A Buddhist monk recently had his laptop stolen from the Tube in London, losing 900 pages of rare Tibetan Buddhist scriptures that were being turned into a book. The materials were not backed up.
Tibetan-born lama Lelung Rinpoche saw Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the Tube when he was travelling with his 2-year-old son. Rinpoche, who renounced his celibacy vows to have a family, struck up a conversation with Boris Johnson about Tibet, posing together for a photograph. In the excitement, Rinpoche exited the train without his laptop bag.
The laptop contained research from Rinpoche’s global travels that were being turned into two books to preserve ancient teachings and instruct youth on how to lead a moral life. After realizing the loss of the bag when he returned home, Rinpoche contacted the lost property office and was lucky to be told the bag, with his camera, keys and son’s passport, were turned in. Only the laptop was missing.
Unfortunately, the laptop had not been backed up. Rinpoche has been on the news trying to appeal to the thief, who had some “good heart” to return the bag, to encourage the laptop to be returned. A £500 reward was offered:
“I would say to them it is not easy in this world to practise kindness and trustworthiness, but try to find the part inside them that can. To them it is only a computer, but for me it is work that can be used to help people.”
Unfortunately, we don’t often hear of thieves willingly returning stolen property. Whether it may be sold already, the plea is unheard, or perhaps they are afraid of repercussions, the chances of the laptop being returned are slim – even when a reward is offered. There has been no update to determine if the laptop has been returned.
No matter what you have on your devices, chances are you have something that you place a high value on. It may not be two books’ worth of work, instead it may be your photos or videos or ideas or work. It may be data you don’t want others to see, putting yourself or your identity / credit at risk. Whatever the case, protect your information – and back it up!
Absolute LoJack can help you secure your data, track your device, and get it back. Since 1993, we have returned more than 30,000 stolen devices in over 108 countries. That’s the best recovery rate in the business. Learn more here.