Stolen laptop - any suggestions?

[devsdev]

Hi,

We've unfortunately had our laptop stolen from our house in HOP/FH. Obviously opportunistic because we're having work done and the doors were left open much of the day to let workers in and out. I brought the computer out to do some work and then stupidly left it lying on the coffee table when I nt out (and didn't lock door behind me as worker was inside). Person obviously darted in at some point, grabbed it and got back out as nothing else was touched including the power cable. The laptop is a bit rubbish tbh, but everything on it is very valuable to us.

So just warning everyone to be very careful while kicking myself for being so complacent. I was hoping that someone would have thoughts on local pawn shops, websites etc where someone would try to sell a used/stolen laptop? I'm hoping they were just looking for a quick buck and I'd happily pay to have it back. It's a Dell Inspiron 5010.

And I don't think it's anyone who was working on the house - their project is longer and I doubt they'd jeapordise it for something so small (but which would be difficult to hide).

Thanks!

[polla2256]

Report it the police initially. Irrespective of an opportunist all lines of enquiry must be eliminated. Yes it may be considered a minor crime and a pawn shop is a very good place to start but really unless you have tracking software or extra security you have most likely lost it. I would recommend cloud storage or a NAS drive for back up in future.

[Lowlander]

For the love of God, please report it to the Police. How are they supposed to do their job if people don't report crimes? You could have that one bit of information that leads to a serial thief or gang being put away.

[keane]

I can vouch for this - report it no matter how pointless it may seem at the time - we got ripped off by a scan merchant earlier in the year for Justin Beiber tickets for my 9 year olds b day to the tune of ?300, spent ages reporting it to police & fraud line etc & felt angry & frustrated then the other day out of blue got a call from police who have had other reports about similar scam and they think they have matched up details to one bank acc and may have a suspect - so further down the line there is a SLIM chance we may get our money back or at least see the toe rag caught...

[keane]

Scam not scan!

[diddlediddle]

mums laptop was stolen out of the car last night they also took the multi cd player from under the drivers seat and my step dads drill I do not think this is a coincidence.

[dbboy]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/tag/laptop%20lock/products

[devsdev]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for the responses.

We've reported it (I reported it to 101 within an hour of realising). Police unfortunately came at about 1/2am and decided not to ring the bell as we'd fallen asleep by then. Wish we'd left the light on! Anyway, have managed to ask them to come around today rather than waiting for an appointment tomorrow evening so we can get a crime reference number. Computer company are going to try to protect the computer remotely somehow but require the number (I happened to have called them recently so they had all our information), but it's possibly all too late now. Changed all our passwords on anything I can think of logging in automatically.

Definitely getting remote security for the computer next time, doing more regular backups (we were in a hurry last time and didn't back up the whole thing - what would those 10 minutes mean now!), looking into cloud storage, ensuring I don't tick "keep me signed in" or storing any passwords and also locking away electronics when there's work going on (I completely take on responsibility for being an idiot there). Also now I've finally sorted out remote locking, remote wipe etc. for my smart phone...again, what's a few quid to pay for a good app compared to the value of all the lost information and lost photos of your child?!

I'm just worried about ID theft right now and hope none of the thieves/buyers is smart enough to go down that route...

Where you based diddlediddle? Really hope you've been able to change all passwords etc. and haven't lost anything hugely valuable.

[diddlediddle]

it was stolen in duntstans road out of the car along with a drill and the 6cd changer... dont think my brother shut the boot properly. gutted for my mum haven't spoken to her properly to find out if she has changed passwords ~:s the case alone

is irreplaceable i bought it for her in Rome a couple of years ago.. there was paperwork in the case as well. where are you based? I'm wondering if its the same opportunists there cant be that many scummy people in ED but then again who knows... what did the police say to you ? I think the ED station closing down has alot to answer for aswell. hope you get some good news.. it never helps when your not tech savvy like me and my mum. x

[polla2256]

See if you have a windows boot disk on CD - Sometimes the machine information is attached with the windows license sticker. Otherwise access your router as an admin (if you have one) and look to see if there are mac addresses stored. If there are eliminate them until you find your device, pass this to the computer company. As for ID theft change ALL of your online passwords. If you use internet banking don't worry too much as they have more security layers. It may be worth checking with equifax for any unusual activity. On the whole don't worry about ID fraud - I've had it done to me more than once but it's never cause dme a problem due to my security set up at the vendors.

[devsdev]

Thanks polla - I'm keeping my fingers crossed about that. Hopefully ID fraud is too much work and it's really just to make a quick buck.

I will try to do the router thing this evening as well. The police came this afternoon and were great. I've managed to pass on the crime reference to the computer company and fingers crossed that helps. Plus the police have a record of the theft in case anything shows up. Am tracking gumtree and cash converters - thank you all for the suggestions to check those.

Hope all goes well with you diddlediddle - and everyone make sure you have remote tracking/locking software on your computer and phones!

[giggirl]

What's HOP/FH?

[Peckhampoet]

Honor Oak Park/Forest Hill