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One downside to stealing high-tech gadgets is that it is easier to track down the device. In a virtual repeat of what happened to a woman in the U.S., another woman in New Zealand also lost her device to thieves, but Dropbox turned out to be their ally in identifying the culprits.

In August 2013, Victoria Brodsky's Samsung Galaxy S3 was picked from her bag at a street fair in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York. A week after the incident, images showed up on her Dropbox account which was linked to her smartphone. The couple who had the stolen phone later posted naked selfies and videos of themselves having sex, which provided Ms Brodsky a lead on how to catch the phone thieves.

In the case of Coraleigh Parker of Tauranga, New Zealand, thieves opened her car on Jan 4 and stole her new Samsung Galaxy camera. Like what happened to Ms Brodsky, Ms Parker's camera was linked to her Dropbox, so when the thieves used the device, the 50 photos appeared on her Dropbox account.

Among the photos were images of two unidentified men which showed locations, date and time when the picture was taken. One photo was snapped at the bus stop near Zespri in Mount Maunganui, across the Tauranga near the boats and wharf.

She posted the photos on her Facebook account to help her find the camera thieves, and her newsfeed was shared over 30 times.

Ms Parker said she needs the camera which she uses for product shots. She added that thieves should get the Stupid Criminal of the Year award for being unaware of how a Dropbox account linked to a device could help trace the authorities trace them.

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