lost laptop and security issues

I forgot my laptop on the train a few weeks ago and according to SBB lost property, it's as good as gone. I'm going to proceed as if it were stolen.

I had changed my email passwords the day I lost my computer. What worries me most are the random personal documents left on (i.e. scans of bank account statements for tax returns, etc.) What further precautions would you advise taking? Is it worth signing on with an Identity Theft Protection service for piece of mind? (If one exists for international customers.)

Meanwhile, I have been able to track my computer's IP connections (through Dropbox) and it seems that the "new owners" have not connected my computer to an internet source. Could that mean they tossed out my hard drive without hacking through my online accounts?

This is a sad, sad day...Any advice would be appreciated!

If not done so already, first make a report online to:

a) SBB https://lostandfound.sbb.ch/webpubli...px?Language=en

( it can take some time to locate the items )

b) Police ( perhaps unknown theft ) - http://www.vd.ch/no_cache/formulaire...ct/?from=15757

( at least you have done the right thing and it will be difficult to fault you in the event an abuse of identity / information is discovered later )

Any chance you accidentally left it at Zurich HB? My husband and I found one a few weeks ago, and turned it in there.

Thanks for the links! I will file the report with the police right away. I did file that report with SBB on the day-of and the interesting thing is that you can check yourself online if anything's turned up that matches, or almost matches your lost property. That's how I found out that someone found a Mac on the Lausanne bus 4 days after I lost mine.

My particular laptop was on a train from Lausanne to Brigg.

JuliaMargaret, did the laptop you find happen to have a big red bumper sticker on it (with the laptop inside a black laptop bag?)

tip for next time: if you travel with a laptop, use the free TrueCrypt software and encrypt your system drive (actually the whole thing).

Read the instructions first. That's the only link I'm giving you: http://www.truecrypt.org/docs/tutorial