Today’s pricey game consoles are enticing loot for criminals, but thanks to their robust online functionality, it seems stolen systems aren’t that hard to find.

Just ask Dustin Waller. The Salisbury Post reports that the Carolina man’s previously owned Playstation 3 — which turned out to be stolen merchandise — was tracked by police and returned to its original owner after Waller connected the system to the internet.

Waller’s fiancee purchased the used console from a small video game store in the local mall as a gift. Thinking it was some sort of automatically generated promotional account, gaming newcomer Waller logged on to the Internet unknowingly using the previous owner’s name and password and went about playing a few games online. Detectives investigating a series of burglaries in the region soon caught wind of the stolen account’s online presence over the Playstation Network, and used the system’s IP address to track it back to a befuddled Mr. Waller. Though he wasn’t charged, his PS3 was confiscated.

After initially balking at requests for a refund, the game store eventually caved and offered a replacement in the form of a substantially cheaper Xbox 360, leaving the stunned gamer about $150 lighter for his troubles.

Despite the mix up, Waller is mostly upset at the game store’s failure to ensure the legal status of their merchandise.

“I just want the public to be warned about this place,” he said.

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