Recovery stories
On this page, you will find a selection of Undercover recovery stories and customer testimonials. This page will be updated regularly with new recovery stories as they come in. Please note that there is a delay between the actual recovery and the publication of the story as we need to allow the police some time to finish their investigations. The date indicated above every story is the date of publication.
4 June 2013
"Undercover works like a charm. It recently found my MacBook Pro and I had it back within 5 hours of handing the report to the police. At the same time iCloud's find my Mac didn't even activate...
I'm now a complete Undercover evangelist and as I work at an Apple Retail Store, I'll be telling as many customers as I can about your software. I'm buying the family pack ASAP."
- Many thanks, Drew B.
4 June 2013
"I wanted to thank your team for your help. I am a Merchant Marine Officer, and I travel extensively for long periods of time. In February I was away for nearly the entire month, and while I was away, my house was broken into. I always leave my old Macbook Pro, which has your software installed, on my desk in plain sight when I leave.
When I returned home, it was a complete shock to see every cabinet and drawer open, they had completely looted my home. The thieves had stolen the computer along with over $10,000 worth of other property. I quickly marked my laptop as stolen and in a couple hours we received the IP address of where the computer was. The police department quickly obtained a warrant and retrieved my laptop, which had been given to a friend of the robbers. He quickly gave up their names.
To shorten the story, within 24 hours the police had arrested the thieves who quickly confessed when they were presented with the amount of evidence, and turned over everything that was stolen. Without your tracking software I highly doubt that the police would ever have been able to track down the robbers, as so much time had passed. It would have taken months, not one day.
I am planning to invest in your software for all equipment that is trackable. I can't thank you enough for this amazing product!"
- Captain M. S.
4 June 2013
"We want to report the successful recovery of our son's stolen computer. The police were very impressed with the information given to them from Undercover, and they were not only able to recover our son's computer, but several other stolen computers at the same time! They told our son they would most likely never have recovered his computer without the program. Thank you Undercover for a job well done."
- Christy
14 May 2013
"First of all, I want to say a tremendous thank you for making Undercover! My laptop was stolen on Saturday March 16th and was recovered March 25th!! It was offline for a week, and then finally popped up. I immediately called the police and because of the software I was able to tell him where it was, show him what the person had typed, and I printed out two pictures of the thief.
The officer then went to the apartment complex where it was reported to be at. As soon as he pulled out the photos of the thief, he immediately confessed. The rest is history.
Every officer I talked to said they had never seen any software as good as the one I was using. They were all very impressed (as was I). I told them about how easy it is to use, how cheap it is, and where they can buy it. It is easy to sell something as great as Undercover!
Again, thank you so much for this great software, its ease of use, and how thorough it is. I was very pleased and am very excited to have my laptop back."
- Wesley T.
14 May 2013
"Years ago, I bought Undercover after my MacBook Pro had been stolen and I installed it on every Mac I own. One week ago, my MacBook Air was been stolen from my car. With the help of Undercover I was able to collect data and today I handed everything over to the police. In exactly 5 hours I had my laptop again in my hands.
You are great! Thanks a lot!"
- Anonymous
14 May 2013
"I am writing to express my sincerest thanks for developing such great software. My home was burgled around two weeks ago, and both my iMac and MacBook Air were taken. Thankfully I had Undercover installed on both of these computers. I marked them as stolen on the Saturday night, and at 10am on Sunday morning I received an email from Undercover, alerting me that the Macs had been switched on and had begun collecting evidence.
Several days later, and after your staff assisted the local Police burglary unit with some further info, the Police executed a search warrant and recovered the goods. Two offenders have been charged with receiving stolen goods, and the Macs have been returned to my insurance company. All in all, a happy ending for everyone but the people who purchased the stolen Macs!"
- Anonymous
14 May 2013
"On my way back to Costa Rica from Sweden, someone grabbed my computer bag at the airport in Copenhagen. When I realized that my bag was gone, I contacted the airport police. I borrowed their computer, got online and reported the computer as stolen.
After returning to Costa Rica, it took about three weeks until I got the wonderful message from Undercover: "Stolen MacBook Pro Located". The computer was located in Sweden and I immediately contacted the Swedish Police. When I spoke to the officer in charge, he could not believe his ears. They couldn't believe I had the location of the computer, the name of the thief and even a photo of the thief himself. Within two hours they had recovered the stolen computer. The Police were so impressed by this, that they contacted the newspaper and told them the story:
http://www.expressen.se/kvp/frack-datatjuv-slog-till-pa-kastrup
http://www.skanskan.se/article/20120823/MALMO/708239955/1004/-/pejlade-stulen-dator
- Signed, a customer for life, Niclas
14 May 2013
"I've had quite the adventure today: this morning my laptop got stolen along with my iPad. After I gathered all the evidence, the whereabouts and pictures of the thief, I immediately informed the police. It was recovered within 6 hours! The iSight pictures played a crucial role, the police used them to identify the correct apartment in the building with the curtains that were in the frame. The thief initially denied he did anything. But he gave up once the police confronted him with the iSight pictures. He now has a few months of jail time waiting for him!
- Paul W.
14 May 2013
"I have just handed over my theft report to the police and they are now on their way to search the property and hopefully make some arrests. They were thoroughly impressed with your software, as am I. I am so grateful to you for providing such a fantastic service and product, and at such an affordable price.
Naturally, I wish my laptop had never been stolen, but the peace of mind provided by your software made me feel much better about the situation. I don't feel as powerless as I did when I had another Mac stolen earlier this year, before I purchased the Undercover software. I will be recommending your software to everyone I know and the Kent Police seemed very keen to utilize it themselves too, professionally and personally. You exceeded my expectations and for that I wholeheartedly thank you."
- K. A.
19 June 2012
"I just want to thank you a lot for all the help and information your software provided me and the police this week. My computer was stolen during the weekend, and this week the police decided to search the thief's house for stolen goods, using the IP-addresses and other evidence provided by Undercover. They didn't find the computer at first, but they were able to arrest the thieves anyway, based on all the webcam photos and screenshots. At 3pm, a few hours after the raid, they had the computer (the thief came giving it to them after he was told he had to pay the value of the Mac otherwise).
Thank you so much Orbicule; without your product I would never have been sitting here at my computer writing this now. I am very, very impressed (and the police as well - never before have they been able to recover a computer this fast)."
- Sincerely, Alexander
19 June 2012
Undercover saves student's laptop in Ann Arbor, MI
Read the Storify recap of the recovery story that recently made the national news.
22 February 2012
"Dear Undercover, I would like to really thank you all for having created the best program in the world. In 10 days, the police was able - thanks to the picture of the thief that Undercover took - to stop the organization and recover my MacBook. They formatted the hard drive and reinstalled a new operating system but it was too late, Undercover already did its job very well. So again I would like to thank you "
- Regards, Nic
22 February 2012
"Thanks so much for your wonderful software. When our laptops were stolen, I immediately activated Undercover. The next day I got a screenshot of the perp setting up a new account with a full name and email address. The police were impressed and raided a home where they found one of our laptops and other stolen gear. The best thing about this software is turning the tables on the crooks that left no forensic evidence in our house, when they had been watching us now we were watching them!"
- Paul, Mac After Dark
22 February 2012
"Thanks for a great working product. My MacBook Pro was stolen in the train in London. For a month the computer was quiet. But suddenly the new "owner" appeared on the Undercover radar. The Google Earth address combined with pictures sent back to me showed a 100% clear address. And the next day the London Police was able to locate the laptop and the owner - as well of the seller of stolen goods, whom the unlucky person had bought the computer from."
- Anonymous
14 October 2011
Swedish MacBook recovered in Henderson, Nevada
One of our clients from Sweden just wrote a blog post describing his experiences with Undercover. Thanks to Undercover, the Henderson (NV) police was able to recover the stolen MacBook and - probably equally important - roughly 1500 photos taken during a three week road-trip through California and Nevada.
28 June 2011
New Undercover Recovery Record: 3h7min
Good grades for Undercover, and a new time record for the recovery of a stolen laptop at this college in Arizona.
26 April 2011
Safe in School
Read about how this school uses Undercover to teach thieves a lesson.
24 February 2011
Recovery caught by Undercover
Erick Lounsbury was relieved to see how after a few days, Undercover captured a picture of the police officer recovering his stolen Mac.
23 February 2011
Recovery in Denmark
"I've got my iMac again and the thief is now in jail here in Denmark! It was stolen on Sunday night and today it was seen again. I went to my local police and they could in one hour arrest a man for the burglary. The police here in Denmark had never seen this app and they have never seen a picture of the thief and a geo tag like this! THANKS!!!"
- Best regards, Lars
13 January 2011
Recovery in Budapest
"I just wanted to thank you for helping me recover my Mac Book Pro, stolen from my apartment during a burglary 3 days ago. Budapest police were astonished to find out that such a program existed. It lead them all the way to the computer, and, more importantly, to an entire crime organization they are currently trying to undo and that might have international implications. Undercover gave the police an accurate, fine tool and allowed them to act quickly in a country with a low rate of crime resolution and extended criminal networks. The detectives here were quite enthusiastic about Undercover as it triggered results they could not have hoped for otherwise.
Thank you again - as all my work was present on this computer and without your program, everything would have been lost."
- L. Nemes
15 December 2010
Recovery in Detroit
Jim's MacBook Pro was stolen on a business trip at the Hertz office at Detroit Metro Airport. Luckily, the Detroit police were very quick to recover the Mac.
15 December 2010
Plan B recovers Mac in Dublin, Ireland
Read about what happened to Emily's laptop and how it was recovered with the help of Undercover and Plan B.
21 October 2010
Recovery in Jamesburg, New Jersey
"The undercover software should be mandatory in each and every computer sold! This software has proved by far to be the best thing we have ever purchased, and it was well worth every dollar, what a bargain! The police that worked on recovering the Mac were astonished at how we were able to view and track the criminal activity. We are so impressed with a job well done by the creation of this highly sophisticated software, and are very grateful for the purchase. Keep up the good work, we have already upgraded to the newest version and will never be without this protection in the future. You have exceeded our expectations of security protection!"
- L. O'Laughlin
21 October 2010
MacBook Pro recovered in Denmark
A client - who prefers to remain anonymous - tells us how Undercover helped him recover a stolen MacBook Pro in less than a week. Read more by clicking the link above.
21 October 2010
Revealing goldmine in Auckland, New Zealand
"Just wanted to thank the Orbicule team for their fantastic software. One week ago, my MacBook Pro was stolen from my vehicle. Thanks to Undercover, the evidence from the webcam and the screenshots were taken to the police, and yesterday (Thursday 30th September, 2010) they searched an apartment (directly across the road from the police station!) to find my laptop as well as a substantial amount of cash and drugs, which has led the police to a "goldmine" of evidence against the thieves. I previously recommended your software to friends with Macs, but now have a solid story to back it up. Keep up the great work!"
- S. Lelo
11 October 2010
Catching creepy thief in Deerfield Beach, Florida
"Thanks to you guys I just got my laptop back and the thief is in prison. He has been linked to other robberies in the area and the police are extremely happy with all the help we were able to provide. Without your software on my laptop, they would never have been able to nail this guy. Besides the obvious excitement about the return of my property, it was the most fun I've had in ages... tracking this guy down and getting my revenge.
The thief lived in the apartments behind us, and we found out that he had been watching/stalking us for a long time. That is how he was able to break in undetected. I honestly feel that you have made myself and my family a lot safer, and to know that this guy is in prison makes us feel a lot better. Who know's what else he would have done to myself, my wife or my kids. Thanks again... This is the best $50 I ever spent."
- C. Holloway
11 October 2010
Undercover recovers iPad in Aiken, South Carolina
"You made it possible for my baby (my iPad) to be recovered, thank you. The Push Notifications worked, and I tracked down the people of who I thought that they had stolen my iPad, but they claimed to have simply found it (if that's true, they probably should've turned it into the police). Anyways, I have my baby back in good hands! Thanks Undercover!"
- A. Lee
11 October 2010
Two Macs recovered, three thieves arrested in France
Rafaele's house was robbed while visiting her husband in the hospital. Thanks to Undercover, the french police arrested three thieves and recovered two stolen Macs.
11 October 2010
Recovery in Arad, Israel
Read how Undercover helped to recover a stolen MacBook in the middle of the desert.
11 October 2010
Speedy recovery in Helsingborg, Sweden
"My backpack with my MacBook Pro in it was stolen on the bus, when I looked away for a minute. Fortunately, I had installed Undercover when I bought the Mac. I mailed the Undercover staff and they got back to me right away. We started a trace. The next day, a Friday, I got the first pictures of the thief. On Sunday we had figured out who he was. I called the police and gave them all the info: I had screenshots of the thief logged in on Facebook, iSight pictures and IP addresses. The police was stunned, they had never had this much evidence. On Monday the police caught the thief at his home with my Mac. I was so happy. A couple of days later, when all police work was done, I got it back. Undercover rocks! Without it, I would have never seen my Mac again. Many thanks to Peter Schols an the staff at Orbicule!!"
- M. Hoff
22 February 2010
MacBook recovery in mid-air
Shanna Warmald's Mac gets stolen on a flight from the U.K. to Canada. Thefts on international flights are always difficult, as it is often unclear which police station is responsible for handling the case. Thanks to Undercover and the help of the Manchester police, she could recover the MacBook.
22 February 2010
MacBook Pro recovery Salt Lake City, UT, US
This story illustrates how Undercover helped Kenneth Koldewyn and the police to arrange a meeting with the unsuspecting thief after he put the stolen MacBook Pro on Craigslist.
22 February 2010
Recovery in Berkeley, CA, US
Dave Diamond tells us how the Berkeley police could recover his stolen Mac thanks to Undercover and a little help from iPhoto.
27 January 2010
MacBook recovery in Mechelen, Belgium
"As my family and friends tend to consult me in Mac-related matters, I installed Undercover on all 17 of their Macs. Rightly so, it now seems.In december 2009, my nephew's laptop was stolen. It took a month before the stolen MacBook came online, but from that moment on, everything began to develop rapidly.On a daily basis we received reports with mugshots of the perpetrator, screenshots of his activities and exact Google Maps of his whereabouts. The little scoundrel was first spotted on Friday 15 January. Thanks to screenshots showing the thief logging in to MSN and Facebook, the police could identify him. On Monday 18/01 the thief was arrested and on Tuesday 19/01 my nephew had his laptop back. A good example of the cooperation between Orbicule's pioneering software and a chief inspector of the Mechelen police force."
- K.L., Mortsel, Belgium
19 August 2009
iMac recovery in Bakersfield, California, US
Within 5 days, Undercover recovers an iMac stolen from Brian Guiniling, the IT/Project Manager for Cruz Thru Car Wash in Bakersfield, CA.
12 May 2009
Undercover recovers new MacBook in Norway
Read the english version of the story that made the front page of Norway's largest newspaper.
27 January 2009
Cornelius Dix, Linz, Austria
"My stolen Apple computer could be traced across 2 countries and finally recovered by the police thanks to Orbicule's Undercover software. The computer could be traced when the screenshots revealed the computer's whereabouts. All our laptop computers have Undercover installed and now we know we have invested in working technology. Thanks to Orbicule for their great support which is worth way more then the 50 bucks for the software."
27 January 2009
Donald Potter, Hall-Dale School District, Maine, US
"I just wanted to thank the folks at Orbicule. We just had our first success using Undercover at Hall-Dale School District. Thanks to the Undercover software and the assistance of the local police, we were able to identify the thief of a Macbook belonging to the district."
28 October 2008
Marco Uccello, Rome, Italy
"I managed to find my MacBook Pro thanks to your fantastic Undercover 2.5!! Your software has been very useful for my investigation. From the picture you sent me in the last mail, I managed to recognize the place where the picture has been taken: the shop where I bought it!!"
11 September 2007
Undercover recovers 4 brand new MacBooks
Four MacBooks were stolen from Krakbergsskolan, a K9 school in Sweden. See how Undercover recovers them, all four at once...
6 November 2006
MacBook Pro recovery in North Carolina, US
See how we recover an Undercover-enabled MacBook Pro, stolen at the victim's golf club, just a few miles from where he lives.
