Laptop detecting devices & theft

[mark w]

My brother has just had his car broken into and a laptop stolen. A guy was seen acting suspiciasly around his car in a supermarket carpark where the theft happened. On reporting the theft to the police and mentioning that this guy had been spotted around the carpark the police told him the criminals have some device that can detect if there is a laptop in cars. Can anyone confirm that such devices exist and if so roughly how they work (I dont want to make one I'm just curious) the laptop was out of sight and not switched on so I assume it would not be transmitting any wireless or bluetooth signals.
If this type of device exists, is it just laptops they detect or can they locate such things as mobile phones and tom toms etc ??

[machiavelli]

Something like this prehaps.

[David Pye]

I'm calling bull on it.

You might be able to build something to detect if a laptop was turned on, but if it's off you'd be hard pressed to get much out of it.

They're reasonably well shielded too, as they have certain RF emissions criteria to meet.

[machiavelli]

I reckon it could be done, but it's a bit beyond your common criminal. Certainly phones would be easier to find than laptops. For laptops I'd look at the frequencies used by 802.11 networking. Got a GDO that goes that high?

[quoggle]

Could they be using a pair of these?



I use mine everyday


Eye - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[David Pye]

Ah, well. That one might be easier.

Get a frequency counter, like this:

Discount Frequency Counter products. Buy Frequency Counter products cheap online @ Maplin.

I've got one somewhere...

[Scuby]

While such things may exist, I doubt the criminals had one. Probably just opportunists, I guess certain types of car or certain types of people are more likely to have a laptop in the boot than others.

David

[David]

Most people are real clever they put there laptop on the seat beside themselves. Then they wait till there in the carpark to hide all their belongings in the boot.

now the realy bad people have come up with this plan.....

they just sit and watch....

[Steven]

Originally Posted by David

Most people are real clever they put there laptop on the seat beside themselves. Then they wait till there in the carpark to hide all their belongings in the boot.

now the realy bad people have come up with this plan.....

they just sit and watch....

hey thats sneaky!!!

mobiles are different though I've just found that I've had a spare phone and a headlight torch taken from my car, they were both off and the phone hadn't got a sim card in it......... its very strange that they are the only things gone!!

[mark w]

All seems very strange to me.
Yes my brother would be in the type of car and dressed in such a way as to lead you to believe there would possibly be a laptop in his possesion.
But why did the police not just simply tell him that, instead of telling him of some James Bond type device to detect them.
The laptop was not in the boot admitadly, but he had not hidden it upon arrival at the carpark, yet judging by the speed of the theft they seemed to know exactly where to look for it, whilst totally ignoring best part of £10,000 of new golf clubs that where also in his car.
Im still sceptical about the existence of such devices, but as they used to have devices to snatch alarm and unlocking key fob codes and then unlock your car once youd left the carpark Im not convinced that its totally bulls**t