let's share

redeemed · Post by **redeemed** » October 18, 2006, 4:09 am

have you ever been robbed or stolen from? at home or at work or wherever? I'm sure you have a story that tops mine but I feel like venting:
I get to my car to go to work today (parked on the street cuz roomies beat me to the driveway) and notice my door is unlocked. hmm, that's weird, I always lock my doors.. open it up and bam. they only took my stereo face and ALL my CD's (which was around 100 in that particular case, and the part that actually hurts me) why are people so stupid and mean? why take a bunch of CDs they probably won't want and I'm sure can't sell.. I don't get it.. anyway pretty much ruined my day.
when I filed an "incident report" with the police for my insurance (not that I think they'll really do shit about it) they told me there had been a spree of break-ins --I think they said about 5- that night so it was probably some drugged-out retarded kids or one of the freakin mexican wanna-be gangsters that are so rampant here~ just being cool by stealing other people's shit that they can't even use.
k, I'll stop now - share stories if you wanna make me feel better since I know I'm not the only one

Midgen · Post by **Midgen** » October 18, 2006, 4:44 am

I had my car stolen.. a long time ago.

150ish CD's were in it, along with some expensive sporting equipment and clothing. This was back when CD's were still worth something.

Unfortunately I found out the hard way that auto insurance doesn't cover material things inside your car. You have to have renters or homeowners insurance for that. Living in a military dorm at the time, I didn't have anything beyond the minimum auto insurance I could get.

Xorian · Post by **Xorian** » October 18, 2006, 9:06 am

Well little less for me !

2 weeks ago i was at the swimming pool and someone took my wallet and cell phone that were in a locker, closed by a....(mhh can't find the word in english..you know that little piece of metal which you can use a key or a code to close...).

What is weird..they didn't take my Ipod...so i was lucky somewhat.

Kryshade · Post by **Kryshade** » October 18, 2006, 9:33 am

I had my wallet stolen out of my football locker. What really kills me about that is that I know it was a teammate that stole it, I just never found out who. I didn't really lose anything of importance, just my license and some photos of the girl I was dating at the time. No big loss I suppose, so I'm lucky.

If you ever have anything of value in your car, stereo speakers, amps, TV's etc. make sure they are permanently attached to the vehicle (i.e. bolted to the vehicle). An auto insurance company will consider any permanent attachment to the vehicle as part of the vehicle and thus covered. I run into this all the time... loose articles laying around, sorry your shit outta luck. Something was attached to the car via screws, bolts etc. Your good to go.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » October 18, 2006, 10:49 am

My car was broken into a couple years ago, and the people TRIED to steal it. They didn't realize that I was waiting on it to be towed to the shop for major repairs. All they got away with was some stuff that was the stereo and some stuff from the trunk. They got: baby clothes I really didn't want but my mom made me take home, a vaccuum that didn't work very well which a friend was coming to get, and a case of cassette tapes that I had no player for.

I hadn't even realized the car was broken into due to the way I had parked it, so I found out when a detective called me at work after they found a card that came with the car which looked like a credit card. Apparently one of the thieves thought that's what it was when they took it. The card had the VIN on it, so they tracked me down that way. When I was explaining what was missing, I had completely forgotten about the vac. He mentioned something about how the people they caught with some of my things had been suspected of breaking into hotels. That's when I remembered the vac. I described it for him, and even had the manual for it in the car. I still have it in the closet with the evidence tag on it, heh.

Deward · Post by **Deward** » October 18, 2006, 11:18 am

When I first moved to Milwaukee in 1998 I got my car broken into the first week I was there. I still had all my crap in there from the move. All I lost was a small 13" TV and a CD case with maybe 25 music cds. Biggest pain in the ass was that they broke a window to get in. I don't bother locking my doors anymore. I would rather let them root around in the garbage than buy another window. I was lucky in that they ignored my 5000 Magic cards sitting in the car. They were still worth something back then.

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » October 18, 2006, 11:21 am

What's a vac?

miir · Post by **miir** » October 18, 2006, 11:38 am

Leonaerd wrote:What's a vac?

a vaccuum that didn't work very well

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » October 18, 2006, 11:51 am

Oops. I meant what's a VIN*?

Siji · Post by **Siji** » October 18, 2006, 11:55 am

Aslanna stole my Rage Against the Machine CD.

Then broke it.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » October 18, 2006, 11:56 am

Leonaerd wrote:Oops. I meant what's a VIN*?

The VIN is your Vehicle Identification Number. If you look in the driver's side of the windshield, you will (generally) see a metal plate at the bottom with a series of 17 letters and numbers. This number identifies many things about your car (as well as being unique TO your car). These numbers were standardized in 1981 so that each make/model has it's own sequence.

1st - Country of origin
2nd - Manufacturer
3rd - Vehicle type
4th-8th - Describe other features of the vehicle
9th - Check digit
10th - Model year digit
11th - Plant digit
12th-17th - Individual vehicle identification number

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » October 18, 2006, 12:22 pm

Siji wrote:Aslanna stole my Rage Against the Machine CD.

Then broke it.

Not actually true. It belonged to your spousal unit. And I didn't break it. But that leads me to my story because it ultimately tells the fate of that particular Compact Disc.

I was at work and someone broke into my car. Of course they broke the window to do it. They stole my stereo (which I still have the faceplate for somethere since it was detachable), some shoes from the trunk and some brakepads I bought because someone was going to put them on for me. I also had one of those portable air pumps you plug into the cigarette lighter because my car wasn't the greatest and the tire had a slow leak.

Anyway, the Rage Against The Machine CD was in the stereo at the time. So I still have the case. But I didn't actually steal the CD!

And of course I wrote a letter to my employers saying how much their security sucked and it could easily have been someone physically harming people instead of just material losses. Apparently they didn't like that as I was dismissed shortly after for 'performance' reasons.

Post by **Sylvus** » October 18, 2006, 12:47 pm

Someone stole like 20 DVDs from my house at my birthday party a couple years ago. That's was pretty cool of them!

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » October 18, 2006, 1:15 pm

Someone stole my motorcycle a month and a half ago. Just brought it back from the shop. Was there when I went drinking, was gone when I got home.

Police were kind enough to send me a letter saying, basicly, "yeah, we agree it was stolen, we got no leeds cause you didn't interrogate your own neighbors, so we are putting it in a file to never be solved".

Insurance paid out well for it though, including my recent repairs, so I'm not angry about it, just unhappy and kind of wierded out that someone would want a bike that is worth so little, even when parted out, 1200 bucks tops.

Knarlz · Post by **Knarlz** » October 18, 2006, 1:24 pm

While basking in the afterglow, my wallet was lifted by a Tijuana whore.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 18, 2006, 1:35 pm

I still have a faceplate for a Car Stereo/MP3 player that was stolen. I got fed up with it and use a portable player in my car now with headphones.

Redeemed mentioned all the CDs that were stolen...that's a perfect example of why making backups of music isn't always for pirating. Keep the originals somewhere and make backups using 5 cent blank CD media that you can use in your car, etc. You still have your personal time "stolen" from you for needing to make copies again though.

The only thing of real value anymore is your personal information and writings/logs/home videos. Those can't be replaced so it's a good idea to back them up somewhere. Everything else is replaceable in a matter of minutes off the newsgroups...which brings up another question...say redeemed paid for all of those CDs...how do people feel about her replacing what she bought via downloading MP3s vs paying for them again? I'm sure the RIAA would say tough shit, pay us again because the thief is now enjoying your CDs and won't pay us so you need to pay us again for getting your CDs stolen.

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » October 18, 2006, 2:45 pm

in high school my CD book of 40some legally-paid-for discs was stolen at school. I found out who took em because he sat close to me in one of my classes (probably where he took them) and, probably on purpose, whipped out my CD book in plain view multiple times following the incident. nothing i could really do about it cos he was on his 2nd or 3rd year as a senior and I probably weighed 120lbs at the time so I couldnt even kick my own ass. i wrote them off and packed the urge to kill away in my mental piggy bank of violence and hate

but as luck would have it, a few weeks later we were in class and his wallet fell out of his pocket while he was slouching in his desk. Like i said before, I sat close to him- behind and to the left.. . Everyone had a reason to hate this kid, so I look behind me and everyone is staring at the wallet on the ground and smiling/pointing. So I reached out my foot and snatched his fuckin wallet. 20 bucks lunch money from mommy, driver's license, student ID (which they charged 50 bucks to replace), and the key combination to his locker. I could have and should have gone the next step and raided that, or at least filled it with dog shit/mayonaise/whatever, but I didnt.

anyway, boring story. but it made me a true believer in karma

Truant · Post by **Truant** » October 18, 2006, 3:18 pm

Xorian, the word you were looking for, I believe, was "lock."

Winnow, just a word of warning...it's illegal in every state I have ever been in to operate a motor vehicle while wearing headphones. It has to do with the perceived inability to hear emergency sirens. (Before you start, I don't care if you can or can't still hear environment noise with your headphones on...I'm just giving you a small bit of legal advice...do with it as you please).

As for me, I've never had anything physically stolen from me *knocks on wood*

I did, however, have my identity partially stolen last year. I caught it quick, and it ended up costing me nothing (other than time) which was good.

I have been taken advantage of by (now) ex-girlfriends and other 'friends' several times. Both monetarily and of material possesions. Many times it was due to helping someone out during tough times, and them either fucking up the assistance as well, or just taking it and running. I'm not just talking about casual acquaintences either...I'm talking about people you have an actual relationship with, see often, and know well (heh).

Anyways, it's left me much less open to people, and with a pretty huge lack of trust. I don't necessarily assume everyone is lieing to me, I just assume that I can't rely on them for much of anything.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 18, 2006, 4:19 pm

Truant wrote: Winnow, just a word of warning...it's illegal in every state I have ever been in to operate a motor vehicle while wearing headphones. It has to do with the perceived inability to hear emergency sirens. (Before you start, I don't care if you can or can't still hear environment noise with your headphones on...I'm just giving you a small bit of legal advice...do with it as you please).

I know it's illegal but thanks for mentioning it just in case.

I do have open eared type headphones and can hear but understand that doesn't matter legally. On the off chance that a cop has eagle eyes, is super bored, and wants to pull over someone wearing headphones, I flip off the headphone on the ear that's visible to the cop until I'm out of view. I use the Sony headphones that hook onto the ears with springs so there's no headband to see so from one side it probably looks like a bluetooth cell phone headset. Even so, I pop it off temporarily to save the possible grief.

I'm looking forward to getting some nice bluetooth stereo headphones soon as a few decent sets are coming out and I don't like dealing with the cord like in those lame Apple commercials where I guess it's cool to swing around the headset wire.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » October 18, 2006, 5:08 pm

Truant stoled my heart at Fan Faire several years ago!

Post by **Xouqoa** » October 18, 2006, 5:32 pm

I had somebody force my window down on my truck while it was parked at work once. I think it was a homeless person because they took my backpack with all my books in it and all the change in the console, but left my $400 stereo alone and the cds I had in it at the time.

Sucked having to replace $500 in textbooks, though.

Lalanae · Post by **Lalanae** » October 18, 2006, 6:49 pm

My car was broken into while I was at the gym a couple years ago. They tried to steal it, but my car won't start unless the key is used, so they just rifled through everything and left. It cost me over $600 between the ripped out ignition and door damage and that was with the discount my uncle was able to get me (It was originally quoted at $900). Thankfully my CD case was at home, so they didn't steal anything of value.

It was the first time I ever experienced theft first-hand. It was a pretty violating experience.

Xatrei · Post by **Xatrei** » October 18, 2006, 6:52 pm

I had my car broken into back in the early 90's, and had my stereo, CDs and cassettes stolen. They also got my tennis gear, a boom box and a couple bags of work-related stuff. The loss of my work stuff was a real pain in the ass, and put me in a bit of a bind with my job at the time.

In the summer of '96, someone tried to kick in the back door of my old house. They didn't actually get in, but they screwed up my door, and I ended up having to replace the door and frame. I think that my neighbors came home at just the right time to scare the would-be intruder away.

In 1998, I lost my wallet and had some jackass go on a shopping spree with my credit cards, but that was all relatively easy to fix. I didn't get dinged for any of the charges, so I only lost a couple hundred bucks in cash that I was carrying at the time.

Xorian · Post by **Xorian** » October 18, 2006, 9:21 pm

Truant is my hero...

Arborealus · Post by **Arborealus** » October 18, 2006, 10:19 pm

This one time...at Band Camp....Oh that's a different kind of sharing...nm...

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » October 18, 2006, 10:27 pm

Arborealus wrote:This one time...at Band Camp....Oh that's a different kind of sharing...nm...

see what MySpace is doing to him!?

Pherr the Dorf · Post by **Pherr the Dorf** » October 19, 2006, 2:05 am

someone stole a bag of weed from me when I was a freshman in college... pissed me off

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » October 19, 2006, 2:54 am

the first time something was stolen from me was in high school. i was walking from class to class, down a narrow flight of stairs, along with eleventy billion other kids. somebody unzipped my bag and plucked out my wallet. not a big deal, i didn't have a driver's license yet and had maybe five bucks on me. was more of a shock than anything. welcome to the real world.

about five years ago i had my car broken into. whoever did it was fucking retarded, too. first they tried to jimmy the driver's side lock, thus destroying it. after they failed there they busted the passenger side window to get inside. then they apparently had some trouble getting my radio out because they totally wrecked my entire dash, a/c vents, gauges, etc. i think i was more pissed about how they sloppily tore up extra crap than the fact that they took my stereo.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » October 19, 2006, 5:09 pm

one of my sorority sisters stole my watch after making me remove it during initiation. she wore it that same night, and then later sold it for crack money. i never was able to get it back, since she went to prison for killing someone while DUI, and by the time she got back, i had left the sorority.

Ryuda_69 · Post by **Ryuda_69** » January 26, 2007, 1:06 pm

wow... i've had this same shit happen to me a few times. but the worst time was sometime last year when i was working part time at some restaurant in manhattan. i was having a good day at the restaurant, and was dying for my shift to be over cause i had a really awesome gig i was playing that night. so everyone cashed out and divided tips at the end of the night... and as i walked back to my locker i noticed that the door to my locker was closed but the pad lock had been cut. needless to say i was furious when i looked through my shit and realized that some donkey fucker stole my bag of CD's. i was livid since i was having a great day, and now someone stole my cd's and basically pissed in my corn flakes. i mean really.... why do people steal cd's like theres any big payoff to it, and i'm sure whoever done stoldedddit my cd's doesn't listen to bands like "Hate Eternal, Anal Cunt, Agoraphobic nosebleed" or even "sarah mclaughlin" hehe. i'm sure it was one of the assholes that work the line in the kitchen, but shit happens /shrug.

however, the badluck doesn't stop there as i just broke my 40 gig ipod by accident last week when i dropped it on the side walk. i swear those fucking things are paperweight

Tangurena · Post by **Tangurena** » January 27, 2007, 12:40 am

My ex (we weren't married but had been together for 9 years, which is longer than most marriages) had been taking charge of the joint money. Back in those days, when you left a place, they mailed you a check for what was in your 401k. She spent it before I could move it to an IRA, and I ended up having to pay extra taxes and penalties on the money taken. $15k went bye bye, and I had to make payments to the IRS for another $5k.

In one car, I used to keep change in the ashtray sort of thing between the driver and passenger seat. I had tinted windows. Someone smashed in the driver's window, took the change and went thru the glove box. They got maybe $3-5 in change I kept for toll roads. I suspect they were angry at wasting their time on such small change, so they smashed out the other windows. Since they were tinted, it was obvious what side they were on when the hit the windows. Windows ran near $300 to replace.

This halloween, someone broke into my apartment when I was at work. I live on the 4th floor, and middle of the hallway. No one else was broken into that day (80 apts in my building). They took all my DVDs, all my removable hard drives, my broken laptop (the working one I had taken to the office that day), my broken pda, and those fireproof lockboxes you keep papers in. So they also got birth certificate (costs $50 to replace), SS card (by law, you're only allowed 10 replacements in your lifetime, so I've used 3 of those up), high school diploma (college degrees are framed, so they missed those), title to my car (cost $9 to replace that the next day), expired notary stamp, family photos, and other stuff I am not sure about. They left the CDs, CRT and desktop computers.

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » January 27, 2007, 2:24 am

Someone stole a broken zip drive and several zip disks from my office back in the 90s. I had already called in and gotten a work order on it with Iomega.

The stupid bastard(s) must have done the same later because it got shipped back to me repaired with my original repair order referenced.

I called Iomega and they were hopeless, but hey, I got my drive back. The zip disks were mostly infected with the "click of death", so I hope they wrecked thier own fucking drives.

I had an equalizer stolen from my Camaro back in the 80s. I got the insurance check and bought it on sale for less than what I paid originally.

On the other side of luck, my wife (when we were engaged) had someone bust down her apartment door one day she was home sick and burst into her room and were rifling through her stuff when she woke up and scared them off. Thank God they were only after loose valuables.