There seems to be a criminal element in everything these days. Someone invents e-mail, spammers and virus writers hijack it. Someone invents VoIP, spammers are there to send us SPIT (spam over internet protocol). Now –say it isnt so, it hurts to write – they are coming after, are you ready? Our iPods! Seriously, they are. The subway thieves in Manhattan aren’t going after purses and gold chains, snatching the latest iPod loaded with songs is like stealing the deed to Trump Tower.

Criminals are now high-tech. Forget muggings, its all about the iPods baby. What’s next? If Willie Sutton is a prognosticator worth his salt in casket weight, can we foresee a day when the Apple store in the mall gets knocked off?

Is Steve Jobs really minting money these days? Seems like he is. According to an article in the New York Times most of the thieves and the victims are students. Cell phones by the way are up on the list as well. 50 iPods and 165 cell phones stolen so far this year, up from zero and 82, respectively, last year.

So before you wear your iPod on your sleeve as it were, consider the fact that you too can become a statistic on the New York subway. To think violence on the subway was once a concern. Nowadays, people will tell you, “Sure the subway is safe just leave your music at home with your rings and jewelry.”