S.T.O.P. Equipment Recovery

STOP plates deliver high returns.
Attaching a STOP security plate is not only the most important step you can take in deterring theft. Our plates also connect you to our highly effective international tracking and retrieval service - the service that pushes STOP security ahead of the rest.

Numbers talk.
Our return rate for lost property is unusually high. We have successfully returned 9 out of every 10 items reported lost for the more than 2,000 companies that use the STOP system worldwide. Given that our typical client has spent $4000 per laptop, before including the value of software, data and time spent inputting data into the machine, STOP's high reduction in losses results in significant savings!

How does it work?
Each STOP security plate bears a unique identifying number, along with the toll-free number for our anti-theft and ownership verification hotline. STOP's worldwide registry links the plate i.d. number to the make, model, serial number and owner of the equipment it's affixed to. A call to the toll-free number thus yields quick and easy ownership verification.

(Why would someone who finds a computer marked with our plates be likely to call STOP? See our Theft Prevention page!)

Our full service recovery system means you can finally relax.
Misplaced computers represent more than 60 percent of lost equipment and our service is extremely effective in returning these valuables to you. Should you misplace your laptop, etc., experience has shown it is very likely that a fellow traveler or commuter, a service center, or whoever finds it -- will call our 800 hot line.

Immediately after we've received a call locating your lost equipment, we call you to let you know where your machine is. But we don't stop there.

We take care of returning all recovered property! Our retrieval service includes overseeing the return of your valuable equipment - another headache you won't be suffering through once you register with STOP.
"Hot" property is returned, not resold. In any case of suspected theft, STOP will help you register the loss with local police and the FBI. We will also list the loss with INTERPOL in France, and throughout our own expanded international security network.

When the stolen equipment is offered for sale (the goal in most instances of theft), potential buyers, resellers, or whoever comes across it - typically become suspicious about the machine due to the warnings on the plate. They call STOP's clearly marked 800 hot line and we advise them on the spot that the equipment is stolen property. Resale is prevented and recovery follows quickly.

If the computer is taken by a professional thief, who foolishly attempts to remove the security plate (see our Theft Prevention page to learn how unlikely that is), the permanently etched tattoo below the plate displays the words "Stolen Property" in bold type, along with the toll-free number connected to our retrieval service. Resale value for the marked item dwindles to nothing with this marking exposed. Police and/or potential computer resellers who come across equipment stripped down to our tattoo call the 800 number and our rapid retrieval service is put into motion. Thus, the safety of keeping or reselling a "hot" computer marked with STOP plates disappears and most are returned via our retrieval service.