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Bike Theft Victims Turn to Web Posses

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 26, 2009 7:18 AM CDT

(Newser) – Bike owners are turning to newer technology to help nail crooks stealing their rides by posting online pleas to lookout posses, reports the Wall Street Journal. Victims use Twitter, Facebook and other sites geared toward bikers to hook into a nation of eyes watching streets and classified ads for stolen bikes. "Harder times mean more thefts," warns the founder of StolenBicycleRegistry.com, where people can list their stolen bikes free.

Some areas are reporting increases in bike thefts as high as 72% this year. "We're trying to empower the eyes of the community to get bikes back," says the founder of BikePortland.org. Bike experts urge owners to use a good lock, and keep a record of a bike's serial number and any photo that can be used to claim a stolen bicycle once it's located.

Hard times are driving up bike thefts.
Hard times are driving up bike thefts.   (©jikatu)
This Brooklyn bike was tracked down through Facebook help after it was stolen earlier this month.
This Brooklyn bike was tracked down through Facebook help after it was stolen earlier this month.   (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Web eyes are watching out for stolen bikes.
Web eyes are watching out for stolen bikes.   (©kristina sohappy)
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COMMENTS
Showing 1 of 1 comment
Yourself
Aug 26, 2009 3:58 AM CDT
@hleifester - more then running after porrly secured bikes. you'd be surprised if you weren't so narrow minded. With that said, MSNBC did a sting on bike thefts in NYC a few years back with GPS locators in the frame. Was quite the eye opener. What i'm surprised is that the complaint about cost would be futile if the cops would just ask for bike enthusiasts assistance. They'd be shocked to see a lot of people would volunteer to help with such a cause.

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