Our MDM system displays a message and phone number on the iPads my company hands out to it’s field contractors, to sign off jobs, get customers to sign paperwork etc.

One day, a member of the public called me. “Hello? Is this (Company name)?” “Um, yes it is, their IT department. How can I help?” “I have your iPad” “O….kay” “My wife was on the way to fat club when she was walking down the street and found an iPad on the floor”

Honestly this guy sounded like a character from a British soap opera. Normally we ask if the device can be returned to our closest showroom, however he advised he was elderly and struggled with mobility, I had no reason to doubt him and it didn’t matter to me as long as we got the iPad back. I said I could arrange a courier and he gladly provided his address and phone number, I thanked him and hung up.

I blocked the iPad on the MDM System just for good measure, then sent the serial to the project manager of that department, who is a friend of mine and she told me the name of the guy assigned to it, as well as his phone number. I gave him a call “Hi (name), are you missing an iPad?”

“Oh I knew you’d come for me!”

I laugh it off with him and said this guy has his iPad and I told him the street address.

“Hold on, that’s my street!” He exclaimed. He continued to explain that he’d taken the iPad with him to take the bin out, put it on a wall, taken his bin to the curb then forgot the iPad

He got the iPad back from his neighbour, no harm done.