I think my stolen property serial number may have been altered by 2 numbers because I think I saw it in a pawn shop today but I didn't get to examine it closely enough to tell. How should I deal with it ???

The best thing to do is to call the police and have them investigate it. They are experts in dealing with and spotting stolen property and altered serial numbers. If the item in question appears suspicious, the pawn shop may just forfeit the item to the police and give them the name of the person who pawned it. This is because a pawn shop found selling stolen property can get fined, put out of business and even face criminal charges. At that time you can claim the item in accordance with your police report.

Why am I required to give a full vehicle description and VIN if only the car stereo was stolen? That section needs to be cleaned up a little.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention King, it has been corrected. It doesn't make much sense to request a VIN for a stolen stereo when it should request a serial number.

I have recently bought an ipod touch from a friend and am not sure it the ipod was really his or he took it from someone and sold it to me...I would like to return the ipod to the rightful owner if so. This is serial #1-9-6-J-7-J (some numbers were removed for privacy)

Seth, you are awesome! It's so nice to know that there are people out there who care, that's why we're here. The best thing to do is contact your local police and inquire as to whether the iPod has been reported stolen. Also, contact Apple and ask if it was registered to the person you bought it from. Another thing to do is post it on Stolen Lost & Found Online and explain the circumstance in the additional information field, I suggest leaving out some of the serial number. If someone claims it, request the remaining serial numbers or to see proof of purchase. If they do indeed have the proof of purchase that coordinates with Apple's serial number information then you did a great thing and will have good karma coming your way, and who knows, maybe even a reward!

Will you be able to see if the stolen item was pawned?

If a pawn shop sees your posting they will most likely send you information on the item to come and claim it. Police regularly audit pawn shops, if they are caught selling stolen items, the items will be confiscated, they can face fines, criminal charges and being forced to close shop, so they do carefully research pawned items. We are spreading the word and the Stolen Lost & Found Online website is getting used by more pawn shop every day.

Does the serial number for items reported stolen get indexed by Google / yahoo / bing. I do not see mine yet but maybe I need to be patient. If it does not get indexed because it is not index-able please find a solution.

Good news Mariska, the answer is yes! All items reported stolen online on the Stolen Lost & Found Online database are being indexed by the search engines almost the moment you create a posting and it stays there until you remove the posting. It does take time to appear so be patient and good luck. I hope you get your stolen property back and please let us know if you do!

I have a lost blackberry curve white colour in Shivaji market pune...pls help...my cell phone number that I lost is 909-XXX-XXXX you can contact me on 988-XXX-XXXX

Unfortunately that is not how Stolen Lost & Found Online works. You can, however globally report your lost Blackberry on the online lost Blackberry database. This way it will appear on the search engines if someone runs a search with the serial number, greatly increasing your chance to recovering your lost Blackberry.

I listed my stolen phone on your site. If someone types in the vin number or serial number and sees that the phone is stolen, does your website notify me?

The website doesn't notify you when people view your posting, but people can leave tips if they have information about your stolen phone. A person has the option to keep the tip anonymous and your identity is always kept private. Thank you for this great question, it sparks some very good ideas for future development and posting views.

I submitted my report and I'd like to know how it is carried-out? Is there anything else that I can do to maximize the chance of recovering stolen items?

Once stolen items are reported on Stolen Lost & Found Online the are viewable to the entire world and both people and law enforcement are able to find them from search engine results if the serial number is queried.

You can also

• File an official police report (which should be done first and foremost.)
• Visit local pawn shops and tell them about your stolen items and show them pictures if you have them.
• Browse Craigslist and eBay to see if someone is trying to sell your stolen items online.
• Post your items on any heavily trafficked website, forum or blog such as facebook.com.
• Spread the word about Stolen-Propety The more people that know there is an online source to report stolen items the sooner we can bring thieves to justice and slow theft.

I hope this helps. If you have any other ideas yourself, please let us know. I think theft stinks which is why developed this website; to help people get their stolen goods back and hopefully bring thieves to justice.

On your site you state the following:
Of the insurance companies that insure iPhone theft, it seems that State Farm Company has a policy called "Personal Articles Policy." This policy covers cell phones which cost over $400.
I just spoke with my local State Farm agent and as of September 1st they stopped covering cell phones and all portable media devices (iphone,ipad,mp3 player,gps device) on their "Personal Articles Policy."
My agent knew of no other avenue that I could insure my iphone

I am so sorry to hear that. Boy, insurance companies find new ways to disappoint me daily! I guess $2,000,000,000 profit a year just isn't enough. Things change very rapidly and we at Stolen Lost & Found Online try to keep up, I'll change the article and start a quest to find iPhone theft insurance.

I changed my email address after I reported my iPad stolen. Can you change it to the above address? The old one is ------@verizon.net. Thank you!

For security and privacy purposes, we do not alter anyone's account this way. To change your email address:

• Log in to your Stolen Lost & Found Online account.
• Navigate to the "My Account" page.
• Click the "Account Settings" button on the top right under the stolen property search field.
• Change your email to your current email address.
• Click "Save."

That's it! your account will now be up to date.

I Know of a possible stolen Car being sold on craigslit.com

We get reports of this all the time. The best thing to do is write down the link address and report it to your local police. Do not ever try to take the law into your own hands and intervene, sometimes stolen cars are in the hands of violent criminals seeking drugs and can be a very dangerous situation.

Hi, I'm just emailing to ask a question in regards to stolen property. I let a friend from my last college borrow a disc of mine, a DVD to be exact, and he promised me he'd return it. It's now been more than 6 months, and I have not had a reply from emails sent to him almost weekly. I recently found he moved out of state (to California) to attend another college. I've sent him numerous emails in regards to my DVD, which is very precious to me, as it's part of a set I bought from a friend in high school. But I've had no reply. Would I be able to file a stolen property report to get it back? All I want is my DVD back, but so far I've had no luck contacting him. Please let me know what I can do.

Unfortunately there is really not much you can do other than write it up as a learning experience. When I personally loan something to a friend, especially money, I hope to get it back but really don't expect to. This makes for an interesting dynamic when I contemplate whether I would like to not see whatever is in question again. I have seen many friendships dissolve because of this and I know I have kept many friends, some of up to nineteen years, because of this philosophy.

How long does it take for an auto theft posting to actually show on the database?

Your auto theft report appears on the stolen property database and begins getting indexed by the search engines immediately upon creation. It will take 2-14 days for it to appear in the search engines depending on when the website gets crawled by the search engine spiders and their process of outputting the links for the stolen property posting.

Your guide is very helpful and has some good hints. However, when you suggest setting the Windows password, you say "Now if you are the victim of a stolen laptop, the thief can not access your files and personal documents on the stolen laptop."

This is of course 100% incorrect. Anyone can install the hard drive into an external USB enclosure and read the contents of the hard drive including all your documents and pictures without any problems. The only way to guard the data on a stolen laptop is by using an encrypted hard drive.

Some models of the newer SATA standard have encryption capabilities built into certain models. Otherwise, full hard drive software encryption like GuardianEdge or similar is needed to secure the data. Hope it helps...

Thanks so much Rey! I am far from a tech expert and didn't know this, very helpful. We will integrate this information into the tip page.

What should I do if I have info on stolen property?

If you know who the stolen property belongs to, report it to the rightful owner(s) and / or to the police.

My ex girl took my laptop recently 3 days ago its two months old. I know were she lives but not the apartment number. I know her myspace page, I know she logs on with my computer, cause that's the only one she has. If i could get help with out getting her arrested I would gladly appreciate it. Is there anyway to get proof she has the computer when I know she logs on to myspace and aim?

Unfortunately MySpace and AIM will not provide her ip or mac address (every computer has a unique mac address) to you which is the only way to know the computer name / address. You can call her and ask her for the stolen computer back, if she won't comply the only thing to really do is call the police to have them confiscate it. You can explain the circumstances the police and request they don't arrest her, but that is up to them. If she does get arrested, it's up to the D.A. if criminal charges will be pressed against her, it would be felony theft due to the computers value. Sorry to hear about this, it's hard position to be in.

I think a local boat mechanic is selling stolen boat motors. I have recently bought a motor that has no serial number. He refuses to refund my money. Please help me out

Always be wary of an item that has no serial number, the serial number removed or a scratched off serial number. This should raise suspicion that you may be dealing with stolen items. The best thing to do is contact your local police and report it to them. Sometimes there are secret serial numbers located on engines and other expensive items to detect theft.

I have found a lost camera, is there any way I can post something on your website if person who lost it is looking for it? Do you have a special section for found/lost cameras?

Kasia, it is so cool when people like yourself are honest and want to return things such as this camera to whoever lost it. There isn't necessarily a section dedicated to lost things found, it's a great idea for future development as I'm sure there is a need for it. You can, however, post is on the Stolen-Propety database and put in all the details. It will get indexed on all the search engines so if the rightful owner runs a search it will show up. Thanks to you and everyone else out there wanting to return lost property they found!

My ipod was stolen please get it back it was 195$

We at Stolen Lost & Found Online truly wish is was that easy to get a stolen iPod back, iPod theft stinks! Hopefully you reported it on the stolen iPod database and it did come home.

I am writing a thesis on theft in the United States of America and was wondering if you had a database of the top most stolen items?

You are more than welcome to view the stolen property database by clicking this link or at the top of the page above the stolen property database text field. You can use the filter to see what item has the most stolen items reported. At the time of writing this, lost iphone and stolen iPhone is the most reported item.

My no good druggie son in law has shown up with a probably stolen blackberry with a phone number of 318-XXX-XXXX. How can I determine if the rightful owner has lost or had this phone stolen?

• Call the number, if it's still in use, leave a voice mail notifying the person you have the Blackberry and to call for information.
• Check with the local authorities to see if the Blackberry has been reported stolen.
• Call the service provider and see if it's been reported lost or stolen before attempting to activate.
• Search the stolen property database by entering the serial number in the text field at the top of the page and clicking "Search." This way you will know if it's been reported stolen on Stolen Lost & Found Online and can contact the rightful owner, who knows, there may even be a reward!

After going through these steps, if you are able to activate the Blackberry with the service provider then it likely hasn't been reported stolen.

How can I search for items if I don't have the serial number? How do I know if this database even has products listed. Things have been stolen from me and I would like to know if this is a place I can look for items without serial numbers.

Yes, you can view the stolen property database without a serial number. If you don't have a serial number you can view the entire stolen property database by clicking the link here or at the top right side of the page above the stolen property search text field. There is a filter function of the database table to filter the results for specific items.

What Law Enforcement currently utilize this website and have there been any recovery of stolen items resulting in successfully closing a Police Investigation?

We have received success stories of people recovering their stolen items as a result of using Stolen Lost & Found Online

We are currently establishing relationships with law enforcement agencies in the Los Angeles area. At the time of writing this, the national police stolen property database is an intranet, not able to be accessed by the public. We are working on developing a secure way in integrate this to a public, online source to better serve the public, reduce crime, recover more stolen items and make it harder to sell and pawn stolen goods.

I reported my stolen computer to my insurance company. Will they submit the info to the databases, or do I need to do this?

Yes, you do need to do this. The computer will be listed on the manufacturers database (most likely an private intranet) but they will not do anything beyond that. It is your responsibility to file a police report (also a private intranet database) and extremely beneficial to globally report the stolen computer here. Upon doing so, it will appear in the search engines as a permanent public record.

My Blackberry was stolen, how can I lock the mobile from data theft?

The best way to protect your Blackberry is put a password protect it. To do so:

• On your Blackberry main menu page, select to "Options"
• In the options menu, select "Password"
• Select "Enabled"
• Select "Change Password"
• Enter a password and press the "Return" key or scroll button
• Enter the password again when asked to verify the password (note that unless you press the "alt" key when typing password numbers, the characters entered are actually letters, this is important to remember when syncing with a computer or another device)

Control a Blackberry remotely

Roblock for Blackberry 2.0 is a software that enables you to control your Blackberry remotely.
http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/Security/Utilities/Roblock-for-Blackberry-57456.shtml

Here are some key features of "Roblock for Blackberry":

• Now Compatible with Blackberry OS 4.5
• GPS & Cell based device tracking
• Remote interaction through SMS, Email and Web interface
• SMS/Email notification on SIM Change to predefined recipient
• Recover contacts from lost phone
• Remote Wipe the entire device/media card
• Remote LOCK & ALARM
• Remote Call Back
• Does not require BES for Remote Wipe
• Easy Configuration
• Password Protected Settings

Requirements:

• Blackberry OS 4.2 or later

If no password or software was installed:

Unfortunately if you didn't already have a password protect or Roblock for Blackberry installed on your stolen Blackberry, there is no way to protect what is on it. The best thing to do is report it to change all your passwords for email and banking and any other accounts connected to the device, file an official police report and globally report the Blackberry stolen here on Stolen Lost & Found Online to have a permanent online record.