Stolen Sony Vaio laptop

[Amel Oudjida]

My sony vaio laptop was stolen in 2009 and back then I couldn't find the box it came in with the serial number. Now that I've located that box and the serial number can I please ask how to go about tracking it? Thanks

 

[getochkn]

No hope or way to track it without having tracking software installed on it. Move on.

 

[nukemaster]

Your a bit late, You may be able to report it to the police, but that is about it.

By this time, unfortunately, chances are all data is long gone so even if you had tracking software it would be impossible to find.

The actual number is only of use if you can FIND the laptop to use the number as proof it is yours.

 

[USAFRet]

A 4 year old laptop? It has been sold several times, dropped, virus infected, stolen again, had the hard drive replaced, dropped again, and had keys broken off.

The current possessor of it (if it hasn't simply been tossed in the trash by now) has no clue that it may be stolen.

And just having the serial number will not help. Maybe call Sony to see if it has been sent in for service. Do you have a police report that includes the serial number? Do you have the original receipt? Just having the box doesn't mean a whole lot.

It's gone, man...let it go.

 

[Branden]

hard lesson learned - on your current/next laptop install tracking software!

 

[Amel Oudjida]

Thank you for the responses. I have filed a police report and they have the serial number on their system. I have been given similar advice from others, but I haven't yet been advised to contact Sony about the whereabouts of my stolen laptop. I appreciate the help. Thanks again

 

[getochkn]

Thank you for the responses. I have filed a police report and they have the serial number on their system. I have been given similar advice from others, but I haven't yet been advised to contact Sony about the whereabouts of my stolen laptop. I appreciate the help. Thanks again

Because Sony would have no way to track it, nor is it their responsibility.

 

[assasin32]

Unfortunately even if they find the person who stole it, chances are it is past the statue of limitation so you can't press charges anyway. This is assuming your in the US. The chances of recovering is also equally slim. Misdemeanors I think were 1yr, felonies are generally 3 and 6yr, 6yr for more serious which would be more along the lines if it was physically taken from you.

I am even a little skeptic on their ability to recover laptops even if you had the laptop recovering software, it's not a sure shot if the police can get a warrant to searcch with just that information, and will most likely ask for it when they knock on the door when they get around to it. Thats honestly what I expect them to do from everything I learned in administration of justice classes, though they didn't exactly cover this topic as it's such low priority.

Next time around I recommend encrypting the laptop and use cloud backups or some other setup to keep backups up to date. Just to lessen the risk of them getting access to your data and keeping the important data still accessable to you in case of theft. Beyond that I imagine you are taking precautions to prevent laptop theft.

 

[Amel Oudjida]

I actually did report it missing the day it happened as I was the victim of a break in. The thieves kicked down my door while I was just down the road, but the police didn't do anything then and there's still not much they can do (or probably ever will do). Thank you

 

[WyomingKnott]

Amel Oudjida

I have cleaned up the issue that you reported to the moderators. However, I have to agree that finding the machine again is so close to impossible that I would need a microscope to see the difference. Sorry.

 

[Infokid]

My sony vaio laptop was stolen in 2009 and back then I couldn't find the box it came in with the serial number. Now that I've located that box and the serial number can I please ask how to go about tracking it? Thanks

Have your local law enforcement run the serial number through their system. If you computer was located and taken under observation as suspected stolen property, the serial number will go into a database. Any other agency running that number will locate which agency is in possession of it (if one is) There are tons of computers recovered and sitting in property rooms with no owner known. If the owner cannot be locate, the item may be purged?? Just an idea.