Is this thing stolen?

[BadPeteNo]

A friend asked me to upgrade a laptop he recently purchased.

I know the person he bought it from, and I don't this person even slightly. I suspect the laptop may be stolen, especially considering it's about a year old and my friend bought it for $50. Mind you, I've come across cases where the original user didn't know/care about the value, so it could be legit... my gut says otherwise.

I called the laptop's manufacturer (Dell), and they said they would have no way of knowing if it was stolen.

It has a fresh copy of windows 7 (could be bootleg, not sure how to tell), so there's no way to search for personal files that might identify the original owner.

I can't in good conscience work on stolen product. Is there a way to check it's legitimacy? Being able to tell if windows is pirated or not would be a good start.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Brett928S2]

A friend asked me to upgrade a laptop he recently purchased.

I know the person he bought it from, and I don't this person even slightly. I suspect the laptop may be stolen, especially considering it's about a year old and my friend bought it for $50. Mind you, I've come across cases where the original user didn't know/care about the value, so it could be legit... my gut says otherwise.

I called the laptop's manufacturer (Dell), and they said they would have no way of knowing if it was stolen.

It has a fresh copy of windows 7 (could be bootleg, not sure how to tell), so there's no way to search for personal files that might identify the original owner.

I can't in good conscience work on stolen product. Is there a way to check it's legitimacy? Being able to tell if windows is pirated or not would be a good start.

Any advice is appreciated.

Hi

We get this a lot in my computer shops....

We ring the Police...its the ONLY way to tell for certain...

All the best Brett

 

[BadPeteNo]

I shoulda tried harder before I posted.

It's probably stolen.

I pulled the hard drive, stuck it in a different rig, and ran GetDataBackFromNTFS. I was able to recover enough of the files that were on it before the format and it seems to be someone's work computer. There are all kinds of files that track back to a local business not far from here.

I seriously doubt they just dumped it off as Dell's website still lists it as under warranty. They either haven't reported it stolen yet or never bothered to contact Dell. The other clue should have been the piece of electrical tape over the webcam (don't know how I didn't notice THAT).

I've convinced my friend to let me return it (well, I told him I was going to, I didn't give him a choice). If he's lucky, maybe they'll give him a $50 reward as I doubt he'll get his money back.

 

[Brett928S2]

I shoulda tried harder before I posted.

It's probably stolen.

I pulled the hard drive, stuck it in a different rig, and ran GetDataBackFromNTFS. I was able to recover enough of the files that were on it before the format and it seems to be someone's work computer. There are all kinds of files that track back to a local business not far from here.

I seriously doubt they just dumped it off as Dell's website still lists it as under warranty. They either haven't reported it stolen yet or never bothered to contact Dell. The other clue should have been the piece of electrical tape over the webcam (don't know how I didn't notice THAT).

I've convinced my friend to let me return it (well, I told him I was going to, I didn't give him a choice). If he's lucky, maybe they'll give him a $50 reward as I doubt he'll get his money back.

Hi

Nice to see an HONEST MAN ...they are rare in this business...CONGRATULATIONS and Karma will repay you

All the best Brett

 

[BadPeteNo]

Final update to this one:

I successfully tracked down the owner.

He owns a small company that sells fancy microscopes.

I've contacted him, and we'll be meeting Monday so I can return it.

As far as honesty, I don't know if it's really honesty for its own sake. I think I'm just too porous. I imagine myself as the original owner, I think about when MY house was broken into and how violated I felt, and my blood just boils.

I just can't be party to the trafficking of stolen goods.

Today Brett, you get the karma rebate because I can't pick myself as "best answer" but this one is definitely SOLVED.

 

[BadPeteNo]

...not finding that 'best answer' button... Maybe it isn't available until the thread's been open for a min? Anyway... you'll get some more street cred for your collection tomorrow.

 

[Brett928S2]

...not finding that 'best answer' button... Maybe it isn't available until the thread's been open for a min? Anyway... you'll get some more street cred for your collection tomorrow.

Hi

Lol and thanks

 

[BadPeteNo]

I think I figured it out. It's got the quote icon and not the question mark icon. If a mod happens to read this, could you mark Bret here down as having the best answer and change it to a question? Thanks.