CALIFORNIA COMPUTER EXPERTS SPOT STOLEN COMPUTER Red Bluff Daily News Online - Computer experts spot stolen laptop

Computer experts spot stolen laptop

Password protection

By KAREN McINTYRE-DN Staff Writer

RED BLUFF - Xtreme PC Solutions owner Justin Stahl and his technicians recovered a stolen laptop belonging to an Alameda County Sheriff's deputy Saturday.

Stahl said he was immediately suspicious when a man brought the laptop into the computer repair store and asked Stahl if he could break into the password-protected computer.

Some people forget their passwords, but this case was suspicious because the man was overly cautious and was not providing a lot of information, Stahl said.

Technicians at Xtreme PC Solutions were likely the only people in town who could break through the five passwords and encryptions, Stahl said. But when they did, they discovered confidential information such as time cards and police reports. The laptop was bought in Stockton and registered to the deputy.

Stahl confirmed that the laptop had been reported stolen from the Lodi Police Department. That department contacted the RBPD, whose officers set up a sting operation with one officer undercover and more waiting outside the business. Officers arrested Bankim Dhansukhlal Oza, 46, when he returned to pick up the laptop, RBPD shift supervisor Officer Steven Uribe said.

Oza, who is from Mumbai, India, but was staying in Red Bluff, said he bought the computer, Uribe said. The man was charged with possession of stolen property.

Oza told police he bought the computer from a man in Galt. When officers in Lodi contacted the alleged seller, the man said he had sold the computer, but not to Oza.

Upon further investigation, Uribe said Lodi officers found other stolen property in the man's home, including a GPS system that was also in the deputy's car the night it was burglarized.

The laptop is being held for evidence at the RBPD.

Stahl said he has been suspicious of a few people before, but he can't do anything unless the computer is reported stolen. "This is the first one we've been 100 percent sure," he said. "I was glad to get it back to the owner."

Stahl also said he recommends that people password-protect their computers. Doing so is easy and is the surest way to find the computer if it is stolen.

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Staff writer Karen McIntyre can be reached at 527-2153, extension 109 or kmcintyre@redbluffdailynews.com