British citizen stole millions rebranding golf-ball finder as bomb detector

[Gravitycollapse]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/01/world/europe/fake-bomb-detector/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

In a training video to potential salesmen in India, McCormick can clearly be heard saying he "worked with explosives" during his time with the British police.

"He targeted countries where terrorism and violence was rife," Heath said. "They had such terrible problems with violence and terrorism, they were desperate for any measure to prevent them from happening. The countries that he targeted also didn't have proper testing methods or any scientific laboratories to make sure they worked. They very much took the trust of the person selling it. And James McCormick came across as an honest and reliable businessman. But in fact he was a con man."

It was the 'Made in the UK' label on the ADE 651 that tipped off British police. They found that McCormick had the components made separately in Britain, then assembled them himself at his office in an old dairy farm in Somerset, England.

Police investigators believe it cost him less than $60 to make each device. In at least one case, he sold them for as much as $300,000 a piece. He sold the devices to government agencies and private companies around the world.

[longship]

1. It's not even a golf ball finder, it's a dowsing rod.

And as people should know, dowsing is pure woo woo. It depends on the same mechanism as a Ouija board, the ideomotor effect. Here's James Randi to explain it:

This guy's scam has lost hundreds, maybe thousands, of lives. He should be locked up and they should throw away the key.

[Archae]

2. A con man selling woo.

Gee, sounds familiar, doesn't it?

[Gravitycollapse]

3. I keep seeing "woo" in DU. What does that mean?

[Archae]

4. "Woo" is stuff people post or post about...

Medically it's unscientific stuff like chiropractic, acupuncture, faith healing, etc.
We see lots of anecdotes, but when medical claims like the above are tested, they ALWAYS fail.

As to this "explosive detector," it's a useless gadget sold by a con artist, dozens of innocent Iraqis have died since these "detectors" never work.
Dowsing is woo, like the above, whenever dowsers are tested properly they fail. ALWAYS.

Likewise "psychics," (remember "Ms Cleo?&quot "remote viewers," flying saucers, etc.

[DiverDave]

5. Hate to bust your bubble

but my granddad doused water wells and NEVER failed.
I stood in front of him when he doused a well and I couldnt see how in the heck that stick was going down.
I tried to stop it, and grandpa was just loosely hanging on...They drilled there and hit water.
Saw it, felt it...