Another new iPhone is on the streets and it’s the type of event when police brace themselves for a spike in thefts and assaults. So it was only a matter of time before the iPhone X would work its way into a crime news headline.
A man in Georgia suffered a broken collarbone after wrestling with a thief who ran off with an iPhone X he was trying to resell.
An employee of PC World, a U.K.-based computer superstore, has admitted to stealing 27,000 euros ($30,000) worth of Apple products from his workplace. Oh, the irony!
21-year-old Eoin Giles of Dublin, Ireland, pleaded guilty to stealing 21 MacBooks, six Apple Watches, and seven iPads Pros, and then selling them on. Giles described it as a “stupid” attempt to make money.
The Apple store in Palo Alto, California, suffered a brazen attack when a group of thieves in a rented SUV “ram-raided” the store early Sunday morning.
The burglars drove their vehicle at high speed into the 40-foot glass window at the front of the store, then climbed through the hole it had made. They stole iPhones, Macs and other devices before fleeing.
While some law enforcement agencies use hackers to try and break iPhone encryption, detectives in the U.K. found a simpler solution: mugging suspects before they get the chance to lock their phones.
New York County District Attorney Cyrus Vance wants the Trump administration to help create federal legislation requiring Apple and Google to remove default encryption from their smartphones.
The recommendation comes from the DA office’s second report on Smartphone Encryption and Public Safety, presented by Vance at the opening of the Manhattan DA’s new cyberlab. New York County is currently sitting on 423 iPhones it can’t break into, even with a warrant, so the DA’s office is pushing for change.
Everyone points and laughs when dimwitted thieves got caught after taking identifying selfies with stolen iPhones or iPads.
However, in its quest to help crack down on Apple-related crime, Apple may go even further by using its Touch ID fingerprint sensor to record the fingerprints of would-be iOS thieves — at least according to a newly-published patent application update.
Apple Stores in Chicago were the target of “an organized criminal enterprise,” resulting in the arrest of six people from New York State, according to a new report, citing Lake County authorities.
The sheriff’s office claims that the suspects made fraudulent purchases from Apple Stores using stolen identities and credit cards.
Instead of running to Apple to unlock iPhones involved in criminal case, cops may have found a new path to get past Touch ID’s security: 3D printing fingers.
Police officers asked for aid from the lab of professor Anil Jain at the University of Michigan this year to help them recreate a murder victim’s fingerprints by 3D printing each digit so they can attempt to unlock the device, which they think may contain clues that would help solve the case.
We fully support efforts to reuse and recycle garbage, but two Apple Watch scammers are using their conservation powers for evil.
The Encinitas, California sheriff’s department is on the lookout for these men (pictured above), who have worked out an effective and completely infuriating way to convert a water bottle and a few paper towels into hundreds of dollars. And authorities are offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to their arrest.
So you’ve just successfully stolen an iPad and are now pondering your next move. Do you A) Not switch it on and sell it for cash as soon as humanly possible, or B) Play around on it, while making sure to snap a few celebratory selfies to commemorate the occasion?
If you voted “A” then, congratulations, you’re already a smarter class of criminal than 19-year-old Ralphy Olivero of Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
Two New York criminals managed to buy $16,000 worth of iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches using fake driver’s licenses and credit cards, before their purchases were flagged as being suspicious.
Jorge Escotto, 23, and Joshua Gonzales, 25, were arrested and charged with identity theft and receiving stolen property after the spending spree — much of which appears to have taken place in Verizon stores.
We’re used to hearing about iPhone thefts to the point that one method for measuring interest in Apple launches is to see whether or not there’s an appropriately-timed spike in muggings around launch day.
But with the Apple Watch still finding its way in the world, we haven’t yet heard too many stories about thefts of Apple’s debut wearable device. Until now, that is!
Looking for a way to put your existing iPod to good use? How about a career in crime?
Police in Manchester, U.K., have issued a warning to local using ATMs, after a cash machine was discovered fitted with a converted iPod rigged to record footage of customers’ PIN numbers, while also trapping their bank cards.
Police in Tigard, Oregon have cracked an organized retail crime ring which used stolen gift cards worth three-quarters of a million dollars to buy iPhones bound for the Hong Kong black market.
Tigard Detective T.J. Hahn told the local KOIN 6 News that organized retail theft has become a bigger crime than even drug sales.
“This kind of activity makes millions of millions of dollars, into the billions,” he said.
A post containing selfies taken by a group of iPhone thieves has gone viral on Facebook, being shared more than 100,000 times since being posted by the handset’s rightful owner yesterday.
iPhone cameras are getting better and better all the time, with the upcoming iPhone 6s reportedly set to receive one of the bigger camera upgrades in recent memory.
While most of us are happy about this, we’re assuming the guy pictured above is cursing the day Apple decided to include a front-facing camera on its handsets — since it’s caught him in the act of robbing an iPhone, and now gives the police a perfect mugshot it can use for identification purposes.
We’ve heard about iPhone-related crime before, but here’s one that’s new: A U.K. man in London who was arrested by police after charging his iPhone on a train.
45-year-old artist Robin Lee was approached by a police community support officer on board the train last Friday, warned that he was “illegally extracting electricity.” When Lee arrived at his destination, police officers were waiting to arrest him.
Law enforcement has a love-hate relationship with the iPhone. Features like Activation Lock have helped crack down on smartphone thefts, but there’s always the lurking threat of someone asking Siri about 9/11 and accidentally dialling 911 in the process.
The latest issue police are butting heads with Apple about relates to the company’s late-2014 decision to no longer maintain decryption keys which let Apple unlock iOS 8 devices for police as part of active investigations.
And New York’s cops aren’t happy about it!
Edward Hornsey has had an impressively long relationship with Apple’s customer service department. The 24 year-old has returned 51 iPhones in the past year, and Apple has replaced them with brand-new units.
The only problem is that none of those phones were his, and he’s now in jail for fraud.
An old saying states that those who can, do; those who can’t, teach — and to this we should maybe add that those teachers who can’t afford the latest Apple products on their salary, steal.
That’s according to a new report stating that a former Caldwell School District teacher in Idaho has pleaded guilty to grand theft charges, after buying (and then failing to hand over) a plethora of Apple gadgets — including two iPod touches, three iPad 2s, a 27-inch iMac, and three iPad minis.
That’s an A for effort, but a D- for execution.
As highly-desirable and premium-priced tech goodies, it’s no surprise that iPhones have previously been among the most stolen items we carry around on a regular basis. In fact, police have even correlated spikes in crime rate to the launch of new iPhone models — suggesting that it’s not just upstanding citizens who keep an eye on the blogosphere.
That all changed when Apple added its Activation Lock feature with iOS 7, allowing users to locate, lock and even wipe their iPhones remotely in the event that they are stolen. Based on that, a new report claims that the number of stolen iPhones fell significantly in major cities around the world between September 2013, when Activation Lock was introduced, and one year later.
Take that, iCriminals!
In my experience, Apple Store employees are some of the hardest-working, most reasonable and (despite the fact they’re employed to sell you things) trustworthy people in retail. According to Manhattan district attorney, however, that description isn’t universal.
The DA is indicting four former Apple Store employees, plus a dental office receptionist, for an Apple-related scam that ultimately defrauded Barclays Bank of $700,000, using ill-gotten Apple gift cards.
Here’s how it happened.
With the number of smartphone muggings high enough to earn the crime its own category in the police stats, holding a pricey little computer in your hands is like toting a big target.
However, you could also be holding a layer of security: Several apps have emerged that sound an alarm to family, friends and law enforcement in the event a smartphone owner feels threatened, faces an assault or suddenly gets nervous about their surroundings.
Looking for a use for that old iPod nano you’ve got lying around the house, gathering dust? Why not become a credit card thief?
Okay, so that’s probably the worst piece of advice you’ve received today, but it was still good enough for a pair of ne’er-do-wells from Stockport, England.
Using an iPod nano, a bit of duct tape, and a plastic contraption which attaches to the card slot of ATMs, the duo discovered a way to record videos of people entering their PIN numbers to withdraw money — using Apple’s one-time music players as a makeshift spy camera.
Normally a story about a stolen iPod touch wouldn’t be worthy of major news coverage. That changes, however, when the iPod touch in question is used to control its war veteran owner’s prosthetic hand.
The iPod touch belongs to Afghanistan vet Staff Sgt. Ben Eberle, 27, who lost both his right hand and two legs in a bomb explosion three years ago while on a tour of duty. The device features an app called i-limb, which allows Eberle to use his prosthetic hand.
