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If you steal somebody's laptop, try to make sure he doesn't have remote-control software installed
By adamg on Sat, 02/27/2010 - 10:36pm
Because when you turn on the computer for the first time, he'll be able to get back into the laptop and watch your little brother and sister surf the Web - and even get a photo of you standing behind your brother as he mugs on the camera on the stolen computer. And he'll hand it all over to the cops so they can get court permission to get your physical address from your ISP.
Josh Bob's report on the dumber-than-bricks robber and siblings who have been using his laptops since the guy lifted it out of his car on Brookline Avenue on Tuesday is quite the tale. He has one video of the kid brother in a video chat, and another video that shows that kid with an older guy - possibly the thief - standing behind him (along with dear old mom).
Now he just has to sit on his hands and wait for Monday, when a Boston detective has promised he'll get all the paperwork he needs to take action. You can follow along on his Twitter feed.
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Comments
stolen
Allan Funt lives! Fantastic personal detective work!
Some people understand technology better than others do
I can't wait to see how this turns out. Do the police get it? It appears they do! That's encouraging.
The kids in the picture will get a good lesson from this as well. And the mother has a lot of explaining to do.
Who leaves their laptop in
Who leaves their laptop in the car??
who brings their laptop into
who brings their laptop into a bar? If you have to take your laptop from some workplace back home, there isn't always a great place for it if you have to make a stop on the way. Just a fact of life.
fact of life: Leave you
fact of life: Leave you laptop on your front seat on a road in a city and expect it to get stolen.
Just sayin'
Dumb Question: Why didn't you put it in your trunk?
Not sure this....
....will rank too high for the BPD. While I do get a kick out of this guys ability to watch the criminals (and family of) use his belongings, I dont think a stolen lap top warrants a full scale effort by detectives on a Monday morning.
Obviously,
it's not YOUR laptop. Perhaps this will mean that Wentworth will be losing a student?
Well
Good thing you're not working the duty roster on Monday then, Chief of D's.
There's the theft of the laptop itself, the damage to the car, and possibly even identity theft if they've done anything with the laptop that used his personal info/saved passwords/etc. They didn't take his lunch money; they've done thousands in damage and are about to get busted.
Similar stories have been in
Similar stories have been in the news elsewhere in the country. And yes, the police did follow up and catch the guys. If someone steals a laptop, they've probably been doing other crimes. Solve this one, stop others from happening.
Right
That's the Broken Windows theory of policing, right?
Detective work
Sad thing is, the victim has done all the detective work, and he's still got to chase the police around to have the thieves arrested. It's like if you had a car tracking device on your car, and knew where it was, (right there in the chop shop) but the police couldn't go and arrest anybody until next Wednesday. The law...does it ever protect the victim?
the "victim"
- This clown probably had the laptop or laptop case or bag in plain view in his car and we want our tax dollars spend on the police to go right out and find these people?
-90% chance the laptop was stolen by some crackhead who sold it to another pawnshop type who gave it up on craiglist. People who smash car windows and steal computers do not have kids at home that are going to use the computer.
-If it was the kids family who actually stole it, they aren't going anywhere. So it doesn't matter if the detective went on a one month vacation, these people are probably going to get caught.
-And you can't just call up the wireless co. and find out the location of the IP address. You need a court order that's going to take some time as well.
you sound like Hannity
Yes - I pay taxes and expect people who break the law to get arrested... WOW what a new concept!!!
And if it was sold to a pawnshop, then their are required to get ID before buying merchandise.
The whole 'do we want our tax dollars to pay for this...' bullshit from people like you (teabagger/palin-lover?) gets old after a while....
go back to getting teabagged by Glenn Beck or something...
Huh? What's with the random
Huh? What's with the random political accusations? How is anything that he/she wrote remotely political? Because "tax dollars" are mentioned? You're reading way to much into that. All that finger-pointing can make your side look just as hysterical as their side.
Cripes, I'm sick of all the pointless political bickering.
I think we can all agree that the detective work he's done is pretty damn cool. I hope he gets his laptop back, or continues to humiliate the thieves online. However, leaving a laptop in a car. In plain sight. On a Boston city street. It's just not very bright? I'd take mine in the bar with me. Or lock it in the trunk. Or leave it at work.
all Im saying
is that Id rather have the police using their resources on victims that werent dumb enough to leave the laptop in plain view, which is probably what happened here.
It has nothing to do with teabagging.
This clown probably had the
Um last I checked we still want to catch those who actually commit the criminal act even if the victim could have been more cautious. I always toss my GPS and Laptop in the trunk so they are at least out of view BUT that would not stop someone from breaking my window and opening my trunk... People who steal things aim for the low hanging fruit first but would not think twice about raiding trunks if they ran out of in site laptops to steal.
You might want to be careful
You might want to be careful posting video of a minor you don't know especially in this day when people get all up set if you take pictures of your own kids in public.
Josh Bob to be on Greater Boston tonight
7 p.m. on Channel 2. He's listed as the second guest, after somebody talking about sharks.