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iPod touch stolen ipod, found culprit, need help proving its really mine

L

lrd1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 27, 2008
16
0
so about a month ago my ipod was stolen out of my purse during one of my classes. i left my purse in a locker, unlocked ( bad idea i know, but ive never had a problem before, but trust me, ive learned my lesson). i know it was stolen in this particular class because they didnt take the headphone and left them lying on top of my purse (when my headphones are always wrapped around). so just the other day some kid told me he has a friend who bought an ipod that was stolen by one of the kids in my class. this culprit was always a main suspect so i don't doubt that this is truly my ipod.
so now the main problem is that i never wrote down/saved my serial number of my ipod. its an ipod touch so it carried my account, password, email, ect.
i understand that kids have gotten much better into hacking and changing these things so i am not sure that that will be enough to prove that it is mine to the police/school.
im still in high school by the way.
my itunes still remembers my ipod touch that was stolen under preferences devices. i question whether it carries the serial number or any type of information proving the ipod is mine.
i am currently using my old video ipod. im not sure if that erased any of the new ipod's info?

please let me know if you can help me out!!
( i ask that you please do not lecture me on how i should have not taken my ipod to school/left my purse alone. im fully aware i was wrong, im suffering the consequence of my $300 ipod that i bought myself. i take this as a lesson learned. i do not believe i deserved it, i hope this will all be brought to justice)
thanks (=
 
I would report it stolen and ask them to check the serial # of the device. Maybe even look for some info that might still be on there. That is if the kid was smart enough to wipe it.

Or.. You could always steal it back.
 
If you registered it will apple, it should come up checking for apple care with your serial number.
 
yeah, another problem is that i bought it off ebay. so i dont think my serial number is matched with me at apple? unless somehow it did when i entered my account?
i reported it to the police and school the first day it was stolen. ( about a month ago) i found out the thief a day ago.
im going to have the culprit and the kid he sold it to to come down and so i check and see if it is my ipod.
im just nervous he could have erased the ipod and my password meant nothing...
otherwise, he couldnt have changed anything.
i just dont know if my word is good enough..
or if theres any other way of proving it through my itunes or account?
 
statik13 said:
Even easier, if you hover over the iPod name in your Devices window and wait a second or two it will show you the serial number.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

this would work, but the last ipod i had plugged in was my old ipod..
and the hovering is not working.
is it different with macs/windows?
im using a mac..
 
lrd1 said:
this would work, but the last ipod i had plugged in was my old ipod..
and the hovering is not working.
is it different with macs/windows?
im using a mac..
Click to expand...

I'm on OSX as well. Just let your mouse sit on top of the name. I just tried it out and it worked with my iPod Touch 2g.

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i think i may have found my serial number through the itunes help thing
the last ipod used through my itunes took over
the screen that scrolled said both a serial number for an ipod ( which correlates with the one on the back of my old ipod im currently using)
but it also says an iphone serial number
is this considered as my ipod touch serial number? the iphone is throwing me off
 
alright, so i used the "iphone" (rather ipod touch)
serial number and registered it to my account
(i never remembered to do it earlier) yeah, im bad at this..
so now i have the proper serial number because it checked through
so is there any other way of tracking where my ipod is located other than checking the back(s) of the ipod(s) that i believe that are stolen and mine?
 
Write down any serial number you can find on your computer. Even if you have 5 of them, as long as one of them is right it shouldn't matter - it's not like they can say "wow, you have 5 serial numbers, you're clearly guessing, it's just chance that you happened to get one right".

lrd1 said:
alright, so i used the "iphone" (rather ipod touch)
serial number and registered it to my account
(i never remembered to do it earlier) yeah, im bad at this..
so now i have the proper serial number because it checked through
so is there any other way of tracking where my ipod is located other than checking the back(s) of the ipod(s) that i believe that are stolen and mine?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure how successful you'll be with that, at the moment Apple doesn't disclose any information in regards to the whereabouts of iPods, and there's no tracking software (that'd be illegal anyway considering it could easily be abused). You'll just have to find the one with that serial number :(
 
Ivan P said:
Write down any serial number you can find on your computer. Even if you have 5 of them, as long as one of them is right it shouldn't matter - it's not like they can say "wow, you have 5 serial numbers, you're clearly guessing, it's just chance that you happened to get one right".



I'm not sure how successful you'll be with that, at the moment Apple doesn't disclose any information in regards to the whereabouts of iPods, and there's no tracking software (that'd be illegal anyway considering it could easily be abused). You'll just have to find the one with that serial number :(
Click to expand...



i figured... but thanks everyone!
i now have a serial number that i thought i was screwed cause id never find it, but now im another step closer (=
hopefully this ipod this kid bought off my thief is my lil baby<3
wish me luck! and thanks again for all your help
 
if anyone was curious to what happened..
the 2 culprits were caught.
it was my correct serial numbered ipod.
it was broken and cracked.
the thief is buying me a brand new ipod touch.
i am very happy and glad justice has been served.
thanks(=
 
lrd1 said:
if anyone was curious to what happened..
the 2 culprits were caught.
it was my correct serial numbered ipod.
it was broken and cracked.
the thief is buying me a brand new ipod touch.
i am very happy and glad justice has been served.
thanks(=
Click to expand...

Congrats.

Next time, save your box / receipt.
 
lrd1 said:
if anyone was curious to what happened..
the 2 culprits were caught.
it was my correct serial numbered ipod.
it was broken and cracked.
the thief is buying me a brand new ipod touch.
i am very happy and glad justice has been served.
thanks(=
Click to expand...

thats good to hear :)
 
lrd1 said:
if anyone was curious to what happened..
the 2 culprits were caught.
it was my correct serial numbered ipod.
it was broken and cracked.
the thief is buying me a brand new ipod touch.
i am very happy and glad justice has been served.
thanks(=
Click to expand...

That's unbelievably great news! Glad to hear all the hard work payed off.
 
Makes a change someone getting caught. Lucky you got told someone was selling it.

Did the 2 culprits get slapped wrists ? And told don't do It again ?

Good news in the end.
 
great news, you are VERY fortunate to even hear who stole it and then prove it. What happened to the low-lifes who stole it? Was their only punishment buying you a new one? that would put me in a pretty bad mood... getting a new ipod touch free, then having to buy one to give it away...
 
lrd1 said:
if anyone was curious to what happened..
the 2 culprits were caught.
it was my correct serial numbered ipod.
it was broken and cracked.
the thief is buying me a brand new ipod touch.
i am very happy and glad justice has been served.
thanks(=
Click to expand...

Glad you got it back. Like someone else said. Keep the box and receipt.

You should have tried to steal it back first though, It would have been more exciting.
 
ahaha, the boy who stole it so far is getting suspension, fixing the cracked screen of the old ipod (everything still works perfect, just 2 giant cracks.) , and a brand new decked out ipod..
im still contemplating whether i should press charges or not.
im positive the thief has stole many a time, and will probably continue..
my principle set up a formal apology from both boys, we all agreed my thief was completely insincere..
so i dont know..
the kid who bought it off him claims to have not known it was a stolen ipod, so he just gets his money back from the thief
but now i will have 2 itouches!

....im saving the box & receipt this time (=
....karmas a bitch!
 
Thanks for the tip on how to find the serial number of a missing iDevice. Worked for me with my iPhone. This should be more widely known.

Glad you got yours back.
 
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