Anyone have their mac *laptop* stolen?

My friend literally just picked up a mac *laptop*, won't say what it is for obvious reasons, for 50 dollars in hand!!!! His first thought was that it was stolen, so were on here asking away if anyone had their stolen. It has no power cord, and the hard-drive is clean. I'm not saying what it is because I don't want people jumping in saying that it's theirs when it's not. I haven't been reading anything, but might just try... we have it, it's in FINE condition!

I am confused. So he bought it for 50 bucks or he found it? If he bought it I am pretty sure he just bought stolen goods. That doesn't sound like a good idea. I mean it is cool that you are seeing if someone lost their machine, but it is still buying stolen property? Maybe I am just not understanding?

Calm down! He picked it up from someone locally here, less than an hour ago. He needed the screen, and it came as-is, so he didn't think much about it. But when I saw it, it looked too cheap even if it were dead, thing is though, it works fine!!! So, if anyone on here is missing one, send me a pm. I would imagine the "original" owner to be in the Cleveland area.

No power cord suggests to me that it may have been a snatch and run theft case.
Also most users I know reinstall the OS once they have wiped the HD.

Other from looking around on the internet, maybe the police have the serial number on file if it is stolen and was reported.
Another thing you can try is, the machine once may have been covered with apple care and since apple care gets linked to the Mac serial number maybe they also have the owner address.

McYukon said:

apple care gets linked to the Mac serial number maybe they also have the owner address.

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good call!!!

idrinorbarsaku said:

My friend literally just picked up a mac *laptop*, won't say what it is for obvious reasons, for 50 dollars in hand!!!! His first thought was that it was stolen, so were on here asking away if anyone had their stolen. It has no power cord, and the hard-drive is clean. I'm not saying what it is because I don't want people jumping in saying that it's theirs when it's not. I haven't been reading anything, but might just try... we have it, it's in FINE condition!

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You didn't say what model laptop it is. If it's an older iBook...$50 bucks...no biggie. You tell me it was a Macbook or Macbook Pro...(and if it still works)...it's stolen!!!

- Nick

idrinorbarsaku said:

Calm down! He picked it up from someone locally here, less than an hour ago. He needed the screen, and it came as-is, so he didn't think much about it. But when I saw it, it looked too cheap even if it were dead, thing is though, it works fine!!! So, if anyone on here is missing one, send me a pm. I would imagine the "original" owner to be in the Cleveland area.

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What in the world did I say in my post that would need me to calm down? I thought I was pretty calm. I even stated what you were doing was a good thing. Geez.

mdfuller said:

I even stated what you were doing was a good thing. Geez.

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That's not what I got out of it...

anyways...

I don't have a mean bone in me

idrinorbarsaku said:

I would imagine the "original" owner to be in the Cleveland area.

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Ahh saying it was me then would be a waste of time ??? I live in Australia lol

TattooedMac said:

Ahh saying it was me then would be a waste of time ??? I live in Australia lol

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You could have moved VERY recently!

- Nick

Ummm...this might sound stupid, but where do I find the serial number? It doesn't have an OS installed.

thank you looked there but didn't even notice it taped to the side.

I'm not surprised, it's so tiny anybody could miss it.
My Mac has it etched inside the battery bay so it is even more invisible.

What does that "Registered" mean? MobileMe maybe? Can they really help find it?

I gotta leave, so I'll continue this tomorrow.

Registered means that the person that originally bought the machine has registered it to his name/address if I remember correctly.

idrinorbarsaku said:

What does that "Registered" mean? MobileMe maybe? Can they really help find it?

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If the original owner of this laptop (when they first booted the computer & completed all of the initial setup information)...sent their info to Apple (which is the last step in the initial setup process)...then Apple may have the original owner's info.

Also...anyone (at anytime) that has done a fresh install of the OS would have also had to have gone thru this setup process the first time they booted the computer...and they may or may not have sent in their setup info. But even if the info was sent in...it could be "bogus info" or obsolete info (address's & phone number's).

For example:

- owner #1 sent in their info
- owner #2 may or may not have
- owner #3 may or may not have
- owner #4 (current owner)

So if someone (the current owner or friend of the current owner) wanted to inquire with Apple about the most current registration info on file...the info that Apple may have may be outdated...since owner #2 & #3 may not have sent in their info.

I would also mention that over the 25 years I have been using Apple computers (and install the OS on them)...I have probably sent in registration info honestly hundreds & hundreds of times...so I'm not sure what sort of database Apple retains of all this info...or how often they "purge" the database.

So bottom line is...the "registration" info that Apple has on file connected with this computer's serial number...may or may not contain accurate info...and I don't know what Apple's policy is regarding the sharing of this info. For personal safety reasons...they may share this info with legal authorities...but not individuals.

- Nick

@idrinorbarsaku...

I'm a little confused why you are being so "zealous" investigating whether this computer is stolen or not. I mean I do understand about doing the right thing...but then almost any knowledgeable person would know that buying a working or non-working Macbook for $50 bucks (with no power adapter) is probably a stolen computer! So the "right thing" might have been not to purchase the computer in the first place!

A non-working 2008 Macbook would sell for more than $50 dollars just for the value of the battery by itself...and of course much more for all of the other good parts.

Also...isn't the buyer of this laptop one of your friends or good friends? And if so...what if you discover that the laptop is stolen...aren't you really potentially SCREWING your friend? Cause if it is stolen & reported to the police...your friend could be charged with receiving stolen property...or at least lose the $50 bucks they paid for it!

I think that you're doing the right thing by investigating this...but doing the "right thing" might have been not purchasing it in the first place...and if you find out it is stolen...and you report it to the police...you could potentially be getting your friend in trouble!

- Nick

Sorry pigoo3, I don't see where the problem lies. My friend's mac had vertical line on the right side of the screen, so he's been looking for a replacement screen. He found one, and asked if the screen if ok, and the reply was just yes. He wasn't expecting it to be what we think it is. He picked it up, and called me to come help him out(without telling me anything). When I saw it, I thought maybe either a kid sold his parent's computer, or it was stolen, which gave me the idea that maybe it might just be from someone on here. He's not doing anything with it.

As for the registration info stuff, it doesn't boot up to anything, so I'm guessing, according to your post, newer owner info has not been re-sent. (maybe the problem actually has something to do with the hdd)

I will probably take it to the legacy village apple store later today after class.

idrinorbarsaku said:

Sorry pigoo3, I don't see where the problem lies.

As for the registration info stuff, it doesn't boot up to anything, so I'm guessing, according to your post, newer owner info has not been re-sent. (maybe the problem actually has something to do with the hdd)

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Where the problem is:

- your friend purchased a working 2008 Macbook for $50 dollars (WELL below it's true value)...and with no power adapter
- then you decided to make his transaction publicly known to everyone on the internet (all over the world) by posting on Mac-Forums...and mentioning that it took place in Cleveland.
- then you suggested that there was the possibility that it was stolen
- then you proceeded to investigate (via the computers serial number) to see if it was stolen

Lastly:

- What if you find out that the computer is stolen?
- Are you going to report it to the police?
- Don't you think this might get your friend in trouble?...receiving stolen goods is a crime you know.

Basically what I'm saying is..."Don't open a can of worms if you're not willing to EAT the worms!!!"

Regarding the registration info, I think that you're a bit confused. The computer is not going to "boot up to anything". This information (if it was ever entered & sent to Apple by a previous owner) is not necessarily stored on the computer itself...it's stored in a database at Apple somewhere (California, China, India, etc.).

- Nick