--- title: Minnesota Man Arrested For Not Logging Out Of Facebook After Robbery description: Rookie mistake canonical: https://time.com/2917569/thief-arrested-because-he-forgot-to-log-off-facebook-after-burglarizing-a-home/ author: Samantha Grossman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-24T16:03:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:11:06.584Z og:title: Thief Arrested Because He Forgot to Log Off Facebook After Burglarizing a Home og:description: Rookie mistake og:url: https://time.com/2917569/thief-arrested-because-he-forgot-to-log-off-facebook-after-burglarizing-a-home/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc063e6ad125a0944/6986964bcd68482794095130/170441597.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Facebook Inc. Opens New Data Center In The Arctic Circle og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Thief Arrested Because He Forgot to Log Off Facebook After Burglarizing a Home twitter:description: Rookie mistake twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc063e6ad125a0944/6986964bcd68482794095130/170441597.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Thief Arrested Because He Forgot to Log Off Facebook After Burglarizing a Home > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Jun 24, 2014 4:03 PM UTC  A Facebook Inc. "Like" logo sits on display at the company's new data storage center near the Arctic Circle in Lulea, Sweden, on Wednesday, June 12, 2013\. The data center is Facebook's first outside the U.S., poised to handle all data processing from Europe, Middle East and Africa and the server hub is largest of its kind in Europe, and most northerly of its magnitude anywhere on earth. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images A Facebook Inc. "Like" logo sits on display at the company's new data storage center near the Arctic Circle in Lulea, Sweden, on Wednesday, June 12, 2013\. The data center is Facebook's first outside the U.S., poised to handle all data processing from Europe, Middle East and Africa and the server hub is largest of its kind in Europe, and most northerly of its magnitude anywhere on earth. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesGetty Images by [Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Jun 24, 2014 4:03 PM UTC Look, we’re no experts here, but if you’re breaking into somebody’s home, we suggest getting in and out as quickly as possible. This means you probably shouldn’t take a break to check your Facebook. Apparently, though, that’s what 26-year-old Nicholas Wig did after breaking into a house in St. Paul. He used the target’s computer to check his profile — and then he forgot to log out, CBS Minnesota [reports](http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/06/23/thief-forgets-to-log-out-of-facebook-after-burglarizing-home/). “World’s dumbest criminal,” said the very astute homeowner, James Wood. “I don’t know.” The thief made off with Wood’s credit cards, cash and watch, but left behind his own Nike tennis shoes, jeans and a belt. They were wet because it had been raining, so we can only assume at this point that Wig disrobed and then logged onto Facebook to play Farmville or something. (Does Farmville still exist?) When Wood realized that Wig had left his Facebook profile open, things got interesting. Wood posted a status update saying that Wig had burgalized his home and shared his phone number seeking further information. Then Wig himself texted him (!) and the two agreed to meet. Wood said Wig seemed to think if he returned the cell phone he’d stolen in exchange for the clothes he’d left behind, everything would be fine. But everything was not fine. When Wood spotted Wig walking toward his home later, he called the police, because obviously. Police arrested him at the scene, and if convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2917569/thief-arrested-because-he-forgot-to-log-off-facebook-after-burglarizing-a-home/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2917569/thief-arrested-because-he-forgot-to-log-off-facebook-after-burglarizing-a-home/"},"headline":"Thief Arrested Because He Forgot to Log Off Facebook After Burglarizing a Home","datePublished":"2014-06-24T16:03:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:11:06.584Z","description":"Rookie mistake","url":"https://time.com/2917569/thief-arrested-because-he-forgot-to-log-off-facebook-after-burglarizing-a-home/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Social Media","Crime","facebook","Tech"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc063e6ad125a0944/6986964bcd68482794095130/170441597.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc063e6ad125a0944/6986964bcd68482794095130/170441597.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Facebook Inc. 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