If you steal an Xbox 360, don't forget to disable the auto sign-in feature
before going online. That's the lesson high-tech crooks are probably gleaning
from today's New York Post brief about a thief, 22-year-old Jeremy Gilliam,
apprehended after logging into Xbox LIVE with his victim's online game id.
Xbox LIVE requires a unique identifier known as a Gamertag, similar to an
instant messaging id. The owner of the stolen Xbox 360 noticed his Gamertag was
logged in without his permission, then told his parents, who contacted police.
Detectives on the case ostensibly worked with Microsoft to get the stolen Xbox
360's IP address, then followed the digital breadcrumb trail back through the
ISP used by Gilliam at the time. That led them to Gilliam's grandmother's house,
where they discovered a trove of pilfered games, laptops, and satnavs reportedly
accumulated from hundreds of vehicle break-ins and multiple home burglaries.
