Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland • Hacker News Board

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#261

Post by mmmBacon » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:29 PM UTC

rdtsc wrote: post #11

> He called police, who got a search warrant Kind of sad, that I was surprised they did that. It's definitely a local thing. I'd expect the police to shrug, and say it's too bad, just file a report to use for insurance. I remember people saying "so what if you have tags, police won't do anything and you shouldn't be confronting thieves anyway". Apple, on the other hand, is also explicit about tags not to be used as a…

My son’s E-bike was stolen. I hid an air tag inside the frame and tracked it to a house. Police came and helped me recover it. There are few things as satisfying as catching a thief.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#262

Post by Spooky23 » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:30 PM UTC

k2enemy wrote: post #7

That is a huge inventory. How do stolen tools get fenced? Sent abroad? Craigslist and FB marketplace? I've bought some used tools from online classifieds, but it always seems to be a homeowner or business owner selling one or two things.

eBay and Amazon.

Where do you think fuckboy666 gets his stock of deodorant and drills from?

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#263

Post by dylan604 » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:30 PM UTC

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #193

dylan604 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought the empties carried all of the stolen cars to their new homes.

That’s way too much trouble, and Chinese customs is really serious about their 100% tariff for DIY car imports. Stolen iPhones and cats are much easier to smuggle in, and have little value outside of Chinese recyclers.

You seem to think that a ship can't pull into a different port in a different country on the way back to China.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#264

Post by Spooky23 » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:35 PM UTC

Aloisius wrote: post #78

brailsafe wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Compared to some stuff that actually seems to happen, the only leap of imagination I see here is that it would bankrupt the company overnight, or that it would matter to the people involved. Not to say that it's even remotely likely , but all you need is for someone with a vested interest to find a cost effective way to boost sales. Depending on how desperate people and the broader economy are, and how little people…

> The person stealing doesn't need to know who hired them I think you're vastly underestimating how difficult it is to anonymously recruit and pay thousands of thieves from all over the country to target one particular brand and ensure they actually do the job. Maybe one could offer some sort of buy-back program to maybe induce this behavior, but that would be quite expensive.

Why do you think CVS locks up specific brands of soap? It’s not that hard!

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#265

Post by marc » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:36 PM UTC

I had my Apple Pro Display XDR stolen from the office in Lisbon, Portugal.

They also stole my AirPods Max which has Find My technology built in.

It happened over the weekend and when I found out about the burglary about 2 days later I checked the Find My app. I saw my AirPods Max was in a small town about 3 hours away from my office.

I informed the police and they said there’s nothing they could do about it due to privacy concerns. Ugh.

I considered going there myself, but it being in a foreign country, not knowing the language, having no transportation, and not knowing what or who I’d find when I arrive, I ultimately decided to not risk it and never ended up going.

A few days later the signal went offline. Months after that it showed up on the map again. It was in Moldova at a shopping mall known for selling electronic parts.

I don’t know what happened to my Apple Pro Display XDR, but if you ever see one for sale in Portugal please send me a message :D

BTW, interesting side story: They didn’t just steal my display and headphones, but also many computers from other offices. Multiple floors except one. I guess they didn’t have time for that one. A week later they came back to rob that other floor as well.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#266

Post by alsetmusic » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:37 PM UTC

rdtsc wrote: post #11

> He called police, who got a search warrant Kind of sad, that I was surprised they did that. It's definitely a local thing. I'd expect the police to shrug, and say it's too bad, just file a report to use for insurance. I remember people saying "so what if you have tags, police won't do anything and you shouldn't be confronting thieves anyway". Apple, on the other hand, is also explicit about tags not to be used as a…

The scale of the theft probably plays into it. I read about cops not helping to recover stolen bicycles. But multiple power tools could reach into felony territory, depending on their value. I’m happy this person didn’t get a “not our problem” response, but I’m not surprised that these items were deemed “important” enough to pursue. And what a haul on the bust! $3-5m (estimate) in multiple locations.

Hope is get to read about the thieves getting pinched soon. Who knows, that huge caper in a Canadian airport just finally yielded arrests, so my optimism has been somewhat restored in _some_ aspects of the justice system.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#267

Post by alsetmusic » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:39 PM UTC

xeromal wrote: post #164

segmondy wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly this. Since there's less crime in affluent areas, the police actually have time to investigate what get's ignored in other areas. By also solving these crimes, it tells the criminals to avoid those areas, it's kind of a feedback loop.

It's also this way in smaller towns. I live in a small north GA town and you can ask the cops to come by your house during the holidays to see if anyone has broke in. Cops here are much more useful than when I'm in SoCal where I could even get cops to show up within an hour when a hit and run caused me to crash into someones back yard and total my car.

Oakland has non-emergency 911 calls redirect to file online. It’s certainly a problem when crime outstrips resources.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#268

Post by kortex » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:44 PM UTC

Tossrock wrote: post #113

hfe wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the brand with the best reputation these days?

If you want gold-plated, there's Hilti, but you're paying a lot extra for a marginal increase in reliability. Milwaukee, Bosch, Makita, and DeWalt are all in the same range, ie contractor/prosumer (and all mostly are manufactured in China). Ryobi is slightly lower but generally fine, ie consumer / price sensitive. Below that is Harbor Freight / no-name electric drill you'd find in am Amazon Basics "essential tools" k…

Seconded, though I've found the HF Hercules wired line pretty comparable to Dewalt.

But there's a fair amount of inter-model variety within those four/five brands. My 12v Dewalt impact punches above its weight/price and I have two Bosch 18v drills, similar in form factor but one is frankly inferior quality.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#269

Post by spost » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:48 PM UTC

teitoklien wrote: post #216

consumer451 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man, it sounds to me like a few users in this thread wouldn’t mind some good ole Sharia Law. Can’t steal if you don’t have a hand!

Why do you immediately think of it as that violent ? , Not tolerating the crime, involves arresting the person, and penalizing them with fines and other consequences for a while, and then if possible work on improving their living standards and help them get a job to get out of a life of crime. Not tolerating crime does not mean shooting people up or inflicting wounds on them, why should it be that extreme ? , either…

Your two sibling comments are currently "Why is the comfort of the aggressor more important than the comfort of the innocent victim?" And "Yes." The assumption that some people in this thread are in favor of violence seems to be borne out.

Re: Carpenter's AirTags help uncover 'massive' case of stolen tools in Maryland

#270

Post by 55555 » Sat, Jun 01, 2024, 5:50 PM UTC

pseingatl wrote: post #259

What was the point? The thieves stole the tools, put them in storage lockers, and then...did nothing? Didn't fence them, sell them on E-Bay, what was the point? They had storage lockers all over the place filled with tools...what was the point of the thefts??

either it was NIMBYs preventing construction in their neighborhoods or the goods in the warehouse represent a small fraction of all they’ve ever stolen. given the scale being stored, I think they’re a fence, not the thieves themselves, which means they paid upfront for all those tools, which means they must be selling quite a bit to have that cash available for reinvestment.