Compensation for my computer?

[MagneticStrawberry]

Not sure if this is in the right forum,I'm sure it will be moved if not

 

Last year, some charming specimen of humanity hacked my computer

and downloaded a virus which filled it with child porn and then remotely took pictures of it.

They then demanded money or the pictures would be sent to the police.

 

I reported everything to the police and he was tracked down, arrested and charged

in July was sent on a nice 5 1/2 year holiday as a guest of Her Majesty.

 

 

After the case, the computer (which had been seized as evidence) should have been returned to me

-however the police have said they may not return it if they cannot guarantee it to be clean

(it seems that part of the virus is that when it's shut down and restarts, it sends more images...).

 

It seems rather unfair that I should be out the cost of the computer when I haven't done anything wrong

-is there any way I can sue for the cost of replacement?

 

 

I did mention compensation to the prosecuting team ,but it seemingly wasn't brought up at the trial.

 

Any advice gladly welcome!

[unclebulgaria67]

Tricky !

 

Think a restituition order asking the criminal to pay you for your loss has to be part of the original court case. Even if you were awarded a relevant sum, you might only be paid in instalments over a period of time.

 

Difficult issuing a county court claim, when they are in prison, as you would have to ask the court to send the claim to a prison. Then there would be the issue of them being able to defend the claim.

 

I think there is a scheme run by government to compensate victims of crime, but this may only relate to injuries sustained. Is there a ministry of justice helpline you could phone to find out ?

 

An IT expert could wipe the computer clean and restore to factory condition, but they would charge a fair amount and the Police would need to check it. Depends on the value as to whether it is worth it.

[steampowered]

You'd certainly have a good civil claim against the hacker. I doubt he is good for the money though.

 

Surely the hard drive can just be wiped and the PC returned? Or the police could just take the hard drive out and return the rest of the system to you? It isn't difficult to wipe a hard drive. I'd push this a bit further with the police.

[jacktheband]

New hard drives aren't too expensive. Worst case scenario is they return the computer to you without the hard drive. You'd have to stump up the cost of a hard drive, but that'll be better than losing the whole computer.

[CrappoMan]

Ask for the computer returning, less any hard drives or usb sticks.

Ask the police to destroy the disk if there is a chance it could contain any illegal images.

 

There is no excuse for not returning the computer.

 

 

They have computer experts who can make the computer safe to return to you.

 

You may need to make a complaint to the police, referencing the above.

[renegadeimp]

Normally the police seize the HDD and return the rest of the system.

[MagneticStrawberry]

Good news!

The computer has returned from its travels minus the hard drive

-and apparently the CPS has an area on their site

that I can use to submit a claim for compensation from Oik the Offender as a civil claim.

[andydd]

Worth buying a SSD type hard drive, about £30-£40 for a 120gb one or standrad type hard drives are even cheaper./

[MagneticStrawberry]

Just to bump this up to catch up....

I got quotes of between £150 and £200 for hard drive,installation and labour.

 

 

I've Put in a MCOL claim against Oik the Offender

-it was acknowledged as having been served on 14 May,

 

 

so I think I have until 28 May-is that correct?

 

 

Have not heard a pip in the way of defence from the other side at all.

[renegadeimp]

150-200 for a hdd and to mirror the old one?

[BazzaS]

150-200 for a hdd and to mirror the old one?

 

Surely you don't want to mirror the old one (with its virus!)

 

Do you have a backup to restore from that is definitely pre-virus?.

 

Re: court claim - causation & liability should be a slam dunk (using their conviction & the Civil Evidence Act).

Quantum shouldn't be too tricky.

 

Do they have resources you can enforce a judgement against? Otherwise you'll be left with succeeding in getting your CCJ, but it is a hollow victory if you can't enforce it.....

[renegadeimp]

It was an example. Mirror the HDD once the virus and content was securely removed. Even if the illegal content was there, the OP's legal content would still be there and they have a right to it.

[labrat]

they wont mirror the hdd - just incase they miss one and are liable

 

dealt with a cryptovirus recently, fortunately whoever had made it had forgotten to encrypt the windows restore backup of files

 

theres too many of these out there lately

 

150 - 200 is actually not too bad considering the windows key might be worn off and therefore a new one may need to be purchased (windows 7 & previous not built into board)