Assistance in Tracking stolen xbox 360

xFuryofFivex

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 28, 2004
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Yes i did post this on anandtech, figured not everyone read's both forum's.

Back story. last night between 10-11pm someone had broken into my mom's and stole my brother's Xbox 360. he's had it maybe 2-3 weeks. We did call the police, but unfortunately, there's not much they can do. Called Microsoft, the first rep i spoke to was not much help, saying there's no way to track the system. I thought how can they block system's regardless of where they go. We have the serial number figured they could do something with that, but he said nothing.
My mom called, probaly got more help because she used less than technical speak .i was asking the rep about mac and ip addresses and pulling them and whatnot.
The rep told my mom they could just wait and see if the person logged onto his live account then they could track that.
Unfortunately he cannot remember the email he used to log into his account. Or were doing something wrong,it keeps prompting him for an account creation. I however can log into my account and see.

Any other suggestion's i can have them try. I care more about teaching someone a lesson then getting the system back. but thats just me, im pretty sure my mom/brother want the 360 as in she paid for it and it was his.(just thought i might add that in.)
 
sux dude, I would bet its someone that knew he got the system, somewhat narrowing down the suspects, any so called friends etc...maybe put up posters in neighborhood letting everyone know there is a burglar at the very least.

With that said, the person going just for the 360 speaks volumes, another kid did this more than likely either someone that knows your bro directly or indirectly, something similiar happened around here to a kid I knew, and sure enough it was a kid that literally lived across the street, and the little dirtbag got off because hes under 18...weeks later he steals the kids bike...ppl like him should be sent to a bootcamp or something, or atleast have parents pay a hefty fine.

gluck man
 
sad thing is..the police have my mother believing there is some sort of registry that all the companies use to track the serial numbers...maybe microsoft does, but not pawn shops and gamestop's....i dont remember scanning in a serial number to take in a trade.i could be wrong of course
 
All hope is lost. Even if the console is brought online elsewhere, MS isn't going to 'flag' anything and call the police. Their system most definitely tracks MAC address online, this is how they ban consoles. However MS isn't going to do the polices job for them for free.

Your brother needs a new 360.
 
All hope is lost. Even if the console is brought online elsewhere, MS isn't going to 'flag' anything and call the police. Their system most definitely tracks MAC address online, this is how they ban consoles. However MS isn't going to do the polices job for them for free.

Your brother needs a new 360.

yeah i got that feeling when i spoke to the CSR..he kept dancing around my questions...i asked him specifically that if they blocked people system's then they have a way of tracking people. he insisted know. i ended the call because it seemed as if he just didnt know anything.

and yes, at the moment, what he needs is to get his story straight..because myself and other's think he's full of crap. but thats another thread for off topic
 
time to call the insurance company or just buy a new one (depending on your deductable)

and the only way you will get microsoft to help you is if the police do it, thye will have to call them and get the info. but that could require a court order to get the info out of them. So in the end i think its gone, most police wont go through that much trouble for a $300 system
 
time to call the insurance company or just buy a new one (depending on your deductable)

and the only way you will get microsoft to help you is if the police do it, thye will have to call them and get the info. but that could require a court order to get the info out of them. So in the end i think its gone, most police wont go through that much trouble for a $300 system

thats what i said to a guy here. insisting the police will pursue it. i was like its a 300 dollar item that was involved in a non-violent crime. itll be filed and disregarded as stolen without enough evidence
 
sad thing is..the police have my mother believing there is some sort of registry that all the companies use to track the serial numbers...maybe microsoft does, but not pawn shops and gamestop's....i dont remember scanning in a serial number to take in a trade.i could be wrong of course

Pawnshops do record the serial numbers, I would start there if the police have not already. Gamestop not so much for trades but if you steal a 360 your most likely not going to trade it for an absurdly low amount of store credit. Watch your local C-L and covetly see if people selling the system will give you the serial number, tell them you want to check the warrenty or something dumb like that. Good luck.
 
I had the same problem when my PS3 20gb got stolen two weeks after I bought it :( The only thing I could get Sony to do was ban the mac address from getting online with the PS3.
 
GameStop's are required to scan in serial #'s for PS3, Xbox 360, PSP's and Nintendo DSI's on trades. When you enter the item in for trade a window pops up asking for a scan or manual type-in of the serial #. PSP and DSI can be entered in as a generic serial # (g-a-m-e-s-t-o-p) but will only accept VALID serial #'s from PS3 and Xbox 360.

Oh and as a final idea / note, you can call your local game-stop and inform them you system was stolen and have them write down the serial #. It only works for local stores. But what they can do is lookout for this system's serial # via trade ins and than proceed to call you / the police to inform of the situation. This works sometimes, depends on if your lucky enough for the robber to go to your local game-stop to try and trade it in or not.

As for your luck bro.... if they happened to have left a controller at the house.... you might be able to walk around the neighborhood a little and try the sync trick. But this will not guarentee anything. As for the fact that the robber only stole the Xbox 360 and went right to it, my guess is they have been in your house before dude. And more specifically in your brothers room, because you have one too right? So they missed yours, maybe because they have never been in your room..... possibility?
 
sorry to hear.

Its a piss off to know allot of people get away with this shit.
 
GameStop's are required to scan in serial #'s for PS3, Xbox 360, PSP's and Nintendo DSI's on trades. When you enter the item in for trade a window pops up asking for a scan or manual type-in of the serial #. PSP and DSI can be entered in as a generic serial # (g-a-m-e-s-t-o-p) but will only accept VALID serial #'s from PS3 and Xbox 360.

Oh and as a final idea / note, you can call your local game-stop and inform them you system was stolen and have them write down the serial #. It only works for local stores. But what they can do is lookout for this system's serial # via trade ins and than proceed to call you / the police to inform of the situation. This works sometimes, depends on if your lucky enough for the robber to go to your local game-stop to try and trade it in or not.

As for your luck bro.... if they happened to have left a controller at the house.... you might be able to walk around the neighborhood a little and try the sync trick. But this will not guarentee anything. As for the fact that the robber only stole the Xbox 360 and went right to it, my guess is they have been in your house before dude. And more specifically in your brothers room, because you have one too right? So they missed yours, maybe because they have never been in your room..... possibility?
heh thanks for the advice :) but on another note..i dont live at home. my 360 is across town
 
Eh, best bet would be the mac on yer Xbox. Even then, ehh.....doesn't it tell you on like the xbox live site last login, etc? Should watch that. I remember someone logging in awhile back to the official site...don't know if it tells you last login. You could technically then file a plice report and grab their IP address / get them arrested.
 
The numbers that are the most help to you are the Serial #, which you have, and the Console ID, which you prolly don't. You want to call Microsoft and tell them the 360 was stolen. They will remove any credit cards attached to your Live accounts. They will also ask for the detective/officer looking into your case to contact them. They need to be sure that a police report has been filed before they can track your 360. They will give you information to pass on to the police. So contact your police department and speak to whoever is working your case. Give them the serial # of your 360. They WILL put it in a registry that pawn shops can check. Make sure you call your gamestops/game crazies and other stores with this number. Give the officer/detective the contact information that Microsoft gave you. Follow up two days later via phone. Call the police department's communications line and ask for the officer. They'll either put you through or transfer you to voicemail if they are off. Do this again two days later. If you don't have any new information or no progress has been made after this, go to the police department's lobby and ask to speak to the officer/detective. They can schedule you an appointment if need be. You have to remember that these guys have a TON on their plate and your case can easily fall through the cracks, but it's that call to Microsoft and the stolen property list that you really need them for. After all that, it's only a matter of time before somebody goes online with your 360, and when they do, it's yours again.
 
The numbers that are the most help to you are the Serial #, which you have, and the Console ID, which you prolly don't. You want to call Microsoft and tell them the 360 was stolen. They will remove any credit cards attached to your Live accounts. They will also ask for the detective/officer looking into your case to contact them. They need to be sure that a police report has been filed before they can track your 360. They will give you information to pass on to the police. So contact your police department and speak to whoever is working your case. Give them the serial # of your 360. They WILL put it in a registry that pawn shops can check. Make sure you call your gamestops/game crazies and other stores with this number. Give the officer/detective the contact information that Microsoft gave you. Follow up two days later via phone. Call the police department's communications line and ask for the officer. They'll either put you through or transfer you to voicemail if they are off. Do this again two days later. If you don't have any new information or no progress has been made after this, go to the police department's lobby and ask to speak to the officer/detective. They can schedule you an appointment if need be. You have to remember that these guys have a TON on their plate and your case can easily fall through the cracks, but it's that call to Microsoft and the stolen property list that you really need them for. After all that, it's only a matter of time before somebody goes online with your 360, and when they do, it's yours again.

well that is a nice fairy tale world you live in right there. its a waste of police resources to put that much effort into something that one of the kid's 'friends' stole.
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well that is a nice fairy tale worl you live in right there. its a waste of police resources to put that much effort into something that one of the kid's 'friends' stole.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device

Doing their job is a waste of resources?? How does that make sense?
 
If it was a B&E, then check all the pawn shops in the area and cross-reference the serial number. Check craigslist for your region also. If you can get your father to visit the seller/pawn shop and check the serial #, you can then call the cops and have them sort it out. Make sure that the serial number is on the police report.
 
Doing their job is a waste of resources?? How does that make sense?

He is right. If a peace officer makes $35-$50 per hour, would you be ok if that money/time was spent looking for a $150 item which may/may not turn up in the next 6 months?

If there is great sadness in the house over it, buy another one.
 
He is right. If a peace officer makes $35-$50 per hour, would you be ok if that money/time was spent looking for a $150 item which may/may not turn up in the next 6 months?

If there is great sadness in the house over it, buy another one.

It's their job, cost value of the stolen item is irrelevant. Police work is not all serial killers and drug lords. This is what they get paid (by you) to do.
 
It's their job, cost value of the stolen item is irrelevant. Police work is not all serial killers and drug lords. This is what they get paid (by you) to do.

the cost and item in question is relevant. it would be cheaper and more effective for the cops to just buy the kid another 360 then put any effort in that 'investigation'. if someone came and jacked my lawnmower from behind my house, I wouldn't even bother calling the cops. its a video game console, commonly owned by kids, the thieves took nothing else. heck, a lot of kids sell/pawn consoles for drug money or whatever, then lie and say it was stolen.

my money or not, id rather have the cops do pretty much anything other than track down stolen consoles, cell phones, mp3 players, and any other sub $200 gadgets.
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the cost and item in question is relevant. it would be cheaper and more effective for the cops to just buy the kid another 360 then put any effort in that 'investigation'. if someone came and jacked my lawnmower from behind my house, I wouldn't even bother calling the cops. its a video game console, commonly owned by kids, the thieves took nothing else. heck, a lot of kids sell/pawn consoles for drug money or whatever, then lie and say it was stolen.

my money or not, id rather have the cops do pretty much anything other than track down stolen consoles, cell phones, mp3 players, and any other sub $200 gadgets.
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Do you not understand that it's their job to investigate this? What else would they be doing besides their job? This is what they get paid to do. 30 minutes of an officer's salary does not cost more than buying a new console. Plus, how many people do you think would break into a house, steal something, and then never do it again? There were a bunch of robberies here in town recently. A cheap HP laptop was stolen from somebody's house. One of the detectives was monitoring craigslist for items from the robberies. He saw a laptop that looked exactly like the one stolen. A day later, the thieves were busted with items stolen from 7+ different robberies. Tracking down a cheap laptop led to the recovery of many people's property. That's what they are trained and paid to do.
 
the cost and item in question is relevant. it would be cheaper and more effective for the cops to just buy the kid another 360 then put any effort in that 'investigation'. if someone came and jacked my lawnmower from behind my house, I wouldn't even bother calling the cops. its a video game console, commonly owned by kids, the thieves took nothing else. heck, a lot of kids sell/pawn consoles for drug money or whatever, then lie and say it was stolen.

my money or not, id rather have the cops do pretty much anything other than track down stolen consoles, cell phones, mp3 players, and any other sub $200 gadgets.
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i agree, report it to them to be safe, like just in case a week later you come home to find other things stolen....or worse...but aside from making a simple police report i would not bother wasting their resources and time on a game console.....i would like to think that if my car was stolen they would be able to spend more time finding it instead of out knocking on little johnnies door asking if they have seen a 360 that doesnt belong recently...LOL

its a matter of priorities, once you get a little older suddenly things aren't even worth wasting time on
 
Do you not understand that it's their job to investigate this? What else would they be doing besides their job? This is what they get paid to do. 30 minutes of an officer's salary does not cost more than buying a new console. Plus, how many people do you think would break into a house, steal something, and then never do it again? There were a bunch of robberies here in town recently. A cheap HP laptop was stolen from somebody's house. One of the detectives was monitoring craigslist for items from the robberies. He saw a laptop that looked exactly like the one stolen. A day later, the thieves were busted with items stolen from 7+ different robberies. Tracking down a cheap laptop led to the recovery of many people's property. That's what they are trained and paid to do.

You have no clue. 30 minutes? Go ahead and ask a LEO how much time it would take for him to do a proper investigation.

-talk to family, friends & associates
-check all pawn shops, neighbours
-check online ads, garbage bins.. etc

Even if they manage to find and charge the offender, we are talking more time to submit the file, bring in the offender to lay charges, court costs.

Sure, let's spend $15,000 to (maybe) bring in someone involved in petty theft, rather than spend the resources investigating violent crimes.

Wake up and smell the Java.
 
Do you not understand that it's their job to investigate this? What else would they be doing besides their job? This is what they get paid to do. 30 minutes of an officer's salary does not cost more than buying a new console. Plus, how many people do you think would break into a house, steal something, and then never do it again? There were a bunch of robberies here in town recently. A cheap HP laptop was stolen from somebody's house. One of the detectives was monitoring craigslist for items from the robberies. He saw a laptop that looked exactly like the one stolen. A day later, the thieves were busted with items stolen from 7+ different robberies. Tracking down a cheap laptop led to the recovery of many people's property. That's what they are trained and paid to do.

That may be the case, but the police are still human, and, like you said, we pay them to do things. I can guarrantee that they have a work load of some kind already. Truth is they just don't care. People are lazy in general, and won't put in the effort just to find some kid's vid. console.

Now just to be straight, I am not saying that the police are lazy at all. Far from it, I always have a high opinion of law enforcement, but they do have things to do, just like anybody else and lives to live just like anybody else.

As to that story of the laptops, the only reason why they looked into it was because there were multiple robberies involved and the probabliaty that they were connected was high. So that was something worth looking into for them. That's not the case here. Here we have a lone robbery of one xbox taken from a kid's room. Nothing else was taken, so it was most likely a friend who knew about. But that is all just speculation, no evidence and no way to prove it without a lot of paperwork and warrants and alot of headaches all around.
 
was there any semen on your xbox ? maybe they could do a DNA trace?
 
the police should be interested in catching the theif for little things as they know it will reduce the large crime rate as people eho are stealing are often doing other things that are far more serious.....
 
You have no clue. 30 minutes? Go ahead and ask a LEO how much time it would take for him to do a proper investigation.

-talk to family, friends & associates
-check all pawn shops, neighbours
-check online ads, garbage bins.. etc

Even if they manage to find and charge the offender, we are talking more time to submit the file, bring in the offender to lay charges, court costs.

Sure, let's spend $15,000 to (maybe) bring in someone involved in petty theft, rather than spend the resources investigating violent crimes.

Wake up and smell the Java.

lol talk about ignorance.........

lets actually bust the common criminal for petty crimes so they are actually deterred from commiting bigger ones........
 
honestly, I don't think the police are going to launch a huge investigation over a stolen xbox 360. hell, they didn't even really look for my uncles stolen CAR, so your chances are pretty slim.

Your best bet is to buy another xbox, and a gun so you can shoot the little turdlet who tries to rob you next time
 
You have no clue. 30 minutes? Go ahead and ask a LEO how much time it would take for him to do a proper investigation.

-talk to family, friends & associates
-check all pawn shops, neighbours
-check online ads, garbage bins.. etc

Even if they manage to find and charge the offender, we are talking more time to submit the file, bring in the offender to lay charges, court costs.

Sure, let's spend $15,000 to (maybe) bring in someone involved in petty theft, rather than spend the resources investigating violent crimes.

Wake up and smell the Java.

Except an "investigation" would go as I outlined in my post before. The serial # would be marked as stolen property, and a call to Microsoft would be made. Then it's just a matter of waiting until someone eventually goes online with the 360. If someone is caught, then yes, it will cost money to prosecute them, but that's money well spent.

It's not all glamorous and hands on like you see on TV. Each week there isn't a new violent crime that requires the entire department to solve.
 
OP, if your in the UK, you can have my xbox 360 thats basically had maybe 20 hours of gaming on it since 2005, I dont use it, if you want you can pick it up if your int he uk and give it to your bro to replace his, I also have like 4 or 5 games he can have, saves your mom having to buy another one and your brother losing out, or having to go through household insurance and raising the premiums for next year over a measly xbox.

If you can get your hands on it, then its yours.
 
Except an "investigation" would go as I outlined in my post before. The serial # would be marked as stolen property, and a call to Microsoft would be made. Then it's just a matter of waiting until someone eventually goes online with the 360. If someone is caught, then yes, it will cost money to prosecute them, but that's money well spent.

It's not all glamorous and hands on like you see on TV. Each week there isn't a new violent crime that requires the entire department to solve.

Before you spout off more, why not look into what time and resources it takes to open/conclude a file. Most police departments are under-manned and over-taxed. And you want them waiting on hold to M$ waiting to see if they can even track the number?

Even then, what guarantees are there it will be connected to the Internet? Then you have to coordinate a trace with the ISP whch in theory may be fine, but what if someone leaches wireless (we are dealing with crooks you know).

Your point is, it is the obligation of the police to recover stolen items. To some extent that is true. However anyone with half a brain knows that it's not worth the paperwork and taxpayers dollars when compared to crime mitigation or closing down organized units.
 
my mother called the police then called me...She called i think to put it on record. and just in case it happened again..
I guess thats what you get when you try to help people out. (backstory, she was letting my little brother's friend stay there because he had nowhere else to go) she's making alittle headway.(sorry i dont trust the kid,then again, you cant trust everyone) she put the kid on her cellphone plan and found the kid made 15 calls in a 5 hours span 5-10pm to the same person, the day it happened. I hate to point the finger, but coincidence, happens while the kid is gone, and he magically takes madden and a controller. But i digress.

I have been checking his xbox live account, good thing he didnt buy a year yet, i think the person has either canceled or removed the account, hasnt logged in since 9/14(pretty much after 12am..i thought it was 9/13, but oh well.
We saw an Xbox on craigslist that turned out to be legit. the guy was trying to offload it quick which sent out signals. nothign there. yeah after about 2 days, were just waiting to see if info pop's up. i myself am not gonna burden myself over it. but i do thank you all for the words of advice. I think its more principal than cost. No-one wants to get something stolen,wether it be a $300 console or a $5 bill..to get stolen from for most people, means that someone took advantage of them. and no-one wants that.

if i find anything else, i will post another update.
 
OP, the best way to recover your precious xbox is to hire a private eye. I'll be honest with you, it won't be cheap but it just might work. Although hiring one would cost more than buying a new xbox, so the call is yours.
 
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