I was robbed last night

[justabob]

While we were sleeping, someone came in and took my sons xbox + some games as well as my laptop. It could have been worse.

They also robbed my neighbor while she was sleeping. They got a much larger haul from my neighbor, but it was very weird.... they came in even with two dogs in the house (though both older dogs) they seemed to know exactly where to look and cherry picked the jewelry leaving behind several gold/diamond/pearl things as well as several valuable antique sterling serving pieces etc that were in plain sight and easy to grab. They also did not bother with our cars even though the keys were also in plain sight.

The police came and we filed reports etc. The fingerprint crew will be here sometime soon and a detective will be in touch. I just have to find the wretched serial numbers.

We are all fine, just freaked out. I am most concerned because the thief was in my son's room while he was sleeping!! I am so glad nothing more than the laptop and xbox were taken... And especially glad that neither my neighbor, son, nor I actually woke up while this was going on. It might have been much worse.

I do have a question for y'all though.... my laptop is a six month old (well, six months in my possession, bought new) Apple. Is there anyway for Apple to help me track the laptop? I am going to their site now to see what I can find, but I thought I'd ask since du is a good place to ask.

[trof]

1. How did they get in?

[justabob]

5. unlocked door unfortunately, both places

:blush:

Until a few months ago I had a big german shepherd so I was lax about my security. My fault completely. Four cats do not offer the same level of protection. I live in a pretty nice area with good police etc. I was lazy.

Same thing at the neighbor's... two dogs on duty, though one is very old - the other kinda old, but you'd think they would have had SOME effect.

[trof]

7. I was kinda the same way when we had a Shepherd.

Nothing nor nobody would have gotten past Max.

[NMDemDist2]

2. how terrifying

:hug:

glad everyone is OK

:hug:

[graywarrior]

3. That sucks

Don't know anything about Apple. Wish I could help. Hope you guys are ok after all this.

[Pierre.Suave]

4. As far as the apple laptop goes, yes, but...

Apple will only deal with the police, but go ahead and tell the detective to call apple with the info and they will flag it if it ever comes in for service.

[justabob]

6. thanks

that is good to know

[Nickster]

8. Check these articles out. Do you have Back to My Mac service? Or MobileMe?

http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/04/15/using-back-to-my-mac-to-catch-a-thief/

http://www.tuaw.com/2008/05/09/back-to-my-mac-saves-a-stolen-laptop/

http://community.livejournal.com/macosx/5713803.html

[justabob]

9. no, unfortunately

or at least I don't think so. I am not computer/mac savvy at all. :blush:

Thank you though.

[Nickster]

10. I'm Mac illiterate, but it looks like back to my mac is a base part of the OS. Take a look at that

last article and in particular the comments. Lots of good info, see if any of it is useful to you.

[Pierre.Suave]

12. Only if the computer has Leopard on it

If not, no luck, and I believe there is also a service required such as mobile me.

[Nickster]

11. Here's another angle on the xbox

http://games.gearlive.com/playfeed/article/xbox-live-helps-recover-stolen-xbox-360-09181900/

After some research on her end, she found me the number for the Microsoft Corporation Security Department (1-425-706-0000). A lovely woman there said of course they can help me track the IP and hooked me up with more info, the Microsoft Online Services Legal Request Hotline [phone], that number is for police department requests, not for civilian customer service) and a fax number for the police to send the subpoena to (1-425-708-0096). Of course the police should include all necessary contact information for both you and them and include your gamertag, system serial number, and any other information they feel would be useful.

[justabob]

14. thank you so much for your help

I really appreciate it. I have no experience with this, I have never been robbed before.... sigh.

[mduffy31]

13. I believe that there is

Because your Mac is so new I believe it has that feature standard. I remember reading about it about a year ago that someone got their Mac back when the person who stole it turned it on and the service took a picture when he connected via wi-fi when it was detected.

[Pierre.Suave]

15. Nope

not standard in anyway, for that to happen you need to buy the software that does it.

[haele]

16. Sounds like a neighbor or someone who works in the neighborhood -

Especially if the next-door neighbor's dogs didn't alert to the intrusion. When there was a rash of burglaries in an old neighborhood of mine, it was one of the teens who had just "outgrown" her babysitting jobs for the neighborhood and was being helped by a couple of her new high school friends in a fun, easy new way they assured her that she would be able to get her spending cash to be popular...and she knew where everyone had the valuables that could be quickly picked up and transported and she was friends with all the dogs, so it was easy to go in, pick up, and leave before anyone would wake up.
Teenagers and just post-teenagers are the worst for that sort of burglary - especially because their ego-based "needs" often overcome any scruples in their still evolving brains.

Best thing to do is to contact both Microsoft and Apple; if the police don't find out who stole it quickly, they might be able to recover the stolen electronics through online requests and registry checks.

Haele

[justabob]

18. yeah, that is the theory we have been talking about

I don't think this is the usual neighborhood kid kind of thing, based on what they stole from my neighbor, and the fact that there just aren't many kids in this neighborhood. She is out over 10K worth of jewelry and 2500 worth of Armageddon cash.....my laptop and xbox were just the icing on the cake.

We do think it was someone familiar though, mainly based on the fact that the dogs didn't raise a fuss and they seemed to know exactly where to look, and what they took. Then again, my neighbor wasn't very original in her hiding places. The stuff they got at my house was just lucky. My son and his xbox are here one or two days a week, and my laptop is usually in my bedroom with me.... last night I left it on the coffee table.

The cops have come and made their reports, and I called Apple already, but I think to do anything 'official' the police have to contact them. The detective hasn't called yet, but I expect to hear from them tomorrow.

[ZombieHorde]

17. I would try to become a psychic ninja if I were you.

Supplementing your watchdog situation with werewolves may be wise as well. There are few situations that can not be solved by a pack of werewolves and a psychic ninja.

[PaddyBlueEyes]

19. Hey Bob

I would start asking my sons friends and your neighbors about the robbery. These people knew exactly where your stuff was and where to find it without waking you up. Its probably someone that you know, or someone who has been inside yr house before.

[bluesbassman]

20. I second that Paddy.

My dad always said that it wasn't your friends you needed to be concerned about, it was their friends and their friend's friends.

My guess is that somebody was running their mouth and the wrong ears heard it. Too clean a job to be random.

[PaddyBlueEyes]

21. Yup

Especially a night time robbery. There wasnt any ambient light in the house, Im guessing. So just to find your way around the house that way is suspicious.

[justabob]

22. we did talk to neighbor/friends

both to see if anyone else on the block was robbed and to see what they thought. It is too clean of a job, and bizarre (to me at least) that the jewelry was cherry picked. Why not just dump everything in a bag and move on? Her loss was indeed by someone familiar. (see post 18) There have been a number of people in the house recently... new appliances installed, plumbers, etc.

They just got really lucky at my house... my son just happened to be there with his xbox and my laptop is usually with me in bed because I am online late. This is the only time since I got it that it was left in a different room. Also my son is only 12 and has one friend who visits here regularly, and he lives on the other side of town.