Have you ever pondered to yourself while sitting on the couch during a power outage what you would do if your Xbox 360 was stolen? …God, I hope you didn’t say yes to that, but if you did then you may want to take a few notes from two University of Minnesota students who hunted down their stolen console Sherlock Holmes-style after it was stolen.

Isaac Pacheco and Bobby Harris discovered that their Xbox 360 had been pilfered, plundered, ploined you could say, from their dorm room. After going to police to file a proper report and getting the IP address that the stolen unit was using to connect to Xbox LIVE, the two students decided to do a stakeout and watch their account’s Xbox LIVE activity. Eventually they recognized a name, and informed police who then retrieved the stolen console and returned it to the lads.

Where was the console, you ask? Why, it was in a neighbor’s room down the hall.

They caught up with a computer forensic officer who subpoenaed Microsoft for the IP address, which came back as the same as their own.

Knowing that the suspect in the theft must share an internet connection in order for the same IP address to show up, the cyber-sleuths tracked their Xbox Live activity through their online accounts and recognized a name.

With the information, police were able to administer a search warrant Tuesday, recovering the stolen Xbox in a neighbor’s room.

Cue it:

How stupid do you have to be that you’re going to go online with a console you stole from your fucking neighbor? That’s like stealing your neighbor’s car but then asking if you can borrow their keys, you stupid bastard. I’m glad you got caught — fools like you don’t deserve to get away with things like this.

…not to say I support or endorse console theft to begin with, I’m just sayin’… if you’re going to steal, don’t suck at it.

via GamePolitics

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