thefts

'Kill switch' sought as answer to phone theft epidemic

NEW YORK -- Megan Boken was on her phone checking in with her family as she got into her car when the line went silent.

The 23-year-old former volleyball star was back at her alma mater, St. Louis University, as part of an alumni-student game. A popular and likeable person, her parents assumed she ran into an old friend and got distracted.

Boken, however, had been shot twice and killed in a robbery. The only item missing: her phone.

Boken's father, Paul, and sister, Annie Palazzolo, shared the details of Megan's death, which occurred in August last year, … Read more

Prosecutors team up to combat smartphone thefts

Prosecutors in New York and San Francisco will announce a program dubbed Save Our Smartphones on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

The new intiative would bring together law enforcement officials, politicians, and consumer advocates across the country to fight the growing wave of smartphone thefts. The group wants to exert pressure on smartphone companies and their stockholders to reduce the market for stolen phones. One goal would be to set up a "kill switch" that would render all such phones inoperative.

Later on Thursday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gasc&… Read more

Find a stolen laptop with free LockItTight service

Recently I splurged on a Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook, which I absolutely love. It's a svelte, speedy marvel of modern computing, and almost certainly my favorite laptop of all time.

Which is why I'm especially fearful of losing it. Laptop thieves are everywhere. If they're not breaking into your car or home, they're snatching and grabbing from offices, coffee shops, airport security lines, and so on.

Arguably the only thing worse than your laptop getting stolen is knowing there's no way to get it back. After all, it's not like it can "phone … Read more

Man buys iPad for $390, gets box of potatoes

If a man in the street offers to sell you a Rolex, it is likely a worthless piece of metal.

Similarly, if a man in the street offers to sell you an iPad, it is unlikely to be anything other than a piece of wood or a box of apples.

Or, in this case, potatoes. … Read more

GTA IV gets Google Street View

While you cool your jets waiting for Grand Theft Auto V, take a walking tour of GTA IV's Liberty City -- in Google Street View.

Fan site GTA4.net has had a map of Liberty City based on the Google Maps API since early 2009, and it has been a pretty fun -- and useful -- piece of software that shows users where they can find health, armor, and weapons pickups, as well as pigeons, stunt jump locations, and window-cleaning platforms. But now it has received the ultimate upgrade: Google Street View. … Read more

Teen dies trying to hold onto iPad during theft, police say

It's a natural instinct to resist if someone tries to steal something out of your hand.

In Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon, that instinct might have cost a 15-year-old boy his life.

As the Las Vegas Sun reports, Marcos Vincente Arenas was walking down the street, holding an iPad. … Read more

Apple, Samsung, others urged to help thwart mobile phone thefts

Apple and other mobile phone vendors are being asked to amp up the fight against cell phone theft.

In a series of letters sent today to the heads of Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola, and Microsoft, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman requested information on what they're doing to make their phones more safe and secure from thieves. Schneiderman also urged the companies to work with his office to devise ways to cut down on the lure of cell phones to criminals.

The attorney general pointed to a rise in the theft of phones and other mobile devices in … Read more

Senators propose law to go after foreign cybercriminals

Shortly after the Pentagon announced the Chinese government has been involved in widespread cyberespionage targeting the U.S. government and businesses, a bipartisan group of senators proposed a new law to fight cyber-theft.

The law, dubbed "Deter Cyber Theft Act," was proposed Tuesday by Democrats Carl Levin and Jay Rockefeller and Republicans John McCain and Tom Coburn, according to Reuters. The goal of the legislation is to protect commercial data from foreign hackers and governments.

Several foreign countries, including Russia, Israel, and France, have been blamed for spying on U.S. government Web sites or American businesses, but … Read more

Rockstar debuts new character trailers for Grand Theft Auto V

The latest trio of trailers in a series of previews of Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto V has hit. These character videos take a deeper look at the tribunal stars of the game: Michael, Franklin, and Trevor.

Be sure to check back later this week for a major update to our continuing coverage leading up to the September 17 release of Grand Theft Auto V.

See more Grand Theft Auto V coverage at our sister site, GameSpot.