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Thread: Canadian man gets back at the thief of his laptop by accessing her Facebook account

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    Administrator Aragorn's Avatar
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    Cool Canadian man gets back at the thief of his laptop by accessing her Facebook account



    Source: Hot Hardware


    Everyone hates a thief — especially when they strike close to home. Our personal devices like smartphones and notebooks are often targets for criminals, and one Canadian man found this out the hard way.

    Stu Gale, who just so happens to be a computer security expert, had the misfortune of having his laptop stolen from his car overnight. However, Gale did have remote software installed on the device which allowed him to track whenever it came online. So, he was quite delighted to see that a notification popped up on one of his other machines alerting him that his stolen laptop was active.




    Stu Gale, the owner of the stolen laptop


    Gale took the opportunity to remote into the laptop, only to find that the not-too-bright thief was using his laptop to login to her Facebook account. The thief eventually left her Facebook account open and left the room, after which Gale had the opportunity to snoop through her profile and obtain all of her private information.

    “I went through and got her phone numbers, friends list and pictures, and while I was doing that, two (chat) conversations started,” Gale recalled. “I called one of them and told her (the thief) was on a stolen laptop and told her I’d give her the opportunity to return it.”

    Once the thief returned to the computer, it was then she realized that the rightful owner was on to her (the note that he left addressed to her also probably had something to do with it). Given that Gale was able to see her phone numbers listed on Facebook, he sent text messages to all of those numbers saying that he was going to report her to the police. He also posted her info to a number of Facebook groups, which spooked the thief enough to not only delete her Facebook account, but also her listed phone numbers.

    Needless to say, Gale probably won’t be leaving his car unlocked again — especially with high-priced items in plain view of thieves. As for his laptop, he doesn’t expect to lay hands on it ever again, but unleashing a little bit of internet justice on the thief was more than a bit cathartic.


    Source: Hot Hardware
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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    Senior Monk Gio's Avatar
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    ...


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    Years ago, WHFS used to do "Crooks are Stupid". It was real-life and pretty hilarious.

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    Hmmm. Just a thought but how does he know that was the thief? For all he knows the person using the computer just bought it from the thief thinking he/she got a great deal and now he has blamed her or him and unjustly? Just a thought that occurred to reading it.

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    Quote Originally posted by Jengelen View Post
    Hmmm. Just a thought but how does he know that was the thief? For all he knows the person using the computer just bought it from the thief thinking he/she got a great deal and now he has blamed her or him and unjustly? Just a thought that occurred to reading it.
    That thought had already occurred to me as well, but either way, even if that woman did not steal the laptop herself but only bought it from the thief, then according to the law in most countries, she too would be guilty of a felony unless she wasn't aware that the laptop was a stolen item. The consenting acquisition of stolen goods is called fencing and is actionable in a court of law.

    Given that the woman immediately removed her phone numbers from her Facebook page and later on even closed her Facebook account, the odds are pretty high that she herself is guilty of either having knowingly purchased a stolen laptop, or that she herself was the thief. If she were innocent and had bought that laptop in good faith, then after the owner of the laptop left those messages on her Facebook page, she herself would probably have contacted both him and the police, and then she would have led them to the real thief in order to clear her name.
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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    Administrator Aragorn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Dreamtimer View Post
    Years ago, WHFS used to do "Crooks are Stupid". It was real-life and pretty hilarious.
    You had me look up on what WHFS stands for, you Acronymian you.

    I'll save other non-Acronymian readers the trouble of having to look for it themselves — it is one of three possible radio stations in Acronymia.
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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    Senior Monk Gio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally posted by Aragorn View Post
    You had me look up on what WHFS stands for, you Acronymian you.

    I'll save other non-Acronymian readers the trouble of having to look for it themselves — it is one of three possible radio stations in Acronymia.
    WHFS - is a very well received and long standing Washington Metro area radio fixture ...
    Back in the day (1970's especially) it was considered the 'alternative music" listening station go to.

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    A movie was made about it.


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