"Given the huge error of judgement on my part in sharing the story and failing to respect their privacy I have asked them to keep it by means of an apology."<p>So, the victim apologizes for shining the public light on the theft of their property. (In this case, even with the software, it's unlikely that the new possessor would have been identified without the publicity.) Furthermore, in lots of places prior theft invalidates later sale and transfer of ownership even if the illicit purchase occurred without mens rea. There's no insurance policy on counterfeit money either - in this case the current possessors (presumably) paid for a second-hand (high risk, possibly stolen) laptop. Buyer beware; they should absorb the loss and give it back (assuming the facts are as they seem, and it's not just one big astroturf).