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How my ipod was stolen {and recovered due to my cunning}

W

whw5

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2004
247
0
Atlanta
I just thought I'd like to share this story with you guys, being as it is very

interesting and lucky. So it was one week ago, this very day, that my 2nd

generation 10GB ipod was stolen from my gym locker. That part was mostly

my fault for not securing it well, and putting it in my backpack right in front

of a know theif. However, I had no way to prove that he stole it from me, and

the school cameras just brought up the pixelish blur that is footage of

the hall outside the locker room. I waited a few days, and then started

asking questions individually to people on our wrestling team. I hit gold

on my third day of searching. A very observant freshman had

noticed the theif attempting to sell my old ipod for a mere $35. I knew it

was time to act, for soon my ipod would be sold into the black market,

and dissapear forever, along with any hope I had of recovering it. Last

night I called up the theif, and confronted him. Being the smart guy I am,

:) I didn't outright accuse him, and instead asked to buy one of his

stolen ipods. (This guy is in business when it comes to selling stolen ipods)

He knew very well that one of those ipods was mine, but I trapped him

by describing the exact ipod he had been trying to sell. He stupidly

admitted that it was still in his possession, and I knew that if I played my

cards right, it would again be mine. After getting him to describe it

perfectly, I laid my trap. I said, "WOW DUDE THANKS SO MUCH FOR

FINDING IT, THAT IS MINE, YOU ARE A GREAT PERSON." I then suggested

that he might have come by it by stealing it from a person who stole it

from me. He bought the load of b******t I fed him, and aggreed to return

it to me the next day. I successfully alluded his suspicions, and I now

have my ipod safely back in my hands, and my parents never knew it was missing.

I also told my coach about what happened, and I am leaving disciplinary action to him.

I have also learned a lesson, and now bring my ipod with me everywhere I go/ I actually lock

my locker.
 
That reads as a narrative poem and marginally ressurrects my belief in narration as a genuine mode of existence.

Read Frank O'Hara. You'll love him. Everyone does.

Thanks.
 
This same thing just happened to my sister

She was at a band concert a little while ago and as they were leaving to go play on the gym she put the iPod in her purse and zipped it up. She came home that night started looking around for it and could not find it (actually accused me of hiding it from her). Anyway, she thought she had just missplaced it somewhere in the house and told me to look for it tomorrow :rolleyes: Well she went to school next day and the band teacher asked if someone was missing something expensive. She knew right then what he was talking about and went to the front of the class to claim her iPod (did not actually get to take it, it was kept for evidence). She was called down to the office later and asked about the iPod and how she could prove it was hers. She managed to prove that it was hers and they gave it back to her. She did finally find out who the boy was that stole it and i think the school is pressing charges. Evidently the boy got into the band room and was going through purses while the concert was going on. And i guess that someone walked in when he was taking stuff and that is how he got caught.

All in all, the iPod came back and all is good now. Th boys sister (actually he is a step brother) apoligized a lot and the boys father actauly called and said even if the school does press charges he also wants my sister too.

Guess we will just have to see what happens!!
 
Perhaps it would be wise to keep a tiny data partition and put some kind of ID file in there. When a thief is nontechnical or in a hurry, they won't think to look for such a file, unless they simply reset the whole thing to factory settings. With a data file in place, it'll be easy for you to prove its yours if you get lucky enough to get that chance.

On the other hand, you could probably produce a list of songs that are on the iPod by looking at your iTunes library, and that's another way to show that it is yours.

Having an engraved iPod would be even better and make it more likely that you'll get it back if somebody grabs it at school.
 
Good job man. I probably would have just let it go at that point, but good for you to have the wit to get it back. I bet he'll have to wrench it from your dead paws to get it again... :p
 
Doctor Q said:
Perhaps it would be wise to keep a tiny data partition and put some kind of ID file in there. When a thief is nontechnical or in a hurry, they won't think to look for such a file, unless they simply reset the whole thing to factory settings. With a data file in place, it'll be easy for you to prove its yours if you get lucky enough to get that chance.

On the other hand, you could probably produce a list of songs that are on the iPod by looking at your iTunes library, and that's another way to show that it is yours.

Having an engraved iPod would be even better and make it more likely that you'll get it back if somebody grabs it at school.
Click to expand...

Also useful is to save your serial somewhere on your computer (I think it's included in the confirmation email), since it's engraved on the back of every iPod. :)
 
stridey said:
Also useful is to save your serial somewhere on your computer (I think it's included in the confirmation email), since it's engraved on the back of every iPod. :)
Click to expand...

Good call stridey! :)

Although, the serial number is so tiny that one can hardly see it. Guess that you just have to whip out the old magnifying glass. ;) :)
 
The only way you will stop him from stealing is to start breaking bones, sort of sad -- but I don't think he will quit until he is so broken up that someone sabotages his wheelchair.
 
Sun Baked said:
The only way you will stop him from stealing is to start breaking bones, sort of sad -- but I don't think he will quit until he is so broken up that someone sabotages his wheelchair.
Click to expand...

It is sad but true. Or alternatly he will go to jail for trying to steal some dvd

player or credit card.
 
I had a very expensive ski jacket stolen from a locker that I was sharing with a good firned my junior year of high school. It really pissed me off because even though we were pretty well off, my folks never saw the sense in paying $200 for a jacket. I had to have it and my mom reluctantly bought it.

One day after school was over, it was gone, along with my friends. We never found out who took it.

20 years later, I gat a call from my friend who told me that a friend of a friend of a friend was at a prty 20 years ago and Rusty Owens was wearing my jacket at a party and was bragging how he had stolen it.

20 years for the secrets to come out. LOL

I see him again I'm gonna deck him.

Oh, and you are a good kid - I would have gotten my pod back and then beat the piss out of him.

I told a girl who works for me that was having attendance problems that you have to work really hard for me to fire you, but steal from me or lie to me and your gone in a second.

I HATE THIEVES.
 
prostuff1 said:
She was at a band concert a little while ago and as they were leaving to go play on the gym...
Click to expand...
What is with this trend?! Haha, similar story with a scarf (I know, not as $ valuable as an iPod*) of mine and the joint band/orchestra concert when I was in high school.

I left to go play, when I got back to the band room, my scarf was gone. Whaddya know, later that evening, while still at the concert, this evil girl (honestly, most of the orchestra/band/color guard hated her and her cronies' guts) is walking around with my scarf on.

I nonchalantly ask her where she got it... she didn't even know (uh dur, the store brand was on the friggin tag), and when I asked how much it cost, she claimed her mother gave it to her for Christmas.

So the next day, I looked her up in the directory, waited till about dinner time (to try to ensure everyone in her household would be home), called, and lucky for me, her mom picked up.

I claimed that I was on the school newspaper staff and we were doing a survey of what students' had receieved for Christmas from their parents. Her mom told me she gave her a shirt... I double checked, "So you only gave her a shirt? No hat, no mittens... no scarf, nothing like that?" Nope.

I confronted her at school... :D I got my scarf back. ;)


*This whole ordeal was more about the prinicple of the situation than the lousy $10 the scarf cost. It was about not being able to trust the other students who use the band room. It was about how lame she was in wearing the darned scarf the very night she stole it... and walking around with it in front of everybody. It was about how annoying she always was-- and how I was gonna get my goods back.
 
whw5 said:
I just thought I'd like to share this story with you guys, being as it is very

interesting and lucky. So it was one week ago, this very day, that my 2nd

generation 10GB ipod was stolen from my gym locker. That part was mostly

my fault for not securing it well, and putting it in my backpack right in front

of a know theif. However, I had no way to prove that he stole it from me, and

the school cameras just brought up the pixelish blur that is footage of

the hall outside the locker room. I waited a few days, and then started

asking questions individually to people on our wrestling team. I hit gold

on my third day of searching. A very observant freshman had

noticed the theif attempting to sell my old ipod for a mere $35. I knew it

was time to act, for soon my ipod would be sold into the black market,

and dissapear forever, along with any hope I had of recovering it. Last

night I called up the theif, and confronted him. Being the smart guy I am,

:) I didn't outright accuse him, and instead asked to buy one of his

stolen ipods. (This guy is in business when it comes to selling stolen ipods)

He knew very well that one of those ipods was mine, but I trapped him

by describing the exact ipod he had been trying to sell. He stupidly

admitted that it was still in his possession, and I knew that if I played my

cards right, it would again be mine. After getting him to describe it

perfectly, I laid my trap. I said, "WOW DUDE THANKS SO MUCH FOR

FINDING IT, THAT IS MINE, YOU ARE A GREAT PERSON." I then suggested

that he might have come by it by stealing it from a person who stole it

from me. He bought the load of b******t I fed him, and aggreed to return

it to me the next day. I successfully alluded his suspicions, and I now

have my ipod safely back in my hands, and my parents never knew it was missing.

I also told my coach about what happened, and I am leaving disciplinary action to him.

I have also learned a lesson, and now bring my ipod with me everywhere I go/ I actually lock

my locker.
Click to expand...

Crazy man, the exact same thing happened to me 3 years ago with my 2nd gen. iPod. It was stolen from the locker-room (I hid it in the bottom of my bag because my locker was full). After talking to tons of kids and filing a police report I found out who did it and told him I now he has it and that I wont press charges if he gives it back the next day. He got suspended for a week and I got my $500 iPod back. I learned not to trust the public with anything like this.
 
Nicely done Devilot!! There may well be a niche in the Private Investigations industry with sneaky smarts like that!

Its always nice to here stories of thefts that ended well. iLoung used to be littered with tales of people who had had their iPods stolen. I've never had one stolen, but I have lost one and then was stolen. If that makes sense!

I was going out to Trinidad to visit my grandparents and had a fairly new 20GB 3G iPod, in a Contour Showcase, remote and EX51SL headphones. So a nice setup.
Owing to some confusion over whether I had to change to a different flight in Barbados, I'd put my iPod in my bag and taken it with me to enquire what was going on. As I didn't need to change I returned to my seat and got out the iPod, and then got talking to a chap in front of me who had been similarly confused what was going on. I put the iPod in the magazine pouch whilst talking to him, but on leaving the plane in Trinidad I though that the iPod was still in my bag as I hadn't listened to it since returning to my seat in Barbados.

I realised my mistake whilst waiting for my uncle to pick me up at the airport and I was looking to listen to some music. I checked with customs and lost and found, and they even checked the plane, but too late. Someone had made off with it.
I did get the money back via insurance as they did count it as a theft, but I do wonder what the person did with it. iPod's weren't even available (generally MP3 players weren't even heard of) in Trinidad, so as soon as the battery had run out, and unless they had a computer they would be in posession of a pretty paper weight!
Still, doesn't do a lot for your faith in people's honesty...
 
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