Reselling a Stolen Computer Will Get You Arrested

Back in November, a LoJack for Laptops customer had a laptop stolen from a popular coffee shop chain. The laptop went dormant post-theft until January, when it began connecting again. We soon gathered information about the user and followed up with two police departments in Washington: one for the area of the theft and one for the area of the current user.

We continued the investigation with a Detective who had 3 previous recoveries working with us, and who quickly followed up on the leads we provided. And here is where it got interesting:

• The Detective attempted to contact the user, who called back police saying he'd bought the computer used and promised to return the computer to the police the next day
• Instead of returning the computer, we noticed a change in IP address and user.
• The Detective contacted the new user, who claimed to have bought the computer from a friend (user #1, who sold it at half of what he paid!)

Sometimes criminals think they will get away with a crime because they think police can't track them. Too bad for them that LoJack for Laptops is on the job.

Did you know that cafés are one of the top places laptops are stolen from? If you do plan to use a laptop or smartphone in a café, follow our Top 8 Security Tips for Cafés and our Basics of your Mobile Office posts.