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Stolen MacBook Pro iPod and iPod Nano----Downtown Toronto

T

taiji80

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 20, 2007
18
0
Toronto, ON. Canada
My girlfriend and I attended the Toronto Raptors game last night...
For those of you from Toronto, we parked below the Novotel Hotel on the Esplande. Since both of us were coming from work we had are valuables in the trunk. (we both placed are stuff in the trunk prior to arriving at the location). Well when we arrived back to the car we noticed the back passenger side window was smashed in and the trunk was empty. We weren't the only ones who were robbed in that lot, there was at least one other car that was broken into according to the hotel staff. The police seem to think it was a drug addicts looking for items to sell for drugs and that it is not a coincidence that it was during a Raptors game. The lot has no cameras due to construction being done, so for those in Toronto who frequent Leafs or Raptors games do not park there, it's a cheap alternative but not worth the risk.

My backpack with my laptop, iPod, sketch pad and pencil case was stolen as well as all of my girlfriends papers from work and her nano. My laptop was in sleep mode and I have the password to wake from sleep option on. Also, you need my name and password to login after a reboot. So after speaking with an Applecare rep I am pretty confident that my data is safe, but it is my iPod that I am concerned with since I am not completely sure what data is saved on it, I used it has a back up harddrive. I'm guessing that I have no solution to this.

Well if anyone has any tips or suggestions, please let me know. And again to anyone who frequents Leafs or Raptors games don't bring any valuables or choose your parking wisely, cheapest parking isn't always the right choice. A police buddy of mine said that easily up to 20 cars were probably hit that night in the area. It's been a pretty hard year for me...first I lost my iPhone this past December and now this. Hope I have better luck in 2010.

Thanks.
 
That pretty much sucks as hard as it can. :mad: I hope insurance can help without robbing you a second time.

But thanks for the tip about the parking lot. Maybe this will save at least one more heartache. :)

- I leave the inside trunk release locked, but you have reminded me to use the lockable back seat releases too.
 
lock the inside trunk release....wow I never even thought of that as a solution. man I feel dumb.

Going to send the insurance company receipts tomorrow, I hope they can help.
 
taiji80 said:
lock the inside trunk release....wow I never even thought of that as a solution. man I feel dumb.

Going to send the insurance company receipts tomorrow, I hope they can help.
Click to expand...

I only thought of locking the back seat release when I read your story. Forgive yourself. Life's too short.
 
I would check local pawn shops, if it was someone looking for a quick buck, they may try to get cash right away for it. I worked for an athletic department at a large university, and had a bunch of laptops stolen and they turned up at the pawn shop one block from campus.
 
taiji80 said:
lock the inside trunk release....wow I never even thought of that as a solution. man I feel dumb.

Going to send the insurance company receipts tomorrow, I hope they can help.
Click to expand...

Too bad some of the cars don't have a locking trunk release, I guess for those it is easier to pop the panel and disable it.

Hope you didn't have an Apple sticker on the car. ;)
 
taiji80 said:
My girlfriend and I attended the Toronto Raptors game last night...
For those of you from Toronto, we parked below the Novotel Hotel on the Esplande. Since both of us were coming from work we had are valuables in the trunk. (we both placed are stuff in the trunk prior to arriving at the location). Well when we arrived back to the car we noticed the back passenger side window was smashed in and the trunk was empty. We weren't the only ones who were robbed in that lot, there was at least one other car that was broken into according to the hotel staff. The police seem to think it was a drug addicts looking for items to sell for drugs and that it is not a coincidence that it was during a Raptors game. The lot has no cameras due to construction being done, so for those in Toronto who frequent Leafs or Raptors games do not park there, it's a cheap alternative but not worth the risk.

My backpack with my laptop, iPod, sketch pad and pencil case was stolen as well as all of my girlfriends papers from work and her nano. My laptop was in sleep mode and I have the password to wake from sleep option on. Also, you need my name and password to login after a reboot. So after speaking with an Applecare rep I am pretty confident that my data is safe, but it is my iPod that I am concerned with since I am not completely sure what data is saved on it, I used it has a back up harddrive. I'm guessing that I have no solution to this.

Well if anyone has any tips or suggestions, please let me know. And again to anyone who frequents Leafs or Raptors games don't bring any valuables or choose your parking wisely, cheapest parking isn't always the right choice. A police buddy of mine said that easily up to 20 cars were probably hit that night in the area. It's been a pretty hard year for me...first I lost my iPhone this past December and now this. Hope I have better luck in 2010.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm from Toronto and still live here.

1 I think the Police are fracking idiots stating its a crime for drugs. Crooks KNOW looking at a nice car and lack of security what is good for pickings (car stereo if its nice they'll crack the window).

A question: Did you have an alarm engaged and when you arrived was the staff already aware that the break in occured? IF not REPORT this to the police if you didn't already.

2 Ask the surrounding buildings for security feeds to see if anyone walked by with similar bags to yours & the number of bags equaling yours that may have the products. Hopefully they'll co-operate with the you and the cops with this footage and hopefully its good & clear faceshots.

3. IMMEDIATELY start surfing craigslists, ehmac, here and other smaller sites, even start asking some shady looking youth in that area (closer to Regent - east or Trinity - west) for any sweet deals on Apple devices. Also check out ebay.ca just in case for any new listings this week.

Also check out any remaining pawn shops left in Toronto, not much left BUT there ARE a few ... check out the Pawn broker on Church Street just north of Queen St West just across from the Church park and just south of that new condo before Shuter street. IF it's still there its possible someone sold it or put it on hold on consignment.

Peace & let me know if my help/tips helped you get them or any of them back. If so then I want first dibs on a MacBook 13" Alu if you have it next Summer ;) if you you upgrade.

Cheers.
 
Prom1 said:
2 Ask the surrounding buildings for security feeds to see if anyone walked by with similar bags to yours & the number of bags equaling yours that may have the products. Hopefully they'll co-operate with the you and the cops with this footage and hopefully its good & clear faceshots.
Click to expand...

do all of what Prom1 says, but definitely do number 2. Big cities have cameras everywhere, sometimes you don't see them but they're there. Ask and explain what happen. Some thieves are aware of some cameras, but most don't know/care/have the mental ability to think about stuff like that. There are good chances that a camera somewhere caught known delinquents coming or going several times with bags.
 
You made a good faith effort to hide your stuff so don't feel too bad. You can leave your car unlocked every day for a year and the one day you lock it up with stuff in the trunk someone busts in. It figures.

Pure speculation but there is a good chance someone working there or parking there saw you loading things into the trunk. Would be great if CCTV was available.
 
They should put a tracking option on the MacBook pro.
Is there an Application that does that?
Doesn't seem like something that would be too hard to design.
It already has the capability to pinpoint your location (right?)
if it connects to the internet. It should just send you an e-mail every hour or so. Someone's bound to try and log into the internet at some point with it.
 
That bites, its not like you left it out in plain view. You did what you should and still got ripped off :(
 
SPNarwhal said:
They should put a tracking option on the MacBook pro.
Is there an Application that does that?
Doesn't seem like something that would be too hard to design.
It already has the capability to pinpoint your location (right?)
if it connects to the internet. It should just send you an e-mail every hour or so. Someone's bound to try and log into the internet at some point with it.
Click to expand...

There are services and apps available. Google for more.
 
MacModMachine said:
lojack....buy it....

i have been just waiting for someone to steal my laptop....

no one ever does :(

if they do....im sure ill get it back in no time.

my sisters laptop was recovered in 4 hours from being reported.
Click to expand...

Is there anything to stop LoJack from working if anyone powers off the laptop without opening the lid, removing the HDD & RAM (for 1hour) and putting in a new HDD?
 
Thanks guys for the tips...I do plan on checking out the pawn shops within the next few days...I gave the police the serial #'s of my MacBook Pro and iPods because they said they have guys that check out pawn shops every morning, but I still want to check it out myself. I live in Markham so I can't get down there that often. I guess in fairness to the police regarding their assumptions...I went to school in the area for 4 years and at night it is kind of shady...It's kind of funny in the St. Lawrence area; during the day its a really nice place to hang out but when night falls there are alot of shady characters that come out. But I guess thats similar to every area in a city as large as Toronto.

I don't have an alarm in my car and I drive a Civic so everyone knows that Civics are kind of easy to get into...but we spoke to the hotel staff when we realized what happened and they said that another car was broken into. Then they told us to call the company in charge of the lot because the hotel has nothing to do with them.

Well does anyone know how safe my info is on the laptop? like I said before it is password protected...I'd rather they format it than get into the data.

also, does anyone have any experience dealing with insurance companies in this type of situation? do you typically get the full value of your items minus the deductible? I had receipts for the laptop and sunglasses but not the two iPods.

thanks
 
Your milage will vary from insurance company to insurance company. I would guess is you will not get the iPods replaced (or money for them), and maybe a fraction of what the MacBook is worth, check with your insurance agent first.

Your agent may be able to tell you what to say, because he wants to keep you as a client for his cut of your premium. The actual insurance company doesnt want to pay out anything, because well they are insurance companies and they dont want to pay anything as it hurts the bottom line.
 
Good thread.

I'm considering buying a Macbook myself. I will be carrying it on foot as I have no vehicle and I'm equally concerned about losing it to some punks on the street. I'm a small guy and thus, an easy target as a mugging victim.

What would one consider a decent pick-pocket proof backpack that can protect against weathering effects and impact?

With respect to laptop security, my comfort with tracking services is not high due to the various scenarios under which I can easily envision abuse.

It doesn't take much other than an employee with a chip on their shoulder to blackmail someone whom they can see in their customer profile is married and whose last location was the parking lot of a well known strip-joint (not that I'm married nor would I venture into such a locale)?

Or how about officials requesting your data about where you've been from the tracking service without your consent?

This is indeed a double-edged sword; and one that has no compromise. It's a take it or leave it proposition and I may not have any choice if I want to safeguard my investment.

taiji80; as Toronto resident you have my sympathies. I really hope you and your friend find your stolen electronics. Keep us updated.
 
Insurance companies are more awful than I ever thought possible before my car got broken into. Parked on a busy college street at night I had my window broken, stereo removed and a big cd binder, my amp and 2 subwoofers taken out of the trunk, easily 1500 dollars worth of stuff and auto insurance won't cover anything but the stereo because it has to be bolted to and therefore 'part of' the car. My sub boxes were just held in by their own weight so I had the option of paying a $500 deductible for a $250 cd deck and the cost of the window so I ended up having to eat every bit of it. Don't know if that applies in your situation but I'd recommend renter's insurance from now on...some companies offer to have your possessions covered on renter's insurance even if they're stolen from you when you're not at home with them.
 
phaedarus said:
What would one consider a decent pick-pocket proof backpack that can protect against weathering effects and impact?
Click to expand...

You don't need a special bag to make it more secure against pickpocketing. Just use one of those little keychain sized mini carabiners or small similar clip to clip through the two holes on the end of the zipper pull tabs. A pickpocket won't be able to unhook it and unzip without you noticing unless you are totally oblivious.

Pac Safe makes some bags with wire mesh sewn in them to prevent slashing the bag open but they are heavy and expensive to prevent such a rare thing.
 
Man that must suck... I hope insurance covers your MBP and iPod. What sort of stuff is on the iPod that you don't want anyone to find?

By the way, even though the MBP has a password on it, there are people that can hack through all that stuff and get files, even ones that are deleted (as long as you haven't used SL's secure empty trash) My Dad works with crime law, and he doesn't sell his old Macs when he gets new ones, he chucks them out (or gives them to me) because of that... Of course SL's secure empty trash will change that, so he'll be able to sell his next Mac...

Anyway, I hope you don't have really important stuff on there you don't want anyone to see... They might not bother trying to get in, because they don't know that anything important is on there...

best of luck!
 
phaedarus said:
Good thread.

I'm considering buying a Macbook myself. I will be carrying it on foot as I have no vehicle and I'm equally concerned about losing it to some punks on the street. I'm a small guy and thus, an easy target as a mugging victim.

What would one consider a decent pick-pocket proof backpack that can protect against weathering effects and impact?

With respect to laptop security, my comfort with tracking services is not high due to the various scenarios under which I can easily envision abuse.

It doesn't take much other than an employee with a chip on their shoulder to blackmail someone whom they can see in their customer profile is married and whose last location was the parking lot of a well known strip-joint (not that I'm married nor would I venture into such a locale)?

Or how about officials requesting your data about where you've been from the tracking service without your consent?

This is indeed a double-edged sword; and one that has no compromise. It's a take it or leave it proposition and I may not have any choice if I want to safeguard my investment.

taiji80; as Toronto resident you have my sympathies. I really hope you and your friend find your stolen electronics. Keep us updated.
Click to expand...

Umm, if people were going to mug you, they might take your bag and break into it later with tools... =( What you could do instead is have pepper spray in your pocket so you can spray them in the eyes then run off...
 
@taiji80, any updates? Any leads leading to the recovery or arrests of the theives? Although the hotel may not be responsible, their helping theives if they have footage and not willing to help (the police would have to retrieve it though).

To the other person who got his/her car broken into on College. That sucks. College isn't so busy at 4am in the morning though especially winter/fall Friday nights.

I'm curious if using a laptop achored with a kensington lock to the spare tire would be covered by insurance if stolen?
 
Just stay away from the Esplande area because there are social housing projects nearby.
 
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