The time I did OSINT to get my bike back

So I recently watched a video by (David Bombal)[https://www.youtube.com/@davidbombal]{:target=”_blank”} on 10 free OSINT tools and their usage, and it reminded me of when my bike got stolen a couple of years ago.

What is OSINT?

Since this article is partly about a bike theft, and partly about using OSINT methodologies, so what is OSINT?

Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) is defined as intelligence produced by collecting, evaluating and analyzing publicly available information with the purpose of answering a specific intelligence question. It’s important to note that information does not equal intelligence. Without giving meaning to the data we collect, open-source findings are considered raw data. It is only once this information is looked at from a critical thinking mindset and analyzed that it becomes intelligence. (Source)[https://www.sans.org/blog/what-is-open-source-intelligence/]{:target=”_blank”}

The theft

I was working full time from home, and my girlfriend worked inside Stockholm. Every morning, she borrowed my bike and rode it to the local train station. One day, she calls me up close to 5 pm exlaiming ‘baby, somethings happened’. My initial thought was something along the lines of ‘which hospital am I going to?’ but my fears were alleviated when she said my bike was gone.

We spent the evening driving around in the vicinity to see if someone had dumped it, but no luck at all.

Finding the bike

The next day, I took a scroll through Blocket, no expectations - and there it was. Accidentally staring right back at me was my neon green bike, unmistakable with its white tires and peculiar basket. My heart raced as I realized - I’d found it.

Calling the cops to start all of that paperwork I was informed that if I recover my stolen goods within 24 hours, I can technically steal it back (double check if you are considering doing the same).

Now the issue is that I could only see that the for sale ad was posted inside Stockholm City, within an area of 391 acres. So I needed to somehow reduce the area of search. The seller had posted some pictures of the bike, and I could see some landmarks on it, especially a specific staircase. Now I had no idea where it was, but it lead me to the idea of Google Maps and Streetview, however there are still a lot of streets to check. I noticed however that Blocket’s website had a function, where you could see what postal code an ad was posted from and it turned out to be a city block of just 5 or 6 streets.

Using Streetview, I checked those streets and found the staircase in minutes. Calling back to the cops, they added my notes to the case, and suggested I try and “buy” the bike back from the seller while also looking for it on location. So I got myself into town, and went looking.

Meeting the seller

After walking around over an hour, enlisting the help of strangers to check their garages and storage rooms, I was no closer to finding the bike. Whoever had it was keeping it hidden. Just as I was about to give up, I got a reply from the seller and I booked a meeting a couple of minutes later.

Being both excited and nervous at the same time, I walked closer slowly until I saw what was unmistakably my bike. I called 112 (European version of 911) and explained the open case, my exact location and what was happening. They told me help was on the way, and to try and stall as long as possible. So even though the call was over, I walked around with my phone to my ear until the guy seemed ready to leave.

Cursing on the inside, I went up to him and told an excuse about it being an impromptu work call and that I was sorry to be late. I inspected the bike thoroughly, checking the tires, my anti-theft sticker, the scratches it had from me crashing it years earlier, when my phone suddenly rang.

Answering, I heard a female police officer asking if I was there with the seller. Feeling like a deer in headlights, I panicked a bit until I remembered a woman who survived a domestic abuse incident by calling 911 ordering pizza. So I called the police officer darling, said that the bike was all she wanted and that the seller was really nice. Luckily, she caught on and let me know they were a few minutes out. It seems my ruse was working.

Now, you can only look at a bicycle for so many minutes until there is nothing left to look at. Starting to feel really nervous about the police taking their time, I decide to try and stall again. I tell him that I’ll just double check if there is something else my girlfriend wants me to check before moving forward with buying the bike. So I call her, talk a bit more about how I’ve checked the wheels, the breaks, the basket and bam, the police cruiser just rolls in and stops right next to us. My gambit worked and I can finally calm down.

Aftermath

The police took the bike into storage and I got it back about 2 weeks later. A few months after that I got called to court as a witness to the entire thing, which in my mind was really weird since it was just a bike theft. At the end, the guy was convicted of trying to sell stolen goods, as well as narcotics charges (hence why they wanted a court case) and his punishment was state run rehab.

Oh, and the bike? It’s still mine and currently in my basement.

OSINT

So, why did I write all of this story out? Well, in the (video)[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRqOj5qM1ic]{:target=”_blank”} they talk about tools that essentially make this type of process easier to perform. David Bombal talks with guests who are working as OSINT experts. And it just reminded me that even non-experts on OSINT like myself can get value from learning about how they work. For me, this way of thinking ensured I got my bike back. Who knows how it can help you.

Of course, there are many other ways OSINT methodologies can be used. You can use it to ensure that the company you are about to buy something expensive from is a reputable firm. You can use it to see if that weird link your friend sent you is safe. And many other use cases.

How would I have done differently after seeing the tools suggested by David Bombal and guests?

• Use search by image instead of manually looking for it on Blocket
• Reframe the photo of the bike with the staircase and search for it instead using search by image

Other than that, I still would have done similar things to locate the real world location of where it was:

• Identify where the photo was taken
• Contact people around the location to see if they saw something
• Take help from law enforcement
• Stay safe, don’t enter into situations that you can’t get out of