If you have ever had your laptop stolen, you may be wondering if the thief can use it. The answer to this question is, unfortunately, yes. The thief can easily use a stolen MacBook to access your personal information, including your passwords and bank account information. If you have had your laptop stolen, it is vital to take action right away to protect yourself from identity theft. This blog post will discuss what you can do to protect yourself after your laptop has been stolen.
Can a Stolen MacBook Be Used?
Yes, a stolen MacBook can be used. However, the thief will probably not use it for long because Apple’s Find My Mac feature will track the computer.
If the laptop is turned on and connected to the internet, the thief’s location will be shown on a map. The thief’s last known location will be displayed if it’s offline. The owner can also remotely lock or erase the laptop’s contents if it’s lost or stolen.
How Can You Tell If A Mac Is Stolen?
Often people come into possession of a used computer and want to find out whether or not it is stolen. If it has no serial number, you can’t just run an app on the device. There are other ways to check if a computer is stolen. Here are five ways you may be able to determine whether or not your Mac is stolen.
- The first way to tell if a Mac is stolen is by looking at the hardware of the computer itself. Often, labels on an Apple device indicate whether or not it was purchased in a retail store or directly from Apple. If the computer were purchased at an Apple or retail store, it would have a serial number on the back of the device. This is not always true for refurbished devices because they may come with parts sold to someone else. If this is found, you can check with the authorities to determine whether this is stolen property. If it is, you should turn the computer over to the police.
- The following way to identify a stolen Mac is by looking at the software on the device. Go into system preferences and look at your device’s serial number under general settings. If this number doesn’t match the number found underneath the backside of your Apple product, then that means that your device was likely stolen. If this is found, you should also turn the computer over to the police for identification purposes.
- The third way to tell if a Mac is stolen is by checking out where the computer was originally purchased. Often, there are records of businesses that have sold Apple products, and if these businesses were not authorized dealers, your device was likely stolen. If this is the case, you should turn the computer over to the police for identification purposes.
- The fourth way to determine if a Mac is stolen is through iCloud. Bring up the Apple menu and go to system preferences. Click on iCloud under settings and see if any information matches up with what you already know about the Mac or device. If this information does not match up, your Mac may be stolen.
- The final way to tell if a Mac is stolen is by checking if there are any user accounts created on the computer. You can do this by going into system preferences and clicking on users. If there are multiple accounts with the same name but different passwords, this is likely a sign that your computer was stolen.
If your Mac does not meet any of these criteria, you can keep using it as you see fit; however, if it fits one of these profiles or other reasons to believe that it’s stolen.
How To Unlock A Stolen MacBook Pro?
Three simple steps will allow you to view all your photos and videos stored on a new or lost MacBook Pro. So, let’s have a look.
Step 1: If you want to know whether your stolen MacBook Pro is online or not, then you need to install Tracking App on both – your lost and new Macbook. Here I will use Prey Project as my tracking app because it’s available for free and works perfectly fine on any Mac computer.
Step 2: After installing the Prey Project on both MacBooks, you must configure it properly. It is essential for you because without proper configuration of this app on a new or lost Mac; you won’t be able to track down your stolen MacBook Pro. So first of all, open a ‘Prey’ website from your iPhone or any other device and click on ‘Start.’ Here, you will get the list of all the devices linked with your Prey account. You need to select a device and start tracking it. If you have more than one MacBook, keep the other device in sleep mode.
Step 3: After configuring this app properly, you should see two green lines on your account page. Every time, you will get the details of your lost or new MacBook Pro. This app sends you an email whenever it detects that someone uses your stolen MacBook Pro.
On the other hand, if someone connects their ‘new’ MacBook with a Wi-Fi network, then you can easily track down the location of your stolen MacBook Pro.
What To Do If Your Laptop Is Stolen?
We all know the feeling of dread you get when your laptop computer disappears from where you left it, but before you panic and start cursing yourself for carelessness, consider the following:
- If your laptop is stolen from a coffee shop or other public location, there may be a chance that it can still be recovered. Even if a thief has your laptop password, most laptops come with a built-in security option that requires the thief to enter a preset “911” password before it will give up its contents and open the hard drive.
- If your computer is stolen from an office or other location where you can find witnesses — even if they don’t see the actual theft — there is a possibility of recovering it by going to the police and offering a solid description of the thief, their vehicle or other identifying features that may help them track the computer down.
- If your laptop is stolen from your own home with no witnesses, there is still a chance for recovery if you have up-to-date backup files on an external drive of your most important documents and files.
- If you have a tracking device on your laptop, it is still possible to get it back if the device is activated before the thief wipes the hard drive (which they usually do when they realize that you’ve locked them out). Tracking devices cost almost nothing to set up and it may be well worth the investment if it means you get your computer back.
- Finally, if your laptop is stolen, remember not to panic and do everything you can to track it down. Thieves are much less likely to sell laptops with any tracking device installed because they don’t want to leave a trail for police investigators to follow. If you find the thief and recover your laptop, you can consider it a bonus to have your peace of mind restored.
Does Apple Track Stolen Serial Numbers?
Yes, Apple does track stolen serial numbers. In addition to being reported to the police and other law enforcement agencies, Apple also maintains a public database of stolen serial numbers. Anyone can access this database, including consumers, retailers, and carriers.
When you enter the serial number of an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch into Apple’s website, the results will tell you whether that particular device has been reported as lost or stolen. If it has been reported as lost or stolen, you will not be able to activate it using iTunes.
