According to the Digital Life newswire, the owner of the laptop - Mark Bao - is a Massachusetts student whose MacBook Air was stolen.
The thief then used the laptop to snap a picture of himself, as well as record a video, which he posted online.
Bao is reported to have used the BackBlaze online backup service, which the MacBook continued to update to and, after scanning the updates, the student found the video.
And here's where Bao used his technical prowess, as he dissected the Mac's browser history to track an upload of the video to the thief's Facebook page.
He then tweeted: "he goes to my school! a few floors down from my dorm."
Digital Life reports that Bao was on a surfing break whilst he made these discoveries and, after vowing online to report the matter to the police, the newswire quotes him as saying that the MacBook was handed in to the authorities.
"As for the laptop, Bao intends to sell it, with proceeds going to the Red Cross Japan fund", says the newswire.