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Thief Returns Stolen Laptop Contents On USB Stick

Posted by samzenpus on from the it's-been-a-pleasure-being-your-victim dept.

While it's true that Sweden is responsible for unleashing IKEA and ABBA on humanity, not everything they produce is terrible. Their thieves are some of the most considerate in the world. An unnamed professor at Umeå University received a USB stick with all his data after his laptop was stolen. From the article: "The professor, who teaches at Umeå University in northern Sweden, was devastated when ten years of work stored on his laptop was stolen. But to his surprise, a week after the theft, the entire contents of his laptop were posted to him on a USB stick. 'I am very happy,' the unnamed professor told the local Västerbottens-Kuriren newspaper. 'This story makes me feel hope for humanity.'"

12 of 352 comments (clear)

  1. Honor Amongst Thieves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Reminds me of when a friend had their radio stolen from their car, however, the thief took the time slimjim the door rather then bust his window. He even locked it up after he was finish. Just because you're gonna be a thief, doesn't mean you have to be a jerk about it.

    1. Re:Honor Amongst Thieves by Combatso · · Score: 5, Funny

      i heard about a guy that left a Justin Bieber CD on his dash... when he got back to his car the window was smashed, and someone left a second CD

    2. Re:Honor Amongst Thieves by severoon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Would the professor have been so kind to a student that didn't think to back up a semester's worth of work, much less 10 years' worth?

      --
      but have you considered the following argument: shut up.
    3. Re:Honor Amongst Thieves by firewrought · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Now if say he broke into you car and all he took was the bag of groceries out of the trunk you were on the way home with well, we might say they must have been hungry and it was kind of them to do the littlest damage possible, I guess, but there is nobody who "needs" a CD changer, that is just theft and vandalism and I really don't feel much need to excuse the guy the perp.

      Thieves don't steal CD changers so they can listen to tunes: they steal so they can pawn/fence/resell the goods and get cash for drugs/HDTV/food/whatever. Who causes less harm to society: a thief that breaks into 10 cars for groceries or a thief that breaks into 1 car to get a CD changer with which to buy the same amount of groceries? IMO, the latter thief is morally superior because he caused less collateral damage in terms of damaged property and psychological stress on victims. Of course, if you're the victim in either of these cases, you KNOW that the first guy stole because of fundamental need whereas the second may or may not have bought groceries with the proceeds of his crime (in the real world: probably not).

      Bottom line 1: a criminal who steals for fundamental need (food, medicine) is morally superior to one who steals for non-fundamental needs (recreational drugs, entertainment systems).
      Bottom line 2: a criminal who takes some effort to minimize/mitigate the impact on his victims is morally superior to one who does not.

      --
      -1, Too Many Layers Of Abstraction
    4. Re:Honor Amongst Thieves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      One time I was at a restaurant in my hometown of Baltimore, and someone smashed the window in and stole my briefcase which I carelessly left on the back seat. Unfortunately for them, it contained nothing but 2 weeks of my student's homework and 2 textbooks.

      I hope someone learned a lesson : )

      -Dom

  2. LOL by arcite · · Score: 5, Insightful

    10 years of work on his laptop without a single backup?

  3. Something similar but creepier happened to me... by Solarbeat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A long, long, time ago, I moved into the campus dorms a week early to lay claim to the only network port in the room (yes, back then there was only one). Only thing is that the dining halls hadn't opened. I went out to grab a bite to eat and got my wallet pick-pocketed, leaving me without money for food for days. A few weeks later, a package arrived with my empty wallet, even with my credit cards, ID, etc... the only thing missing? Cash (of course), and the creepy part: the guy took all of the pictures of family and friends I had. Rather than making me feel hope for humanity, it showed me how creepy we can be.

  4. Trojan time? by foodnugget · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The story of the thief who returns someone's goods with some opera tickets and an apology comes to mind -- when the victim goes to see the opera, the thief cleans out the victim's house.

    Kinda makes me wonder if there's a rootkit on that drive for the purposes of emptying out this gent's bank accounts.

    Also, wtf, no backups? ffs.

  5. ABBA by Massacrifice · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm listening to Abba right now, you insensitive clod!

    In Sweden, stealing laptops is The Name Of The Game! Obviously, The Winner Takes it All except he brings back some of it's MP3 on a USB stick to the Dancing Queen, who had been sending out an S.O.S. She then says to the thief Thank You For The Music, followed by Voulez-Vous?. At which point the story turns to swedish erotica which is not appropriate to relate here.

    --
    -- Home is where you eat your heart out.
  6. Love thy thief by SigmundFloyd · · Score: 5, Funny

    'I am very happy,' the unnamed professor told the local Va:sterbottens-Kuriren newspaper. 'This story
    makes me feel hope for humanity.'

    But that might be Stockholm syndrome speaking.

    --
    Knowledge is power; knowledge shared is power lost.
  7. Nope. Just lousy journalism. by Ecuador · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No, the quote was used in the wrong context. He was not referring to his laptop/data but his calendar which was in the stolen backpack that was returned by the thief (backpack with calendar, other documents etc) a few hours later. Then, a week later he also got the USB with his work for which we simply know that it was not backed up well...
    Way to go Telegraph. Read this instead: http://www.thelocal.se/29636/20101015/

    --
    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
  8. perhaps it wasn't the thief, but the recipient by gaiageek · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A good friend of mine in Berlin had her MacBook stolen over a year ago. In May, she received a Facebook message from a woman in Tunisia who had bought the notebook, found my friend's personal data and wondered if it had been stolen. Originally the plan was to simply send the personal data, since my friend had already purchased a new notebook, but in the end the woman decided to ship the notebook to my friend in Germany without any compensation (my friend paid the shipping costs on delivery). The woman was apparently overjoyed at recently giving birth to twins, and simply wanted to do the right thing. I personally witnessed the arrival and unboxing of the returned laptop.

    There are good people in the world. Whether you choose to be one of them is up to you.

    --
    www.gaiageek.com