Social Media Helps Catch a Thief, Same-Sex Unions in Illinois, and a Nasty Rumor About Will Smith

After his laptop was stolen, a savvy social media user in California took matters into his own hands. Using the app Hidden, Joshua Kaufman was able to take photos remotely of whoever was using his laptop through the computer's webcam. He then posted the pictures to a Tumblr blog he created, This Guy Has My Macbook. The incident received a lot of attention across social media, collecting more than 4,000 Tumblr followers and 20,000 "likes" on Facebook. Kaufman's story was picked up by several media outlets. In an interview with Trending Now, he said he created the blog out of frustration, anger, and even fun. After Kaufman's blog got so much attention, Oakland police investigated and were able to nab the alleged thief within hours of looking into the case. After they learned the man in the blog post photos worked for a cab company, investigators reportedly tricked him into picking them up and arrested him.

Sure to be a trend is the celebration of LGBT Pride Month this June. The month is being recognized by regulators and retailers alike. Today a law legalizing same-sex civil unions in Illinois takes effect. Old Navy is marking the month by selling gay pride T-shirts. Part of the proceeds will go to the gay support campaign, It Gets Better.

Lastly, yesterday we told you about the fake PBS report that deceased rapper Tupac Shakur was alive in New Zealand. Now Twitter's buzzing about actor Will Smith's death in New Zealand. The rumor was started by the website fakeawish.com, which generates phony stories about celebrities. The same website also started death rumors about The Rock, Jackie Chan, and Justin Bieber. Not to worry, all are still alive.

Do you think apps like Hidden, which let you track a computer's location and take pictures and screen grabs remotely, can be misused? Tell us on Facebook or Twitter! And remember to "like" my Facebook Fan Page to get updates from me all day.