As part of Device Theft Awareness Month this August, our #AbsoluteUncovered team of bloggers has been helping us uncover the truth about mobile theft. Dave of Ask Dave Taylor recently uncovered some of the ugly truths about locating your own devices.
If your device (laptop, tablet, smartphone) has been stolen, you may think “Well, at least I have that free tracking program installed!” and go to work tracking it down. Perhaps it even comes up with a location. Only, now what do you do?!
In Dave’s example, he runs through the scenario of tracking down his laptop with both Find My iPhone and Absolute LoJack. Dave warns against using showy features on some tracking software such as alarms, since they may just alert thieves to wipe your device!
If you do retrieve a location for your device, which may actually not be reliable, don’t act on the information yourself.
I mean, on the map above, I could zoom in, then show up at their door and demand my computer back. That’s not a bad idea, is it?
Oh is it a terrible idea. In fact, the news is full of stories of home-brew vigilantes who show up at the residence of a thief and demand their gear back, just to be beaten up, stabbed or otherwise assaulted. Or, perhaps, just laughed at. “Prove it!” would be an unsurprising response.
You may think that because you have tracking, police can just bang on the door and demand back your device. The problem is, GPS data is unreliable and often insufficient for a search warrant. Though it can be used to investigate your theft, and police can question residents at their door based on that information, it may not lead to device recovery. It sucks, I know.
Many people take it upon themselves to self-recover their devices – confronting who they think is responsible for the theft – and this can go wrong in so many ways. Dave lists a bunch of stories where vigilantes have met with horrible results on his blog post as well.
“A superb case for the value of Absolute LoJack”
So, tracking is unreliable and police may not be able to use it. Now what? As Dave notes, these forces combine to make a “superb case for the value of Absolute LoJack.” Our Absolute Investigations team does all the investigation, putting together a wealth of forensic information about not just the location of the device but the user, and we present this to police. This information is actionable – it can be used to get a search warrant – and we continue to work with police to help recover your device.
If you do suspect that someone has stolen your device (laptop, mobile phone, tablet), do not confront them. Instead, we’ve listed out some tips on What to Do If Your Device Has Been Lost or Stolen.