COMPANY OFFERS $1,000 IN THEFT; PILFERED LAPTOP HELD LIST OF POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

Contacting potential buyers is tough enough at the nation's largest computer show, but losing many of those names with the theft of a laptop computer has driven a Simi Valley company to extreme measures.

AmNet officials are offering a $1,000 reward - which could go higher - for the laptop stolen from the company's booth during last month's annual Comdex convention in Las Vegas. The company notified some 3,000 publications and posted the reward on its World Wide Web site.

Even if the laptop is never returned, AmNet hopes those same potential customers contacted during the convention will respond to the plea so the company can salvage some of the expected sales, said Rich DeBaun, marketing director for American Network Systems.

``Our hope is that it will reach across the nation,'' DeBaun said. ``It's not a little deal. Going to the show was part of our integrated marketing plan. It's not going to kill us. It just makes it harder.''

The 2-year-old manufacturer of communications technology for small businesses and home offices spent $50,000 to participate in the convention, held Nov. 17-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and two hotels, including the Sands where AmNet had its booth. That investment included giving away 1,500 software packages that helped lure conventioneers to the booth.

More important, however, were the potential customers who took time for presentations and demonstrations. They included computer consultants, people who install phone systems, and personal computer manufacturers, DeBaun said.

More than 400 names and background information were lost when the laptop was stolen after the convention's third day. The company left Las Vegas with an additional 200 gathered the final two days, DeBaun noted.

``What kills you is that we were having an excellent show,'' DeBaun said. ``We didn't just put anybody into our computer. We have no way to find out who those guys are.''

The computer had been stored for the night within a cabinet in the booth, concealed by other show materials also stored in the cabinet.

AmNet filed stolen property reports with the convention's security office and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. But nearly three weeks have passed without any progress and DeBaun said company officials don't want to sit back and wait for information on the stolen laptop, alone worth $2,700.

``My sense is you've got to do something. You can't just roll over and play dead,'' he said.

DeBaun said he didn't suspect a competing company was responsible. ``I don't think people have to go to that extreme. I would really be surprised that it would be another exhibitor, and one of the reasons is you're so darned tired after a day at the show.''

The Syscon laptop identifying features are serial number P70199078 and model number B9000TFT12.1.

Anyone with information about the theft or visitors to AmNet's booth at Comdex are asked to contact the company through its Web site at www.americannetwork.com or by calling [phone].