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Please remove the password from my stolen laptop.

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  • #1

    Please remove the password from my stolen laptop.

    This just happened today. And it gave me a warm feeling inside.


    Hispanic kid, early 20's, came in to the shop a couple of days ago. Said he bought a laptop but he needed the password removed. (Bullshit detector - ACTIVATED!) Told him to bring it in and we could probably do it.

    Guy shows up today. Says he'll be back around 12:30. As soon as he's out the door, I call the detective I know on our town's police force. Give him the serial number. He calls me back a few minutes later and confirms yes - stolen laptop. Score! And the guy's address is practically right next door to where it was stolen from.

    The detective comes over to hang out in our store in plainclothes until the guy comes back. While waiting, I call the contact number left. The woman who answers (his sister) has a strong accent and I finally let her know I'm calling to get her brother know his laptop is "fixed". Turns out he gave me a false name, too... I barely know any Spanish, but there's no way I can confuse Jose with Luis.

    So the detective hangs out for a while and the guy comes walking up to the store. Give the detective the nod. Detective walks out the door just as he's walking in (to make sure he doesn't sprint) - I say that his laptop is done and I have to get it from the back. The detective steps up and arrests the guy. Out of nowhere, a HUGE cope in plainclothes - 6'5/325 lbs. if he was an ounce - appears in the doorway to help with the arrest. I give them the laptop and they go their merry way.

    Not sure what happens now, but I'm sure they'll let me know.

    Whenever I have someone come in and say they just got a computer but need the password reset I automatically get suspicious. Called the cops on another guy a couple of months ago, but that one was legit.
    Last edited by Dips; 04-28-2010, 04:29 PM.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Yay for you!
    Dull women have immaculate homes.

    Comment

    • #3
      Quoth Exaspera View Post
      Yay for you!

      I was pretty stupid when I was a kid... stole a few Transformers from a local store. Finally got caught. Never stole anything after that... and helping people get their laptops back, it feels like I'm sort of giving back for my own transgressions.

      This was a pretty brand new Apple MacBook - looked like it was new out of the box. Couldn't have been more than 6 months old. Just a ballpark, but I estimate it probably sold for around $1400.

      Comment

      • #4
        Nice!

        Teamwork FTW.

        Id never take a stolen laptop to a professional store for a password removal. Duh. Id just do it myself... (I keed, I keed....i dont steal, i promise!!)

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        • #5
          Makes me think of an episode of "Cops" I saw recently. Woman flagged down the police, stating that a woman down the block took her $20 and didn't give her any cocaine. They got a good laugh out of that one.
          That is so full of suck Dyson doesn't know how they did it - shankyknitter

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          • #6
            Hm, I hope you don't STAY suspicious... One of my two laptops is old as snot for a computer(It's from... 2001? 2002? Dell Inspiron... That thing's STILL going, even permanently plugged in)... Well, when I got my new laptop, I stuck the Dell in a drawer... Forgot it worked, and 8 months later when a Windows update made my new laptop's HD kerplunk on me(One of my totally awesome managers was able to fix it... It wasn't booting from the disk...), I busted out the old laptop...

            In those 8 or so months since I'd last used it, I'd forgotten my password xox I don't think I could find some of the stuff for it to prove I own it, either, beyond I can tell you some of the folders and stuff on it in a heartbeat(Zoo Tycoon, for one... Firefox browser...). I figured it out, thankfully, and changed it to something easier to remember for me.
            Look, a signature!

            If every cashier in the world went on strike, retail would come to a screeching halt, even if for a couple hours.

            Comment

            • #7
              Quoth Sonoma View Post
              Makes me think of an episode of "Cops" I saw recently. Woman flagged down the police, stating that a woman down the block took her $20 and didn't give her any cocaine. They got a good laugh out of that one.
              I love that show! there are folks in this country who I am very thankful that I don't live near.
              Dull women have immaculate homes.

              Comment

              • #8
                Quoth Sonoma View Post
                Makes me think of an episode of "Cops" I saw recently. Woman flagged down the police, stating that a woman down the block took her $20 and didn't give her any cocaine. They got a good laugh out of that one.
                Ive seen that one... LOL.

                The accused lady says "I dont sell crack. Im a prostitue!" LMAO. Even the cop laughs.

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                • #9
                  Quoth Amina516 View Post
                  Ive seen that one... LOL.

                  The accused lady says "I dont sell crack. Im a prostitue!" LMAO. Even the cop laughs.
                  I totally forgot about that part of it. Give her points for honesty.
                  That is so full of suck Dyson doesn't know how they did it - shankyknitter

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                  • #10
                    Awesome ownage!!! If only every day could be so good!
                    "If anyone wants this old box containing the broken bits of my former faith in humanity, I'll take your best offer now. You may be able to salvage a few of em' for parts..... " - Quote by Argabarga

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                    • #11
                      Quoth ThirdGenRetail View Post
                      Hm, I hope you don't STAY suspicious...
                      Don't worry - all techs know that people genuinely forget their own passwords for their own computers.

                      But take from this story one message: if you don't know the serial #s for your electronics, write them down somewhere you'll be able to get them if your electronics are stolen. Because the best way a tech can be SURE something is stolen is to contact the police and match serial #s.
                      Seshat's self-help guide:
                      1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                      2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                      3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                      4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                      "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

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                      • #12
                        Amusing semi-related story my coworker's friend (CWF) was telling us yesterday at The Bar.

                        CWF was hanging out at a local bar/wine shop, when this dude comes in all bent out of shape. It seems he was at the local massage parlor/skeezy private dance place, and according to him, he gave the dancers $400 for drugs, which they told him would be at the wine shop, and when he left the club, they locked the door behind him. Now he wanted his drugs. Naturally the wine shop people tell him they don't have any drugs and no idea what he is talking about. He starts getting pissy, saying he got ripped off, he wants his drugs, etc. Says the dancers are thieves, and he wants to talk to a cop. Not missing an opportunity for entertainment, one of the wine shop people flags down a cop, which was pretty easy since there was a parade going on right then on the main drag (the wine shop is just off the drag), and there were plenty of cops on motorcycles for the parade.

                        Cops were very interested in the guy's story. Cops were not surprised when the dancers said they hadn't the slightest idea what the guy was talking about, and that they didn't have any drugs. Dude was arrested.

                        Hint: if you do actually get ripped off trying to buy drugs, trying to get justice through actual law enforcement is, how shall I phrase this politely, pretty fucking stupid.

                        "The Customer Is Always Right...But The Bartender Decides Who Is                         Still A Customer."

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                        • #13
                          Quoth ThirdGenRetail View Post
                          Hm, I hope you don't STAY suspicious... One of my two laptops is old as snot for a computer(It's from... 2001? 2002? Dell Inspiron... That thing's STILL going, even permanently plugged in)... Well, when I got my new laptop, I stuck the Dell in a drawer... Forgot it worked, and 8 months later when a Windows update made my new laptop's HD kerplunk on me(One of my totally awesome managers was able to fix it... It wasn't booting from the disk...), I busted out the old laptop...

                          In those 8 or so months since I'd last used it, I'd forgotten my password xox I don't think I could find some of the stuff for it to prove I own it, either, beyond I can tell you some of the folders and stuff on it in a heartbeat(Zoo Tycoon, for one... Firefox browser...). I figured it out, thankfully, and changed it to something easier to remember for me.

                          We've done plenty of password removals before. And as I mentioned, I did call the police on one other occasion where I suspected (although incorrectly that time) that something was afoot.

                          I guess it also depends on the story I'm given. If you tell me your several year old laptop has sat in a drawer for years and you forgot the password, I probably wouldn't blink an eye.

                          But if someone brings a brand new laptop in, claiming they bought it, and then says they don't know the password for it - that sets off the bullshit detector.


                          Update: talked to the detective today. Kid is being charged with multiple counts of receiving stolen property. Seems he had a few other stolen items in his place... and his dad is a maintenance guy for the apartment complex where they live and has keys to apartments. Detective said he hadn't called the laptop's owner yet to let them know it was recovered, which he was going to do later today. I kind of hope he mentions we called it in. That's good press for us.

                          One of the owners was a little annoyed by the situation, though. He's a bit paranoid and thinks the kid will seek retribution against the store by throwing a rock through the window or something. Seems to think that the cops could have picked the kid up walking down the street instead of in our store. I don't know how that stuff works, so I don't know if he's right or wrong. I thought we were doing a good thing assisting the police. He doesn't like the way the cops handled it.

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            I worked at a Dell kiosk and I got that all the time. I don't know why people thought we would help them steal a computer.

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Quoth Exaspera View Post
                              I love that show! there are folks in this country who I am very thankful that I don't live near.
                              Trust me, their inbred cousins do . . . .

                              I used to deal with the same kinds of folks in the ER. Names may change, but the stupid stays the same.
                              They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

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