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Help: My MacBook Pro was stolen. Any advice?

I skimmed the thread, but I am surprised that there was no mention of looking on craigslist, ebay, or local pawn shops for you laptop.

That is the very first thing I would do if I had a stolen laptop (aside from reporting it lost, filing a police report, etc..). The thief most likely did not steal it for use for himself and will need to offload it somehow. Usually these thieves are not very bright and you will find your laptops in these common places that one would offload stolen goods.

I'm glad the thief is an even bigger idiot than that and called to try to convince you to buy back your own computer - allowing you to pinpoint where he is. Good luck and I hope this idiot gets caught.
 
MowingDevil said:
No I really think it is a cultural difference. I've only been here 3 weeks in Auz but I already feel much more secure in terms of theft. Compare that to Tijuana where you could have your wallet ripped out of your pants at any given moment. In Vancouver I wouldn't leave a laptop out of your view for any length of time...it will be gone in a heartbeat. Property crime is terrible in Vancouver. At the same time, I've heard in Japan there is practically no theft at all. You can leave your wallet on a bench and no one will touch it. I've also heard they really don't have much vandalism either...or perhaps its just the areas where my friends were. Honestly, I've toured through the campus & library at a University in Sydney and would feel comfortable walking away from a laptop to get a coffee, no problem. If someone hasn't been here & lives in North America I'm sure that would be hard to understand.
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It is all areas of Japan. I forgot my wallet somewhere before and like 20 minutes later some little, old, Japanese man came running up to me with it in hand. All contents were still there and he would not accept any reward of any kind. However I still won't leave $3,000 worth of hardware unattended, anywhere, for any reason. There is no possible advantage in doing so.
 
Mercellus said:
Let me get this straight... the thief that stole your MacBook Pro called you on the phone, and tried to persuade you into buying the computer? Not only do they deserve an award for being 2008's dumbest criminal, but I believe that's also called extortion.

I sincerely hope that the authorities recover your computer and hopefully your other equipment as well. Good luck. :)
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Exactly. Unfortunately, they weren't stupid enough. I said to him, "Look, I accept my computer gone forever and you as the new owner. Give me your address so I can ship you the restore discs!"

He wouldn't do it. He said, "Oh great! Well... I'll call you back with a GOOD address you can mail it to me at."


But at the end of the day, he's still an idiot. I have given all information I can give to the cops. I hope they do their job. I am going to call Monday to follow up on what's going on.
 
Marcquito said:
Exactly. Unfortunately, they weren't stupid enough. I said to him, "Look, I accept my computer gone forever and you as the new owner. Give me your address so I can ship you the restore discs!"

He wouldn't do it. He said, "Oh great! Well... I'll call you back with a GOOD address you can mail it to me at."


But at the end of the day, he's still an idiot. I have given all information I can give to the cops. I hope they do their job. I am going to call Monday to follow up on what's going on.
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Please keep us updated on this, can't wait to hear how this turns out for that asshat.
 
Man I empathize

I have wondered the same thing: If my Mac was stolen could I track the soulless infidel. I'm not using the subjunctive "were" because it did happen. I was in Prague teaching and the school put some alcoholic veteran with serious problems as one of my two roommates. Dude gets seduced by some gypsy hooker and he took her to our flat, Duh. What he was think, or not thinking, is beyond all rational thought. Result: We got cleaned out... including my 6 month old MacBook Pro. I naturally wished I could magically burst into that room where the thief was logged in to my LastFM generating terrible music into my profile. When I buy a new one I will seriously consider getting a GPS so I can track my precious wherever. Aaaaaaaaaaaa... :(
 
Techhie said:
Or you could do something equally pointless and leave a Civil War replica cannon sitting in the front yard for an intimidation factor :rolleyes:
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Thats bound to work, if a Civil war cannon doesn't work nothing will! :D

You could also get a World War 2 cast iron prison door 5 inches thick and replace your normal door with it:rolleyes:
 
Funny you mention Artillery pieces! The thief actually walked past an old WW1 artillery shell which was on the couch in front of the MBP! It didn't scare him/her/it away at all. :(

I ended up moving out. I ended up getting robbed again because my stupid roommate left the garage door open during the middle of the night. Someone boldly pried the door to the kitchen open and stole MORE of my stuff. They also smashed the lock into the door of my car, stole a bunch of my tools and left.

That was the last straw. I gave a 30 day notice and left.

Bad memories.
 
RE:
"already had a sign... and deadbolts..."

What city did this happen in?

If they're brazen enough to break in when they know you're home, perhaps it's time to think about moving.... really....
 
Gameunreal said:
Did you get your original mac back or did you get a new one and restore from time machine?
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Bought a new one. My renter's insurance covered $1,500 - only $300 less than the total cost of the MacBook Pro (used a student discount). I ended up buying one online for the same money. Same specs, same machine. Luckily, the thieves didn't take my external HDD, so I was able to back up EVERYTHING! Time Machine is FANTASTIC for the fact that it even saved firefox with all of the tabs still open from the night before the theft!

Fishrrman said:
RE:
"already had a sign... and deadbolts..."

What city did this happen in?

If they're brazen enough to break in when they know you're home, perhaps it's time to think about moving.... really....
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Atlanta, GA. I was living about a block away from Williams St. near Coca-Cola and the GA Aquarium. I have since left the city... I transferred schools and now I live on the beach in FL. What a difference!
 
Marcquito said:
Bought a new one. My renter's insurance covered $1,500 - only $300 less than the total cost of the MacBook Pro (used a student discount). I ended up buying one online for the same money. Same specs, same machine. Luckily, the thieves didn't take my external HDD, so I was able to back up EVERYTHING! Time Machine is FANTASTIC for the fact that it even saved firefox with all of the tabs still open from the night before the theft!



Atlanta, GA. I was living about a block away from Williams St. near Coca-Cola and the GA Aquarium. I have since left the city... I transferred schools and now I live on the beach in FL. What a difference!
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Lucky you, I'm stuck in rainy Scotland :(. Glad you got a new mac and that you moved etc. Sounds like you coped well with it all.
 
Mintin8 said:
Lucky you, I'm stuck in rainy Scotland :(. Glad you got a new mac and that you moved etc. Sounds like you coped well with it all.
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No, Lucky you! Scotland is a very beautiful place. The summers are wonderful there!
 
Marcquito said:
Atlanta, GA. I was living about a block away from Williams St. near Coca-Cola and the GA Aquarium. I have since left the city... I transferred schools and now I live on the beach in FL. What a difference!
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I can believe it was Atlanta. Used to live there. Crime is very bad in the city and even some of the outlying communities are getting bad. I saw on TV the police are stretched so thin it can take 30 minutes to respond to a call. I guess that's why so many apartment and housing communities have gates to make it more difficult for the thieves to get in.

Glad your insurance covered things and you moved.

Cheers,
 
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