Victim Manages to Recover His Stolen Laptop Using LogMeIn
David Krop, one of the very few laptop theft victims that end up with a smile on their face
David Krop, the vice president of marketing at Nationwide Diabetic, was rushing to a meeting one morning when he left his two laptops inside of his car. He later returned to discover that the car’s door window had been smashed in and that both of his laptops were stolen. He reported the theft to the local police but they were not too enthusiastic about getting his laptop back.
When Krop got home, he remembered that he had installed a remote access application called LogMeIn on one of his laptops. Using the service he was able to log into his laptop from his home PC and view what was happening on his lost laptop. Shortly after entering his information he was able to see that the person who had his laptop was using it to watch porn, download videos, talk with friends and occasionally change his Facebook status. Krop took notes and still frames of his laptops activities before deciding to go to video. He got especially lucky when the new user entered into a video chat with a friend and he was able to see the suspects face.
Krop went back to the police department that day with a whole stack of substantial evidence. The police were soon able to find the person with the stolen laptop and brought him in for questioning. The suspect told police that he did not steal the computer but it was sold to him in a barbershop near the parking garage where David’s car had been broken in to. The suspect also stated that the thief had sold the second laptop to the owner of the barbershop. Police were able to retrieve both computers and return them to Krop later that day. Krop was very appreciative and stated that he had “learned his lesson” about laptop security.
Laptops are one of the hottest items on the market. Leaving them unattended is not a smart decision. If they are stolen, the amount of personal information stored on them could make a $800 computer theft cost you thousands of dollars. It is important to set up strong security measures for your personal devices and to keep them on your person. Installing free software like LogMeIn, and leaving a GPS tracker in your laptop bag are both great ways to increase the odds that you’ll get your laptop back if it ever is indeed stolen. Check out one of our previous articles for more technologies that can help you recover a stolen laptop.
