A method and system for registering information about a variety of property items either centrally or in distributed fashion enables quick notification of proper authorities when the property item is stolen. The system can invoke police authority networks and/or a private security system network. Various types of information can be stored in a central database accessible over a public network such as the Internet, or locally on a personal credential item, such as a security card carried with the owner/user of the property item. Information types can include descriptive textual information, visual information, and auditory information about the property item and its owner or user. When the item is discovered stolen, the card can be scanned at a variety of participating card reader devices, which can include ATM machines, retail point-of-sale scanners, gas station pumps, and any other properly equipped public/private/commercial devices. In this way, the system of the present invention automates the notification of proper authorities, and/or the public in general via a network, which may be the Internet, of the theft of a particular property item.