One of the photos found that was taken by the stolen camera

People usually don’t file police reports as they assume they will never see their device again, which was generally true, with a recovery rate of around 3% on average. Burglary is one of the hardest crimes to solve due to the lack of evidence. However, with new technology such as GadgetTrak these odds are increasingly in the victims favor. Before police can act on any evidence that GadgetTrak provides a police report must be filed this is true for all device types. If you have a device stole file a police report!

Not only does GadgetTrak provide location information for the phone, but also backs up all data loaded on the phone such as photos and contacts. Many times location is not enough for police to act, particularly as services such as Find My Phone from Apple have been known to be inaccurate, leading police to not trust just location data alone. The thief synched the phone with his contacts and working with the police were able to identify the suspects identity. We were able to identify the suspects parents, tattoo artist, dentist amongst others. The data provided to law enforcement allowed them to quickly identify a suspect they knew very well. This is the second recovery we have had for the Sprint chain and given the amount of thieves that target these stores as more expensive phones are released, it won’t be the last.

We are happy to announce the launch of CameraTrace. Formerly in beta as "GadgetTrak Serial Search," the tool is an advanced search engine that allows users to find images taken by a specific camera with just the serial number. The technology helps users track down stolen cameras as well as monitor copyrighted photos online.

CameraTrace now provides premium services including the ability to register a camera and receive real-time notifications when new images are found. Also included in the one-time $10 premium service fee is a metallic "Lost & Found Tag" with a unique serial number that provides an easy way for someone who finds a lost camera to get in touch with the owner. The tag also serves as a warning to would-be-thieves that the device is registered with the system.

John Heller recovered
his stolen camera after having it stolen more than a year prior thanks to CameraTrace.

The technology has already helped many track down their stolen cameras; crimes that would have otherwise gone unsolved. One such case allowed professional photographer John Heller to recover his $9,000 camera after having it stolen from him while on assignment a year prior. Using CameraTrace, he was able to find images captured by his camera a year after it was stolen. The camera had been sold twice, first on Craigslist and then on eBay. The evidence not only got Heller’s camera back, but also a stash of other stolen property being fenced. You can read more about the amazing recovery on TechCrunch and Gizmodo as well as on our blog.

The CameraTrace search engine uses a proprietary technology to scan photo sharing websites and extracts embedded serial numbers from images. The powerful grid computing technology has scanned and analyzed more than 5 billion images from the popular photo sharing site Flickr, consisting of all photos uploaded to the site from 2006 to the present, as well as images from other popular photo sharing sites.The system has identified more than 300 different high-end camera models across multiple manufacturers including Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Kodak that embed the unique camera serial numbers in the images the capture.

The new CameraTrace tool will have a significant impact on the theft of cameras, as thieves will now need to be concerned with the fact that a camera they steal today can be traced back to them in the future if someone uploads photos from it to the Internet. The company is working with law enforcement to scan serial numbers from older camera theft cases, as well as research other crimes the tool may help solve.

Here at GadgetTrak we have a long history of innovation and developing custom tracking and data protection technologies. Our patented technology is currently embedded in FLIR thermal imaging cameras, allowing them to be tracked if they are stolen as well as in assisting with export controls. We have also pioneered tracking and data protection technologies for laptops and smartphones that have led to amazing recoveries.

We will be at this year’s CES. To setup a meeting to learn more about our technologies at the show, please contact us at info@gadgettrak.com.

The Longmont police acted quickly. Using the information provided by GadgetTrak, they were able to identify the suspect and went in with a search warrant this morning. Nathan’s laptop was recovered, the others (which did not have GadgetTrak installed on them) are still missing, however. The police were able to get additional information from the suspect that may lead to the recovery of the other stolen property. The investigation is ongoing.

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GadgetTrak was featured in this month’s Forbes Magazine, along with a great photo of our founder and CEO Ken Westin. The article “To Shame A Thief” by Kashmir Hill discusses the growing market for software such as GadgetTrak as well as the privacy risks this technology can introduce if not implemented properly. The article shows how the technology can be helpful to recover stolen devices using one of our latest recoveries as an example where we recovered several stolen phones for a Sprint store.

The more negative stories where this type of technology has been implemented irresponsibly dealt with one of our competitors who provide their employees with backdoors into customers’ computers. This is something we always felt was highly invasive and not needed when we can rely on other more advanced methods such as Wi-Fi positioning and web camera capture to locate the device and identify the suspect.

Although GadgetTrak does not have the largest number of customers, we believe we provide a better level of service for customers who are concerned about their privacy and security. GadgetTrak is one of the only products in our space who cover every major platform for laptops and smartphones, as well as allow users full control of their data, how it is used, stored and delivered.

GadgetTrak customer Jessie had just purchased a brand new MacBook Pro just a few weeks ago at The Mac Store. The sales representatives recommended GadgetTrak and her father insisted that she buy and install it. It was a good thing she did, because just last week the new Mac was stolen out of her car. She logged and activated tracking for the device immediately and filed a police report through GadgetTrak, shortly thereafter the device started sending photos of the thieft and other information back to her. She passed the photos on to the police and they knew who the thief was, as he has a bit of a record. The police went and recovered the laptop and Jessie now has it back in her possession, we received a great email from her thanking us:

When we designed our software we kept customer privacy at the top of mind and built the system so that a back door was not needed. With privacy in mind we also gather only the critical information that law enforcement need to recover a stolen device. We do not capture screenshots, not only because it is not needed but we also felt that it was in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act ( ECPA ). The information we do gather includes location, network information and a photo of who is using the computer, all of which are sent directly to the owner of the device. The device owner can even configure the software to use their own mail servers for added privacy. The data our customers’ see when testing the software is the only information our software gathers and they have full control of how and where this data is delivered and stored.

GadgetTrak pioneered the use of Wi-Fi positioning for laptop theft recovery, paired with the web camera capture and network information we provide law enforcement powerful tools to investigate theft. Since launching our innovative and privacy-safe approach to laptop theft recovery in 2008 we have had a very high recovery rate while still protecting our customers’ privacy. By using advanced technology we are able to provide law enforcement with the information they need to recover the device, while at the same time not requiring invasive back doors that not only compromise customers’ privacy, but also security.

If you have questions or concerns regarding privacy, or our technology feel free to contact me directly.

Thank You

Ken Westin
GadgetTrak Founder & CEO
kwestin@gadgettrak.com

Professional photographer John Heller experienced the unthinkable while on assignment for Getty Images. His prized possession, a Nikon D3 camera was stolen from him at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. It seemed the camera with lenses valued at over $9,000 was gone forever; gone that is, until just a few months ago when he did a search for his camera on GadgetTrak’s Camera Serial Search. Heller entered the serial number of his stolen camera and found an exact match with several images that were recently posted to Flickr.

Photo from Facebook profile of the stolen camera’s new owner after theft

With the help of police, Heller was able to track the images to another professional photographer through Facebook, who had unknowingly purchased the stolen camera from an individual and even had the receipt to prove it. The camera was returned to Heller and the police are currently investigating the individual whom it was purchased from, the investigation is still ongoing.

This is the first time stolen property has been recovered by tracking the serial number embedded in images. We have also learned that thanks to this recovery, the LAPD is now recommending our tool to detectives and officers in the field.

GadgetTrak’s Camera Serial Search tool is a free service that we developed that scans images posted online and extracts their embedded serial numbers into a searchable database. It allows people to enter the serial number of a camera and see all of the photos that we have discovered that were taken by that camera. To date we have indexed more than 10 million camera serial numbers, making it the largest database of its kind. We have currently indexed all of the photos on professional photo sites like 500px.com as well as all images posted to Flickr from 2006 to the present, with plans to search additional sites in the works.

If you are a reporter and would like more information regarding this recovery, or any of our recoveries, contact us directly at 503-799-8610

Coverage

TechCrunch - Embedded Serial Number Helps Photographer Find His Stolen Camera
Gizmodo - How This Pro Photographer Recovered $9k Worth of Stolen Gear
BoingBoing - Photographer gets $9K worth of stolen camera gear back with GadgetTrak
Washington Post - Embedded Serial Number Helps Photographer Find His Stolen Camera
Popular Photography Magazine - Website Helps Recover a Nikon D3 Using EXIF Data
Tecca - $9,000 in stolen camera equipment recovered through Flickr search

Click the image to view a larger map or click here to view a real-time map of devices checking in

Since we launched our first product we have been reuniting customers with their devices, we are the first to recover a stolen laptop using the web camera and Wi-Fi positioning, the first to track and recover a stolen smartphone and the only company that has recovered stolen iPods, flash drives and other devices. We are also the first and only mobile security company to provide “host proof” data backup where data is encrypted with your own privacy key before being uploaded, ensuring that not even we have access to your sensitive data. We continue to innovate and have some new “firsts” we will be announcing soon.