Burglar Steals Laptop, Gloats via Victim's Facebook Account
Getting burgled is bad enough. Having a burglar strike, and then taunt you about it on Facebook, though, is just plain terrible. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened last week to an East Sussex, England woman.According to the Telegraph, a thief broke into Victoria Richardson's home and took her iPhone, Nintendo DS, cash, debit cards, and a black Toshiba laptop. When Richardson later logged in to Facebook, she noticed the burglar had somehow accessed her account, posting status updates about the new items he or she had just 'acquired.' The burglar had posted messages like "on my new laptop," and "Listening to music on my new phone feels so good." The criminal ended the series of status updates with: "regards your night time burglar."
Sussex Police call the burglar's taunting a "sinister twist" to the crime, which is currently under investigation. Meanwhile, Richardson told the Telegraph that she felt "very spooked," and that the posts were "degrading" because her friends could read them. Richardson's troubles reaffirm the importance of online privacy. If your computer or phone is stolen -- much like if your credit card is stolen -- be sure to act immediately and change your passwords. [From: The Telegraph]
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Comments
30
Subscribe to commentsMistyAug 18th 2009 4:11AM
HOW are you supposed to change your passwords after a burglary, if they steal your computer?
WesAug 18th 2009 4:55AM
The commercail for E Harmony, with the one somewhat attractive couple, and the guys mom encouraged it. He looks as if he is in his 30s, and a sex addict,
dls031568Aug 18th 2009 5:25AM
face book, my space and all these other stupid ass sites are just that STUPID!!
Keith J. MohrhoffAug 18th 2009 9:46AM
What gets me about this is that if this guy were using the computer to download kiddie porn, they would track him down forthwith and arrest him and recover the computer (it would be after all, evidence) but, this woman has it stolen from her home and used to taunt her by the thief...and...its...being...investigated! Great! By the time they find it, the computer will be obsolete and stealing laptops will have been legalized! Can you say "selective enforcement"?
stupidmofo569Aug 18th 2009 10:26AM
It's like this, Garbage in, Garbage out. So if you didn't put a Security on your Lap-Top, all your Information is Viable to the Thief. This should set an Example to the rest of Computer Users, lock it up when your not in use, otherwise this could happen to you!!!!!!!! It is the way Computers were Made!!!!!
SidAug 18th 2009 10:36AM
Two problems here:
1) Saving passwords on a laptop. If it's stolen, you just gave the thief access to everything of yours.
2) Having passwords that either didn't exist, were far too easy to guess or were on a PostIt note stuck to the laptop...the most prevalent problem IT people encounter. What's the point of a password if everyone can see it or can guess it?
Ferlin Husky XXXAug 18th 2009 11:24AM
This is why you should NEVER use automatic logins at web sites. If someone steals your computer, they can access your accounts. You should also never keep a list of logins on your PC, say in a Word document. If you need such a list, save it to a cheap USB drive and hide it where it can't be found.
crook513Aug 18th 2009 1:06PM
Myspace doesnt have this problem...
KoreyAug 18th 2009 2:52PM
How stupid is this thief. The cops can get the IP address of the user using her account from Facebook and track that down. The real question is, would it be important enough for them to do so.
Keith J. MohrhoffAug 19th 2009 7:43AM
That was exactly my point...these days, authorities only go after the "sexy" crimes. Burglary is just too plebian!