Burglary victim remotely controls his stolen laptop to photograph thief - and then hands image to police who arrest him

Joshua Kaufman thought he had lost his Apple MacBook when a thief broke into his apartment and stole the computer in March.

And with police giving his burglary report a low priority, he was resigned to never recovering the expensive laptop until he remembered the software he had installed on his MacBook.

Caught in the act: The hapless thief, who police later arrested, stares unwittingly into the camera of the stolen Macbook

None the wiser: The same man's mugshot is snapped as he uses the computer while sitting in bed

Using 'Hidden' software, he remotely took pictures of the thief using his stolen computer - before handing the evidence to police to make an arrest.

Mr Kaufman captured the thief in a variety of bizarre locations - including using the stolen MacBook in bed, and in his car.

'Hidden' also provided him with location information, which police in Oakland, California, used to identify the thief as a taxi driver.

Officers then caught the thief by arranging for a 'pick up' from his car firm and arresting the man when he appeared in person.