How can I tell if this guy is using my stolen MBP or not?

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How can I tell if this guy is using my stolen MBP or not?

Hi guys,

So I recently had my Macbook Pro stolen. I managed to lock it remotely using iCloud but unfortunately it gave me no information on the last known location (no idea why). Anyway, a guy that lives quite close to me is selling a Macbook Pro (same spec as mine). Obviously he wouldn't attempt to sell it with the remote lock still in place, so I'm going to assume that he's found a way to wipe the information on the computer and somehow bypass the remote lock.

Another interesting piece of information is that from the date that my Macbook Pro was stolen he has posted online asking for an Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. So, I (via a friend) have arranged to meet him tomorrow to take a look at the Macbook Pro that he is selling.

What I would like to know is:

1. Will my Remote Lock still work if I connect the Macbook to Wifi when I meet him?

2. If he has wiped all of the information on it, is there any way that I'd be able to tell if it is in fact mine? (by the way, it's only a couple of weeks old so no scratches, etc.)

P.s. I live in a third-world country where getting the police involved is the last thing you want to do in a situation like this.

Cheers 🙂

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on May 7, 2014 8:50 AM

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Answer 1

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keg55

Level 6

11,743 points

May 7, 2014 8:57 AM in response to j1829

j1829 wrote:

2. If he has wiped all of the information on it, is there any way that I'd be able to tell if it is in fact mine? (by the way, it's only a couple of weeks old so no scratches, etc.)

If you know the serial number, you might be able to check the bottom of the unit to see if you see it. Or if the person has installed OS X on it, you should be able to verify via System Information what the serial number is.

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Answer 2

j1829 Author

Level 1

0 points

May 7, 2014 9:05 AM in response to keg55

Is there a possibility that he could've changed the serial number of the machine? I've done a bit of research on the guy (googled his username 😀) - he posts a lot of comments and videos about hacking into macs.

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Answer 3

keg55

Level 6

11,743 points

May 7, 2014 9:19 AM in response to j1829

No, there's no way that I'm aware of to change the serial number assigned by Apple.

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Answer 4

andyBall_uk

Level 7

20,516 points

May 7, 2014 9:28 AM in response to keg55

Apple & AASP's have software to write a serial number to a replacement logicboard, so that it matches the old one. If the villain here has access to that, it's possible.

The physical serial might be a little harder, if etched as suggested here :

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1559

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Answer 5

keg55

Level 6

11,743 points

May 7, 2014 11:11 AM in response to j1829

j1829 wrote:

What I would like to know is:

1. Will my Remote Lock still work if I connect the Macbook to Wifi when I meet him?

My understanding is as soon as the Macbook is connected to WiFi and you issued the remote lock feature from "Find my Phone/Mac", the lock would be in effect. So, I would think while you're looking at this Mac and you can connect to WiFi, you should know right away.

As far as I know, if the Mac is powered off, sleeping or Find My Mac disabled, you'll see Offline. If it's connected via ethernet and not WiFi also, you will see the Mac Online, No Location Available but you would still have the ability to Play Sound, Lock or Erase Mac.

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