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How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

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Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#81

Post by dredmorbius »

deepdog wrote: post #59
ISL wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After having my car stolen, and a bunch of stuff taken, I was surprised to find that ~25% of the folks I talked with about it had the same sentiment; that it's stupid to leave things in a car. Where I grew up, everyone left stuff in cars. Nobody stole things. Worked great. Why is it okay for people to steal stuff in cities, but not in small towns? Do you take your car-fixing tools (~2 BTC, these days) out of your car…

You don't have to not leave it in the car, you should just cover it up or hide it. If you have a blanket in the trunk then hide your computer under it if you have to leave the car, or put it under the passenger's seat.

Some equipment (e.g.: Bluetooth-enabled electronics) literally advertises its presence even when concealed. I've heard stories of thieves canvassing car parks in up-market areas with Bluetooth detectors and swiping Apple devices in particular.

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#82

Post by zalew »

rdl wrote: post #13

If true, I'm pretty sure this wasn't in San Francisco or Oakland. I could maybe see one of the smaller Peninsula PDs helping out like this. Confronting a thief in person is pretty dangerous (if the police weren't there); there's a non-zero chance of a fight, possibly involving a knife or gun. If you theoretically have a CCW and can be legally carrying a gun for self defense, it's still physically dangerous, and legal…

> Confronting a thief in person is pretty dangerous (if the police weren't there); there's a non-zero chance of a fight, possibly involving a knife or gun.

one of those moments I'm glad I don't live in the US. a thief with a gun? that reminds me when I recently was showing part of my city to an American couchsurfer, we took him for a walk around a lower class neighborhood to show him something other than common tourist attractions, and when we were passing by some average young scamps around liquor stores, he asked if they are armed. I laughed.

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#83

Post by lostlogin »

saraid216 wrote: post #68
scarmig wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Time for a private social peer-to-peer civil protection startup? I'm only half joking. Earlier this year someone was murdered on the street directly outside my window at 2 o'clock. PM.

The term you're looking for is "mercenary company".

And in it doesn't work out, change your name and carry on - Black water.

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#84

Post by wsh »

rdl wrote: post #76
ISL wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do now. It's hard to make it look like there's really nothing interesting in a wagon, especially if you'd like to stop in at a store/restaurant after a day in the mountains. At best, there's a blanket over a pile of stuff that looks a lot like a pack and skis...

This is actually why I will only buy sedans or other cars with trunks (well, and the special legal protections trunks have vs. "accessible to driver" passenger compartments. Otherwise, I'd have an A3. Fortunately Audi is coming out with an S3 Sedan in 2014/2015.

You could buy that Audi A3 now, if there are any left.

I have the current hatchback version, and with the factory-supplied, swing-down parcel shelf installed and the lift gate closed, the area behind the rear seats is totally enclosed by rigid, opaque surfaces; it’s impossible to see any of the contents from inside or outside the vehicle.

I don’t know whether this area has the same legal status as a trunk, but practically speaking, it’s no more accessible to the driver than the trunk of a sedan having rear seats that could be unlatched and folded down by someone in the passenger compartment.

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#85

Post by mieubrisse »

kamobit wrote: post #79

This is awesome, but after going through all the trouble to protect your identity doesn't putting this up online undermine your efforts? You mention days of the week in the post as well as some details of your exchange with the thief in your replies to his Craigslist ad. He could likely tie it back to you easily if he was informed of this story.

I'm fairly certain that if the thief wanted, he could have found out the author's identity from his fellow friends/partygoers that attended the party. I don't think the author is overly worried about concealing his identity.

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#86

Post by jfim »

wsh wrote: post #84
rdl wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is actually why I will only buy sedans or other cars with trunks (well, and the special legal protections trunks have vs. "accessible to driver" passenger compartments. Otherwise, I'd have an A3. Fortunately Audi is coming out with an S3 Sedan in 2014/2015.

You could buy that Audi A3 now, if there are any left. I have the current hatchback version, and with the factory-supplied, swing-down parcel shelf installed and the lift gate closed, the area behind the rear seats is totally enclosed by rigid, opaque surfaces; it’s impossible to see any of the contents from inside or outside the vehicle. I don’t know whether this area has the same legal status as a trunk, but practi…

Out of curiosity, why does the trunk have a particular legal status?

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#87

Post by wamatt »

ISL wrote: post #73
elliottcarlson wrote: post #62

A few years ago, my wife made a mistake and left her purse in her class room as she went out for a smoke break - while it was a pretty poor decision to leave her purse unattended, this was a class of about 10 students that she thought she could trust. As she was driving back home, she realized she didn't have any money for the toll to cross over the bridge - which should not have been the case. Luckily the toll booth…

Sounds like Target takes loss prevention as seriously as it does advertising. Impressive.

Curious, but why would Target care too much if the credit card was stolen? My understanding (which could be wrong) was the credit card companies or end users absorb the losses (depending on circumstances).

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#88

Post by jlgreco »

wamatt wrote: post #87
ISL wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like Target takes loss prevention as seriously as it does advertising. Impressive.

Curious, but why would Target care too much if the credit card was stolen? My understanding (which could be wrong) was the credit card companies or end users absorb the losses (depending on circumstances).

The liability for the card holder is limited by law to something like $50. Whether the credit card company eats the loss or wether the merchant gives them the money back depends I believe on how much information the merchant collected about the transaction. My impression is that usually the merchant eats the loss.

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#89

Post by 1337Coder »

wamatt wrote: post #87
ISL wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like Target takes loss prevention as seriously as it does advertising. Impressive.

Curious, but why would Target care too much if the credit card was stolen? My understanding (which could be wrong) was the credit card companies or end users absorb the losses (depending on circumstances).

You would think so but no. Visa etc and the banks don't want that kind of trouble. To charge cards you need a special bank account called a merchant account.

A condition of this merchant account is that if someone issues a charge-back on their creditcard, if the merchant can't prove that the card owner brought the service/product then the funds are taken directly form their merchant account by the bank and then given back to the card-holder.

This is why anti-fraud systems are so important to merchants.

Case: I steal your creditcard, I buy a tv worth $10, 000. You notice this, and chargeback the merchant. The merchant has to pay you $10, 000 and he lost teh cost price of the tv he sold me (say $7, 000).

So by accepting your stolen card as payment, the merchant just lost $17, 000!

Source: I build payment gateways.

Re: How I Busted a Thief Who Tried to Sell My Camera on Craigslist

#90

Post by gyardley »

jfim wrote: post #86
wsh wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could buy that Audi A3 now, if there are any left. I have the current hatchback version, and with the factory-supplied, swing-down parcel shelf installed and the lift gate closed, the area behind the rear seats is totally enclosed by rigid, opaque surfaces; it’s impossible to see any of the contents from inside or outside the vehicle. I don’t know whether this area has the same legal status as a trunk, but practi…

Out of curiosity, why does the trunk have a particular legal status?

In America, police only have to show 'reasonable suspicion' rather than probable cause to search a person and his immediate surroundings for weapons - and if they find something else that's illegal while searching for 'weapons', you're out of luck.

Since the trunk is out of reach of the driver, it can't be part of this 'reasonable suspicion' search - unlike, say, the glove compartment. For the trunk, police need your voluntary consent or probable cause.

In other words, keep your contraband out of reach.

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