That portable mp3 player you might use at the gym or in your car is becoming a hot item for thieves! And hundreds, if not thousands of people across Madison alone are reporting that theirs has been stolen!

Police say simply registering your iPod with the serial number that's on it can help them return it to you if it's recovered. Right on the back of your iPod is where you can find that serial number, and register your name and contact information with the manufacturer.

Police typically get 5 to 10 reports of stolen iPods a week, especially around now, when college students are away for Spring Break. They say only 40 percent of iPod owners actually register theirs, which means police have many recovered iPods left unclaimed.

"We do have contacts with Apple in California," says Madison Police Department detective, Darrel Monroe. "Their security team will inform us if they have registered their iPod. I can supply them with the serial number, they can say whether or not it's registered and what has happened in the past is they will contact the owner and in turn have the owner contact us."

If you don't register your iPod and it does get stolen there is no way for police to prove that it's yours they've recovered. Unclaimed iPods are sold at a city-wide auction.

Other than registering your portable music player, detectives suggest putting your name or driver's license on it so they can contact you immediately.