Ciphers and Crime
True crime is a popular subject, and criminal cases involving cryptography are particularly fascinating. This page presents a selection of some of the most intriguing cases in which encrypted messages played a role.
Classical cryptography
An unknown man died and left behind a cryptic message
In the unsolved case of Ricky McCormick, two cryptic handwritten notes found in his pocket after his death in 1999 remain undeciphered.
A ticket-counter robber created an encrypted text.
While awaiting trial, child murderer Joseph Smith attempted to send an encrypted letter to his brother.
Petras Dominas was a criminal whose encrypted notes proved a major challenge for police codebreakers.
Steganography
An unusual spy-cipher story from World War II
An unusual spy-cipher story from World War I
Modern ciphers
A financial criminal who encrypted his files
Racketeering records
The FBI’s codebreaking unit has published a few interesting racketeering records
A murderer whose motive was uncovered through the analysis of racketeering records
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