Monitor eBay & Craigslist. Help Me Recover My Stolen Laptop
Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 18:53Less than 24 hours ago, my bag with laptop, keys, wallet etc was stolen. I'm beginning to accept the idea, and am in post-disaster recovery mode. One article suggested keeping an eye on ebay and craigslist for people trying to sell your stuff.
In that spirit, here's what was stolen.
- MacBook Pro
- 15.4 inch screen
- 4 GB RAM
- 320GB hard drive
- 2.8 GHZ process
- Serial number W88470CQ4RA
I don't know the MAC address but think I can get that number from the router at my office.
What I need:
1) Help setting up an RSS feed or other tracking system to alert me when items matching these conditions (save the serial number) are posted on Craigslist or eBay within the NYC area.
2) If you buy a used laptop matching these specs in the coming weeks or months, check the serial number. If it's mine, then you got a stolen laptop.
I've reported this to the police and to Apple. I'm looking into the insurance policy on the credit card used to purchase it. I'm assuming I won't get the machine back, but I'd like to try. I named it ObamaBook, since I bought it after the election.
Here's a picture
If you have suggestions, ideas, RSS feeds etc, please drop them in the comments or contact me directly. baratunde---at --gmail_ _dot+com
Reader Comments (12)
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Great post, thanks for sharing you ideas and knowledge about this, it really help us. Hope you will continue to share and post more informative article soon. Cheers.
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I never get my any stolen materials back, in your scenario you are very lucky to get your stolen laptop.
I thought ebay and craigslist never sell any stolen materials but after reading your article i came to know that stolen materials will sell on the online.
Thanks for providing good information.
It just shows how detailed a person you are. Most people won't even keep track of their serial numbers of their laptops.
As most cases once something is gone its gone.. unless you take preventive action and you become proactive. If you can register your laptop with http://www.assettmate.com" rel="nofollow">www.assettmate.com your personal details are secure. If your laptop gets stolen you then flag it as stolen and the serial number becomes searchable by google.
You can offer rewards to help assist in the return of your item. Contacts between you and the person who has recovered the item can remain completely anonymous. This really is a great idea, if this system could be tied into ebay we would have alot of unhappy criminals who are attempting to sell stolen items on ebay.
My advise is to register your laptop on http://www.assettmate.com" rel="nofollow">www.assettmate.com before it gets stolen and you will have a significantly better chance of retrieving it!
You are really a manageable person.. If i where in your position, I will accept the fact that my gadgets are stolen.. well, Good luck to you!!
lucky you....
Am pretty sure you'll get your machine back! (Lets be optimistic!) Good luck!
Working with rss is a good idea.U r seriously lucky to recover ur machine back. Congrats Mate.
I will pray that you get your machine back !
I have been reading your posts lately, just want to say thanks for all informative stuff i have found here, helped me learn alot lately.
Much Regards, Mark
Hi Guys, sorry if this is the wrong section :) I am in the UK and I am looking to buy a new laptop I don't need to do much, just surfing he web and checking emails etc. Any ideas about what spec I need and how much would be a realistic price?