Posts Tagged ‘recovery’

A home burglary left a Computrace LoJack for Laptops customer without her laptop. Less than one week later, the stolen laptop connected to the internet, allowing the Absolute Theft Recovery Team to begin work on recovery.

Absolute Recovery Officers were able to glean a recurrent username from the machine, and traced the laptop’s location to a nearby suburb. This information was passed on to police, who used it to obtain a search warrant for the identified residence.

In a fruitful search, police recovered more than just the stolen computer – over $2,000 in narcotics, $5,000 in firearms, and $3,000 in criminal proceeds were also seized. And if over $10,000 in recovered collateral was not enough, an established cock fighting game operation was uncovered in the home’s basement. Further investigation revealed that the suspect had a history of charges relating to underground game fights. 

The officer was happy to add to this criminal record; the suspect now faces charges of Receiving Stolen Property and Possession of Narcotics. Further charges in relation to the other findings are pending.

This is the second Computrace-equipped laptop that the involved officer has recovered (although notably, his first recovery was less exciting!). He remarked to an Absolute Recovery Officer that Computrace LoJack for Laptops is “a very handy piece of equipment”.

Learn more about the Absolute Theft Recovery process

Please note that indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations and the accused in all cases are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Absolute recently recovered a laptop for a Surrey, BC customer. Upon hearing of the successful recovery of his computer, the customer sent us the following recount:

If you use a laptop computer at work or at home, then I’d advise you to read the following story.

In July 2006, my associate and I suffered a break-in at our office. We lost numerous monitors, gadgets, and other stuff – including my new laptop. The police had no workable evidence, leads, or suspects, and so considered our stuff to be long gone.

Luckily, when I bought my laptop, the salesman had suggested I also buy a nifty little product called LoJack for Laptops. Basically, it hides in the laptop’s firmware and pings the Absolute Monitoring Center with its whereabouts whenever the laptop logs onto the Internet. This allows Absolute to track down the laptop’s location – and was a smart purchase, as I later discovered. 

In the months that followed the theft, I gradually became resigned to the loss of the laptop, and more painfully so, the years of family history research it contained. The backup disk was also in the laptop case at the time of theft, so I was more or less pooched. Big time. It was very discouraging.

Then, on February 16, 2009, the Absolute Monitoring Center heard a lonely little ping from the Internet. The Absolute Recovery Team was able to use this to determine the laptop’s location, which they passed on to the RCMP. Yesterday, RCMP visited the identified address, knocked on the door, and got the computer back. 

The machine was recovered, and all of my family data remains intact.

If you get the idea that I am promoting this product, you would be right. If you value your laptop, I would whole-heartedly suggest that you visit the LoJack for Laptops website and grab a copy.

                                                                                                                       Ian Wraight, B.Sc, C.G.A

                                                                                                                       Nutri-Lawn South; Surrey, BC

A LoJack for Laptops equipped laptop was recently stolen in a string of home burglaries committed during a busy religious holiday. With a number of homes left vacant while residents attended religious services, thieves capitalized off the opportunity to make away with a number of computers and electronics.

The day after the theft was reported, the Absolute Recovery Team was able to forensically mine the stolen laptop to determine its current user and exact location. This information was passed on to police, who used it to obtain a search warrant for the identified residence.

As police stood at the suspect’s door and served the warrant, the house’s occupants began to desperately throw bags of contraband from the windows in a feeble attempt to keep the illegal substances from authorities. These bags were quickly scooped up by police, who entered the home and were able to recover the stolen laptop – among other items. Four additional laptops were also seized, along with several pounds of marijuana, a large quantity of cocaine, and thousands of dollars in cash. Four arrests were made in connection to the case.

Just four days passed between the time that the customer reported the stolen laptop to Absolute, to the date that the laptop was physically recovered. The laptop has since been returned to its rightful owner.

Click here to learn more about the Absolute Theft Recovery Process.

Please note that the above indictments and criminal complaints are merely unproven accusations and the accused, in all cases, are presumed innocent until proven guilty.