On Sep 6, 10:39*am, --riverman wrote:
OK, not fishing for any sympathy, but some strategies.

Some f**ker let themselves into my house Friday night and made off
with my laptop, SWMBOs jewelry, some cash I had stashed (apparently
not so well) and a few odds and ends. I'm not too worried about most
of the stuff, except SWMBOs jewelry has a lot of sentimental value.

But my laptop worries me. The desktop is unlocked, so they have access
to all my content.

I don't have any passwords written in black and white anywhere, but
there are hints hidden in findable places. Also, my tax info is in
there (in a desktop folder called 'taxes') with a ton of my personal
info. Also, who knows what someone with the wherewithal to snoop in a
folder called 'financial' might decide to try to figure out.

So I'm suddenly a bit worried about identity theft, as well as (to a
much lesser degree) someone getting access to my accounts. I have
already changed all my passwords, but I still worry about what else
might be in there.

Anyone got any good ideas of how to trace a missing computer? Or who
to notify to prevent identity theft before it happens? This is a first
for me, so I'm looking for valuable insights....

Based on my daughter's experience when her laptop was stolen, I'd say
your chances of recovering it are somewhere around zero, and even if
you do, someone has already had access to your info. You need to put
out a fraud alert on all your credit card and bank accounts. You said
you changed all your passwords, and that is a good start. You might
actually stand a better chance of locating your property by going
after the jewelry. Give the police a complete and accurate
description, with pictures, if possible. Don't know how effective the
cops are in your area, but I assume they would check all the pawn
shops and known "fences" in the area. If they find the seller of the
jewelry, it should lead to the computer. Good luck!