What mundane schemes could make for terrific true crime?
the true crime that's worth your time
Queenpins, a vaguely Good Girls-esque new movie about a coupon scam, is essentially based on the kind of shrug emoji broadcast crime story you’d forget by bedtime. Three Arizona women were allegedly printing up free item coupons for various products, and ended up busted by the feds and the Coupon Information Corporation, which is a real thing and has a kind of intense website.
“Fake coupons” is hardly an it bleeds, it leads kind of situation, nor is it as seemingly compelling as a charming serial killer or a daring heist. But Queenpins looks like it might be kind of fun! And it got me thinking: what other superficially boring, relatable, or petty crime would you like to see get Queenpinned?
I’ll start — I’d love to watch a Live PD style show that swaps out the cops for Amazon package thieves, with an undercover videographer embedded with a porch-pirate crew as it trolls the neighborhood, fleeing from Nextdoor users and ducking Ring cameras. A behind-the-scenes look at the process and methodology of these thieves sounds legitimately interesting to me, a process lesson free from any of the glamorous elements one might find in more consistently profitable crimes.
Now it’s your turn. What other snoozer, unflashy crimes have the potential to be true-crime gold? Let’s hear it. — EB