Thief Caught With MyLookout Android Application!
| by Rob Jackson on January 11th, 2010 |
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A couple in Wilsonville, Oregon had their home broken into while they were sleeping only to find out that both of their Motorola Droid Android Phones and other valuable electronics had been stolen. The thief must not have known the rightful owner had installed an Android Application called Lookout because soon after he began taking pictures of himself with one of the Droid cameras.
The application performs a backup service at midnight every night and the self-portrait pictures of the robber were uploaded to the web as part of the service.
GOTCHYA! The suspect was a 15-year old male who police believe had been scoping out the victim’s house for quite some time. They also believe there is at least one accomplice since the pictures were taken by a third (or second?) party. Pictures from the phone, only some of which are displayed below, were used to identify the suspect.
A local television news station ran with the story and you can watch the video here. While they show the Droid in all its Android glory and briefly picture the MyLookout web interface, they don’t go into depth on either.
Because the thieving boy was only 15-years old they would not disclose whether or not he was a jealous iPhone fanboy trying to secretly indulge in his love for Android.
[Thanks John!]
1. chris (tmo tier 3 tech) wrote on January 11, 2010
i wonder if he knows gloves dont work too good with capacetive screens.
2. bob wrote on January 11, 2010
hahahahahahahaha another reason im getting an android december when my parents allow
3. Gunner wrote on January 11, 2010
Most criminals don’t get into the crime business because their geniuses, fortunately.
4. Coolmandingo wrote on January 12, 2010
i hope they fry them bastards!!!
5. Brett wrote on January 12, 2010
That’s wtf you get…idiots.
6. phoenix wrote on January 12, 2010
gunner, they probably know the correct they’re, there, and their though.
7. The Black Guy wrote on January 12, 2010
Hmmm…. Installing the Lookout app NOW!
8. king_of_hearts wrote on January 12, 2010
Tried the app. It wouldn’t sync… i had to backup FROM the phone, and the GPS wouldn’t work till after I did the backup (and the GPS coordinates were way off from my location).
Needless to say, this app might be in beta, but it needs some real work because at its current stage I wouldn’t trust it to save my phone.
These people got lucky.
9. Robert wrote on January 12, 2010
Just downloaded the app – very cool. I love how it scans the phone for threats and was able to back up my data and locate my device from the web.
10. G wrote on January 12, 2010
hehe Karma
11. david wrote on January 12, 2010
If they will not give full information before you have to sign-up…POOR CUSTOMER FOCUS…stay away….
12. Maj wrote on January 12, 2010
Droid does :P
13. bummer wrote on January 12, 2010
Try my look out again. It wasn’t working the first day I had it, but it works now. I have tested it.
14. Artem Russakovskii wrote on January 12, 2010
I’ve been using MyLookout for a few months now and it’s great. I’ve been able to track my phone from the web and send a horrible screaming noise that cannot be stopped (unless you kill the program, I guess) to it. It backs up all the pictures nightly and that part works well too.
The only thing – it can be uninstalled and/or killed. Wish there was some sort of protection against that.
15. Terry wrote on January 12, 2010
I’m going to have to try this app. I currently have WaveSecure and Mobile Defense installed on the device as well.
16. Hans wrote on January 12, 2010
look at the pictures.. focus horrible. Droid doesn’t whole ting on “Droid does” is full bs!
17. Satvic wrote on January 12, 2010
the pics they’ve been obscured to protect the identity of the genius criminal :)))))))) Android really DOES(proud N1 owner)
18. Cybersedan wrote on January 12, 2010
Hahaha, Good one…
Does your phone catch thieves? DROID DOES…. in a world of doesn’t, DROID DOES :-)
19. swehes wrote on January 12, 2010
@Artem Russakovskii
They could probably add a pin code to the program, and if the wrong pin is put in three times, it will lock down the phone with a password and broadcast the GPS signal to all the emails you setup. :) Heck. A live feed would be sweet to. :)
20. drfrankc wrote on January 12, 2010
Further proof that the Droid takes crappy pictures
21. Kwaping wrote on January 12, 2010
You can’t buy that kind of marketing!
22. Hans wrote on January 12, 2010
Haha, Lookout is a cool app. The pics suck because: A) They were moving around. B) They didn’t use the AF(auto-focus). Droid DOES take good pictures. :)
23. Hans wrote on January 12, 2010
Btw, I didn’t write the post about the Droid having crappy focus. That was another Hans. D:
24. Lookout Mobile Security wrote on January 12, 2010
Thanks everyone who has downloaded or checked out the app so far, and for all the feedback! Be sure to tell yout friends, and if you have questions or need support, contact us at support.at.mylookout.dot.com
25. SprSynJn wrote on January 13, 2010
15 years old? That’s just sad…
26. just some dude wrote on January 14, 2010
yeah ill second wavesecure, it picked up my gps location with in 30 feet, and it sends you the phone number of the sim, if a diffrent sim is inserted, also has the option to lock the phone on sim swap and get gps location. and its free.
27. Cameron wrote on January 14, 2010
I’m happy because I got this app 2 days ago. What sold me was the feature to SCREAM, make a loud siren even if your phone’s ringer is off, haven’t had to use yet but, situations like that have happened with older phones. And being able to login to an online account and locate your phone. App is awesome.
And sad, because those photos are terrible. I’ve learned not to take lowlight. Hopefully they only released the bad ones on purpose to protect his identity.
28. John Davis wrote on January 21, 2010
Wow, thats prety funny. Some crooks are just too stupid, he is clearly one.
RT
http://www.web-privacy.pl.tc
29. art wrote on January 22, 2010
is that what the photos look like on the 5 mpx camera by the droid ?
30. brent wrote on January 22, 2010
microsoft has been doing this exact same thing with windows phones with the free myphone application, and im sure iphones have similar apps…so all you “Droid does” fan boys are a little ridiculous because its nothing new.
If the theif was smart he would have done a hard reset (assuming droid phones have that).
31. ex-Googler wrote on January 22, 2010
Headline: The Internet’s Total IQ Plummets 100 points Due to Ignorant Trolls (see below for real time examples):
@brent … are you really comparing Windows Mobile with the likes of Android and IPhone. Please go shoot yourself now.
@drfrankc … what exactly are you a doctor of, stupidity? Those aren’t all the photos #1, and #2 the camera was moving around.
@Hans #16 … Are you and drfrankc from the same family?
32. brent wrote on January 23, 2010
lol @ ex-Googler…I was comparing apps, not phones. maybe you should try to raise your own IQ. This story is about the benefits of an app that just happened to be on a Droid phone. This story could have been about any phone with a similar app but since its on a Droid, all you fanboys are getting ecstatic.
33. Olly wrote on January 28, 2010
@brent – you must know very well that myphone has nothing like these camera and security functions. myphone just backs up your phone online, and it isn’t even very good at that. I should know, I use it. 200MB data limit. Is Bill joking? Exactly which WinMo app are you comparing to MyLookout then? Tell me, so I can go get it.
It’s bad to be a Droid fanboy, but to go around supporting Windows Mobile? That’s very very sad.
34. Kevin wrote on January 31, 2010
They did not say this was lookout, nor did they say it was a droid phone. This is bullshit.