New FBI app helps identify stolen art

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) wants your help locating stolen and missing artworks from all over the world. Now there’s an app for that – the FBI National Stolen Art File.

From Claude Monet paintings, Stradivarius violins, and Tiffany lamps, the newly launched FBI app is actually an online database cataloging over 8,000 stolen pieces of art and culturally significant property.

“Art and cultural property crime - which includes theft, fraud and forgery, looting, and trafficking across state and international lines - is a global problem with estimated losses in the billions of dollars annually,” the FBI said.

The app is designed to help the FBI’s dedicated Art Crime Team investigate, recover, and repatriate lost and stolen cultural heritage objects, and return pieces of art and property to their rightful owners, as well as apprehend those responsible.

According to the FBI, stolen objects are submitted for entry to the NSAF database by law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and around the world.

The idea for the app – which was fashioned after the NSAF website – was to make the database available to users on their hand held devices.

"One of the biggest evolutions for NSAF was making it publicly available," said Colleen Childers of the FBI's Art Crime Program.

"Now, with the new mobile upgrade that we’ve undergone, we want to continue to push to make it a more user-friendly platform," Chiders said.

Originally created for law enforcement and art-industry insiders in 1979, the FBI said, now anyone can verify that the art pieces they either own or want to buy, aren't actually stolen property.

The database itself lists the physical description of the stolen property, including artist, title, subject, materials, and dimensions, in addition to digital images.

Users can use the free search to find stolen objects by location, description, type of art, etc, as well as share or save the information via text, email, or social media.

The FBI said persons or entities such as auction houses, galleries, pawn shops, collectors, investors, conservators, curators, art historians, museums, foundations, and educational institutions are all encouraged to use the service.

The app also allows the user to submit tips directly to the FBI’s Art Crime Team, which to date has recovered more than 20,000 items of cultural property valued at over $900 million since the team was formed in 2004.

Each Art Crime Team agent is assigned to a geographical region, follows leads using the NSAF, and conducts public outreach to museums, galleries, auction houses, and collectors, sometimes deploying all over the world to track down objects.

When an object is recovered, it is removed from the database.

Many of the missing art pieces registered with the NSAF also offer monetary rewards for their recovery.

And if you were worried about your Aunt Agnes finding out you reported a priceless art piece you’ve noticed hanging on her wall, no worries; all messages sent through the FBI app are encrypted, and your personal data is never collected or shared.

The FBI’s National Stolen Art File app is available for download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play.