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Be careful about used Thinkpad...

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 6:19 pm
by cchsiao
Recently my house got robbed, and I lost my thinkpad. If you are going to buy a 2nd hand T43p, please check if it's a stolen one. The part and serial numbers of my lost thinkpad is: 2668G7U L3B6297. If everybody ever noticed that somebody is selling a model with serial number above, please contact me. Thanks a lot.

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:35 pm
by plucky duck
Sorry to hear :(

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:49 pm
by pphilipko
Didn't you say you had an apartment??? :shock: :?

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:08 am
by cchsiao
You are right. I live in an apartment.

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:37 am
by ThinkPad
Ouch man that sucks and that too a T-43P :(

Re: Be careful about used Thinkpad...

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:06 am
by doppelfish
cchsiao wrote:The part and serial numbers of my lost thinkpad is: 2668G7U L3B6297.
Didn't our friends at IBM maintain some kind of database where you can report stolen TPs? Or is there some other kind of a central registry one could look?

cheers,
-- fish

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 8:34 am
by brainpicker
Send an e-mail to theft@us.ibm.com and give Mr. Van Landingham your specifics. He will flag it in case someone tries to obtain "warranty" work. This works. If you do a warranty check soon afterward you will see the warranty will be voided from the date it was stolen. I also hope you had renters insurance.

Good Luck,
Yak

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:05 am
by tehsoul
dont think any thief would be dumb enough to turn it in with ibm for warranty repairs...

sucks to hear something like this man :(

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:47 am
by brainpicker
tehsoul wrote:dont think any thief would be dumb enough to turn it in with ibm for warranty repairs...(
You'd be suprised! Besides, they are likely to sell it for cash, and the new "owner" might be none the wiser and will surely be the one calling IBM for warranty work. I don't think most laptops are stolen to use. They are stolen because the opportunity presents itself and they are in high demand, thus easy to "cash in". The sad part is that law enforcement is likely NOT to spend much energy locating the true owner as recovery of stolen goods is a cash cow for local departments. They auction off the merchandise to make money for themselves, although the better ones will use the proceeds for charity. Therefore, I'd recommend a monthly visit to the local police or sheriff to ask for a search of the national database of stolen goods. If located, the local department will need to make a request for transfer of the laptop.

Yak