Cybercity cops investigate fake laptop thefts
By Rahul Kumar

Police investigating large-scale thefts of laptops in Cybercity Gurgaon are confronted with a peculiar problem of fake registration of such cases by the techies. According to the police officials, about 25 percent of the complainants (who are generally Information Technology workers), falsely report missing laptops just to get compensation from the insurance companies.

Many techies file missing reports even if they posses the laptops, while others do when their laptops breakdown either beyond repair or if their repair could cost them very heavily, the cops disclosed.  However, the police have now decided to induct its Cyber Crime wing to identify the fraudster techies who had filed fake missing reports. The police have put the unique identification numbers of the stolen laptops under observation with the help of specialized software. Whenever the users log on to the internet using the ‘stolen’ laptops, the software would report the usage quoting the unique ID number. The police would then try to establish the internet protocol (IP) address to zero in on the location where the laptop is being used and hence reach the user. 

As per the police records,  over 100 laptops were reported stolen in various police stations in 2008. Majority of the complainants claimed that their laptops were stolen from their cars parked in the parking lots of shopping complexes. However, the police officials have inside reports that many  techies who reported thefts of their laptops were still carrying the same laptops and were using them after a gap of few days of reporting the matter with the police and after receiving the copy of the FIR. After they finish up with the formalities of filing the required documentation, including the copy of the FIR with the insurance company for claim, they start using their laptops as usual, the police officials claim.

Many others get the insurance claim by filing fake missing report of heir laptops and then get their damaged laptops repaired with the same money. If found to have reported the theft of their laptops falsely, the techies would be prosecuted on the charges of misrepresentation and concealment of facts and also for cheating the police department as well as the insurance agencies, the cops said.