So Don over at Joblog blogged about a very cool (however idealistic) concept that caught his eye. Reward-if-found is based on the thought/theory that humans might be inherently kind and giving and don’t want to find stuff and keep it (commonly known as theft).
Basically you put a Reward-if-found sticker on your possessions – as pictured below – and if you lose something the person that finds it can simply SMS the number on the sticker to locate the you, the rightful owner of the lost possession.
Here’s a little chat Don had with Steve English who developed the system:
Don: “This can’t obviously replace insurance, ‘cos not everyone is a good person.”
Steve: “It’s not an insurance replacement, it’s relying on the goodwill of your fellow South Africans. Insurance companies are interested in this because they see their customers’ claims being reduced significantly.”
Don: “So can’t I just stick something I made myself on my possessions and hope people will phone me?”
Steve: “Of course you could, people do already (like on their luggage), but the service which is easy to use by sending one SMS or logging on to the site is a guarantee to get the original owner in contact with you, and the name suggests you’ll be rewarded, which is only fair.”
Don: “But what if someone holds my laptop ransom and demands a lot more than the reward I want to offer them?”
Steve: “RICA enforces all cellphone numbers to be attached to a specific person with all of their details. Should someone want to take a chance like that, the owner can contact us and we will go the legal route, bringing in lawyers and the Police, because we have their details and they can be found.”
So if you are interested in testing out humanity on the off chance that you lose a prizes possession, pop over to Reward-if-found for more information on how things work, what you can do and where to go to get started!
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July 17th, 2010 at 4:58 am
Good idea and concept there. Using technology and the internet to help relocate people and their possessions has got to be good. Great setup with the tracking number there of the finder to help reduce ransom type demands. So the owner would then receive an SMS or email message with details of their found item and would contact the finder from then?
I found a cell phone recently and had a bit of a job trying to track down the ower, something like this would have made it much easier.
July 17th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Two thoughts to interject:
a) “… humans might be inherently kind and giving and don’t want to find stuff and keep it (commonly known as theft).”
This is – naturally – not the definition of theft at all! It constitutes dishonesty and a flawed sense of usurping rights, but it is not a definition of theft. I’m surprised you don’t know better.
b) I can imagine the enthusiasm of police forces to co-operate, already either stretched to the limits by an unparalelled crime wave sweeping the country since 1990, or partaking in schemes to break the law themselves.
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Great idea! Reward-if-found should also give away random prizes to add to the value of reporting the lost good.
Secondly if I where to hold an item ransom I probably would go use a payphone or a cell phone that is not registered!
January 10th, 2011 at 10:41 am
wow this is a brilliant idea, its got potential, its got my backing. do i get a reward for that?
January 10th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
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August 10th, 2011 at 7:43 am
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November 3rd, 2011 at 4:32 am
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November 11th, 2011 at 2:13 am
Sorry for the huge review, but I’m really loving the new Zune, and hope this, as well as the excellent reviews some other people have written, will help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
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