Accused MacBook Thief Busted After Video of Crime Goes Viral
Posted on 04/08/2014 5:47:40 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Update: Police say they've busted the Macbook thief. Read our story here.
A blog post ago we told you about some ballsy people who were tipping over Smart Cars in various San Francisco neighborhoods. So while we were on the subject of brazen fools, we decided to show you some surveillance of a latte-drinking thief who reportedly stole a computer from a downtown coffee shop.
A local iOS developer is on the hunt for her Macbook which was snatched from the cafe while the victim was in the restroom. The only good part to this is that the victim was able to retrieve the surveillance of the entire theft which has since been posted to YouTube.
Watch:
The victim has created her own tumblr page dedicated to getting her technology back.
Here's a post:
UPDATE: If you have any more information about the girl in black and white, please reach out to the San Francisco Police Department at (415) 315-2400. Case Number: 140281005
I am a freelance iOS developer. I live and work in San Francisco. A total tragedy happened to me yesterday. My virtual limbs (aka MacBook Air and iPhone) were stolen at a local coffee shop on Post st. and Taylor st. in SF Downtown area. Months worth of creative work I stored on my device will be lost forever, if I can't catch this girl and get my computer back. Click here for new New Updates
PLEASE SHARE THIS POST AND HELP GET MY COMPUTER BACK!
Video found at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbrzOLh8Eb4
Location: Post & Taylor
Time of Crime: April 4, 4:35pm (The time in surveillance camera is 12 hours off)
At 3:20pm, This blonde thief comes into the coffee shop and eyes my computer.
Officer Gordon Shyy confirmed that a police report was filed regarding this incident.
Is there any kind of self-destruct technology that would allow you to access your stolen computer online and fry all the software on it?
C’mon!!!
That’s not a woman.
I’d hit that with an anvil.
“Paul”, eh? Well, it is SF...
The shop owners should always have a camera right above their menu board, that way they’ll almost always get a face shot.
What kind of idiot would go to the bathroom and leave their “life’s work” on a machine, unwatched in a public place?
That’s a special kind of stupid.
all that work that she valued so much—and she leaves it while she goes potty? how could she chance it???
"Officers arrived at the Starbucks where the suspect -- identified as 32-year-old Paul Raynal -- allegedly tried to pass off a false identity to the cops."
Freaking San Fransicko, man..!!!
I read the story, and that's what it says, quite nonchalantly. I guess it's sophisticated, or something, NOT to point this out.
>:(
i condemn theft and thieves of every kind.
that said, i also do not leave anything of any value unattended in a public place full of strangers i do not know.
Yes... Better yet you can remotely track your iPhone, iPad or whatever... Turn on the camera and take pictures of whoever has it. You can remotely lock it and delete all the data and apps.
Which Baldwin brother is this one?
The NSA has had that for years, only they don't use it on their computers.
In SF, this is not in any way noteworthy. I’m not certain that the natives there would even comprehend why you might find this odd. Flyover country, right? Me, too.
Looka like a man.
Mosty because it IS, or, possibly, was, a man.
I, for one, would do something other than that with the hair. That won’t work if you are over 25 and not absolutely stunning.
Why did you leave your laptop unattended? If it wasn’t for ***heads like you, there wouldn’t be any thievery in this world, would there?
You wanna know what a friggin tragedy this is? Some damned boob associating her toys with arms and legs. This is a damned tragedy.
That’s a very good point.
I wonder what is it that forces those "iOS developers" and other "creative types" to work in public places? Don't they have homes or offices to be safe, secure, and without distractions? How can they be comfortable with a desktop space that is designed for two cups of coffee and a muffin? My work table right here is L-shaped, with each side of that L being about 3 feet... and it's not enough.
I never tried to do my work at a restaurant. Maybe that's because it's not so easy to cart around 300 lbs of test equipment :-) But even if on some days I only need a computer, I'd rather settle someplace quiet. If she is such a coffee addict, there are many ways to make excellent coffee at work or at home. It would be also much cheaper.
Actually in the Marine Corps, it was a source of pride that you could leave a $20 bill on your bunk in the morning and upon returning back to the barracks at night, it would still be there. Yes, you would probably get chewed out by the OOD or somebody else for doing something so stupid as that but you would still have your $20 at the end of the day.
... ballsy people...
***
Really classy writing there, Erin. You need some lessons in ladylike behavior. Sheesh!
Sure, pretty easy actually. There are various different pieces of software you can install that will let you access and control the computer remotely if it is connected to the internet. You can set it up with more recent versions of Windows natively with no additional software (it’s called Remote Desktop in Windows), and can do the same on most other operating systems too.
Once you have that set up, just wait until the thieves connect to the internet and you can take control and get up to all sorts of mischief, uninstalling programs, locking out users, etc.
If the thieves are smart, they could just wipe the computer themselves before they connect to the internet, to prevent that, but most thieves are not smart.
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