Police have revealed that a stolen electronic device thought to be the one that put 11,000 University of Victoria employees at risk of identity theft was returned with an unusual apology note, but they believe it's a fake.

Laptops and flash drives containing thousands of UVic employees' banking and personal information were stolen from the university's administration building on Jan. 8. Two frauds have been confirmed so far in connection with the theft, including a female employee whose bank account was accessed on Jan. 12.

Saanich police said Thursday that the electronic gear was dumped into a letter box and found by a Canada Post employee who handed the bag over to investigators Jan. 18.

A note came with the equipment claiming the information had not been copied or distributed and apologizing for any inconveniences the thieves may have caused.

"We want no part of everyday people living in fear that their personal information is being used against them to take they're [sic] hard earned money," the note read.

However, police said that one of the key electronic storage devices returned, which initially appeared to be the one containing employees' data, was clearly not the device taken from UVic and seemed to be a mock-up. The other items were also rendered inoperable and a forensic analysis could not recover any data.

Investigators are concerned that the worst is not over considering the effort required to wipe the data and the possible sinister intent of the note.

Saanich police Sgt. Dean Jantzen said the fraudsters could come back with profiles made from the stolen data.

"[They could] sit on it for awhile, hope that the smoke clears and then come back to try to use that data at a later date," he warned victims.

The university is still advising its staff to be in contact with financial institutions and credit card companies to ensure they are safe. Three reviews of the security breach are underway and UVic is promising to follow the recommendations when it receives the reports.

The thieves' note to investigators reads:

I will start off by answering your most important question. The information on these drives was not copied, distributed , or exploited. We want no part of everyday people living in fear that their personal information is being used against them to take they're hard earned money. It is hard enough to survive without somethinglike thathappening. Its is not about hurting people its about life and its many avenues. My avenue is different from these peoples and I don't feel right taking from them. One day I will be allowed to run my path free from the things I blame. One last time. The information was not copied, distributed, or exploited. Truly sorry for the level of inconvienience this has caused. criminals were human before they were criminals ...In most cases.