I would never forget that I did that. For some reason, things like that stick around in my brain for decades.

I've lived my entire life so far without that person's money, so I'll continue to be fine without it.

in reply to cannedtuna

Check if its real then keep, simple as~

if you lost this, your Fuckin stupid and deserve to lose this much open cash. may your cartel boss simply endebt and let you keep your finger and knees in one piece.

Esta entrada fue editada (viernes, 31 de julio de 2026, 5:21)
in reply to cannedtuna
A child of God is supposed to find the rich fuck of an owner (probably a criminal because who else has this much cash with them) and give it back. However, I'm not a child of an imaginary sadistic friend so I would take it, give the money to the homeless shelter behind my house and the animal shelter nearby, and bring the rest of the wallet to the police so they can deal with it.