Burglary victim remotely controls his stolen laptop to photograph thief - and then hands image to police who arrest him

A designer who had his laptop stolen helped police by using a spy camera programme to take pictures and catch the thief red-handed.

Joshua Kaufman thought he had lost his Apple MacBook when a thief broke into his apartment and stole the computer in March.

And with police giving his burglary report a low priority, he was resigned to never recovering the expensive laptop until he remembered the software he had installed on his MacBook.


Using 'Hidden' software, he remotely took pictures of the thief using his stolen computer - before handing the evidence to police to make an arrest.

Mr Kaufman captured the thief in a variety of bizarre locations - including using the stolen MacBook in bed, and in his car.

'Hidden' also provided him with location information, which police in Oakland, California, used to identify the thief as a taxi driver.

 Caught in the act: The hapless thief, who police later arrested, stares unwittingly into the camera of the stolen Macbook

Out and about: The thief was even captured using the stolen Apple computer while driving his car

Evidence: The 'Hidden' software even takes screenshots once your laptop has been stolen showing the activity of the user

None the wiser: The same man's mugshot is snapped as he uses the computer while sitting in bed

Always watching: Another covert snap shows the thief sleeping on his sofa