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MacBook Pro burgled

I

iMacZealot

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 11, 2005
2,237
3
My sister's apartment was burgled. They got away with quite a bit of valuables. Her boyfriend was in town, and he was hit the hardest by this. His MacBook Pro was stolen. He doesn't have a password check when he wakes his Mac. He said that he didn't have too much valuable information on it. He had his credit card in iTunes, and he bought some stuff online with his credit card, but it's expiring next month.

How much information can the burglars get? I assume that the wrong person with a lot of Mac OS X experience might be able to get a lot, but I am positive that the burglars were drug addicts who didn't seem to know much at all.

Thanks.
 
Cancel all his cards. They could get his name, address, DOB, photos etc. so could easily cause major hassles.
 
adversecamber said:
Cancel all his cards. They could get his name, address, DOB, photos etc. so could easily cause major hassles.
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I know he's cancelling his card, but how available is it on his Mac? You need a password for iTunes, and the last time he used his card elsewhere on the web was a long time ago.
 
ID theft is relatively easy. He could use the info on the comp and phone the credit card company and apply for new cards.

With the details on his computer he could apply for fake driving licences, passports, birth certs. etc. It's amazing what info is on there. Perhaps an email from a relative about a holiday - the burglar could see that, see the address of the rellies and then go over and empty their house knowing their away.

And so on.
 
adversecamber said:
ID theft is relatively easy. He could use the info on the comp and phone the credit card company and apply for new cards.

With the details on his computer he could apply for fake driving licences, passports, birth certs. etc. It's amazing what info is on there. Perhaps an email from a relative about a holiday - the burglar could see that, see the address of the rellies and then go over and empty their house knowing their away.

And so on.
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But would a drug addict do this? I know it's drug addicts who would did this.
 
I doubt it - he'd have sold it within hours to someone who he knows who will pay for stolen laptops. That's the guy who you need to worry about.

I'd say that it's better to be safe than sorry.
 
adversecamber said:
I doubt it - he'd have sold it within hours to someone who he knows who will pay for stolen laptops. That's the guy who you need to worry about.

I'd say that it's better to be safe than sorry.
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Oh, yeah, he is cancelling the card. But other than that, what else that is fatal can they possibly get?
 
They can only get what's on there. You said he didn't put much on it so there isn't much they can get from it. Plus most info like the credit card in itunes isn't shown anyway so they wouldn't be able to get it from there and browsers don't store credit card numbers. I think his info is safe.
 
Hopefully he didn't store any passwords. Never know. This crook or the person he/she sold it to could browse through your browser history. Log into accounts, internet forums you name it.
 
iMacZealot said:
But would a drug addict do this? I know it's drug addicts who would did this.
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However, you do not know who's hands the laptop will end up.

adversecamber said:
I'd say that it's better to be safe than sorry.
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Always a good idea.

KingYaba said:
Hopefully he didn't store any passwords. Never know. This crook or the person he/she sold it to could browse through your browser history. Log into accounts, internet forums you name it.
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Good points.

The problem with computers these days, is many folks put info on them that they forget. It might be a letter they wrote to a bank with all their personal information. ID theft is fairly easy these days. Best to be safe and assume the worst, then work from that point to protect yourself.
 
I suppose he'll just have to do the best that he can and hope that nothing comes back to haunt him.

Is there any way of tracking it through AppleCare?
 
Unless the tard who nicked it brings it into an Apple Store for repair (which has happened on here recently) then no.
 
iMacZealot said:
I suppose he'll just have to do the best that he can and hope that nothing comes back to haunt him.

Is there any way of tracking it through AppleCare?
adversecamber said:
No
nick9191 said:
Unless the tard who nicked it brings it into an Apple Store for repair (which has happened on here recently) then no.
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Maybe the thief will get it to a person who will take it to an Apple Store.

In the meantime assume the worst and protect yourself.
 
So, my sister talked to the police again today. They said that whenever pawn shops receive items such as laptops and other electronics, they must register the serial number with a databank. So, if we can find the serial number of his MacBook Pro, we have a better chance of seeing it again. I know that AppleCare has a reference of the serial number during product registration, so is there a way we can get it through AppleCare?

Thanks.
 
Sorry about the laptop, some one with even basic knowledge can get allot of information off a computer, god forbid the guy who has it is an IT expert. Cancel all the credit cards he may have use, ring your bank and notify them. good luck
 
mail, web browser history (cookies etc, no login needed for websites), forensics on the drive to look for deleted files, calendar, address book entries

heaven forbid he used any social networking sites and the web browser automatically logs in
 
Hmm - this one has made me think. I do not password protect my MCP on start up - if I did would I be safe from someone taking all my stuff off if they nicked it?
 
Always password protect your system. Especially those of the portable variety.
While it's a bit late for the OP, I know that there are some systems, like Orbicule's Undercover, but those really only work if the thief is going to keep the machine, really.
 
Matari said:
Hmm - this one has made me think. I do not password protect my MCP on start up - if I did would I be safe from someone taking all my stuff off if they nicked it?
Click to expand...

No. Any security can be bypassed if someone has physical access to the computer. In your case they could boot up in single user mode and create a new admin account.
 
grafikat said:
Always password protect your system. Especially those of the portable variety.
While it's a bit late for the OP, I know that there are some systems, like Orbicule's Undercover, but those really only work if the thief is going to keep the machine, really.
Click to expand...

That actually looks really cool. I wonder if I should look into getting that.
 
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