I've recently got my laptop stolen, and reported it to the police. They asked for mac address...?

Question

So they asked me for my mac address and serial number of my laptop, so i was wondering how they would find my laptop with a mac address and serial number. and i'd also like to know what an mac address of a laptop is. i have wireless on the laptop. thxxx

Answer 1

It's easier to identify.  If they find a laptop with your serial number, they can arrest the criminal on the spot.  If they don't have the serial number, they'd have to let him go, call you (eventually), wait until you get home, get the serial # from you, compare the numbers, go to the criminal's home, consult neighbors, wait a few days and find out where in LA he returned the U-haul.

Answer 2

When someone uses the machine on the net they can see the mac (Media Access Control) address. It has nothing to do with Macintosh. It is supposed to be unique to your machine but now a days it can be spoofed by a knowledgeable thief.

Cops regularly check pawn shops for serial numbers. If they bust a place with a lot of laptops they check the serial numbers.