ipod theft

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on ipod theft:

Costly iGadgets Increase Muggings, Decrease Home Thefts

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Used with a CC-license. Thanks gruntzooki on Flickr.
Used with a CC-license. Thanks gruntzooki on Flickr.

British thieves have realized it’s more profitable to snatch the iPhone from your hand than risk breaking into your home for a no-name DVD player.

Ten years ago, there were an estimated 1.28 million domestic burglaries in England and Wales, according to the British Crime Survey (BCS).   By, 2008/09 that number had fallen to 744,000 burglaries.

The drop, one researcher says,  is due to expensive portable gadgets and cheap home electronics.

“While DVD players for example, got cheaper, certain consumer items became smaller and were very, very expensive and sought after,” said James Treadwell, a lecturer at the University of Leicester’s Department of Criminology.  So the latest mobile phone, or the latest iPod, which people carry about them, have become targets for robbers.”

NYPD Tag iPods, Computers at NYU to Halt iCrimes

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Used with CC-license. Thanks to FHKE on flickr.
Used with CC-license. Thanks to FHKE on flickr.

In an effort to stop campus gadget and computer thefts, New York police are bringing an ID program to the New York University students.

On Thursday afternoon, police will set up an engraving station in a dorm lobby for students to bring their iPods, cell phones and computers. Operation Identification is part of a city-wide police program to ID valuables that was extended to the campus after an ongoing increase in “iCrimes.”

An infrared pen will mark student gadgets with a serial number that will be housed in an NYPD database, allowing police to access a description, model and owner information, should the device be recovered. After items are tagged, police can view the serial number by shining a light on it.

This isn’t the first iPod ID scheme we’ve seen at a school — one New Hampshire high school recently embarked on the same kind of program — but it is the largest. NYU has nearly 55,000 students.

Once again, it’s debatable whether ID-ing gadgets will prevent swiping or if it would be easier if Apple provided some sort of lock-down system after thefts.

What are the chances of an invisible serial number stopping a quick grab of an iPod in a dorm room at the end of a long night?

Via NYU news

Police Act as “Pretend Burglars” to Prevent iPod Theft at Home

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Image used with a CC-license on Flickr, thanks to bixentro.

Do you leave coveted goods like iPods in plain sight around the house and forget to lock doors?

Well, if you live in Nottingham, England you just might find a police officer dressed up as “Burglar Bill”  entering your residence to teach you a lesson.

The charade is being staged to teach locals to wise up after some 285 homes were robbed in April and May by thieves entering through unlocked doors or open windows — police there say one-third of all home burglaries are perped this way.

Must-have gadgets like the iPod are a quick nick and hard to trace, they point out.

Detective Chief Superintendent Neil James said in a press release: “It only takes a couple of seconds for a thief to reach in through an open window or walk inside an unlocked door and steal a handbag, car keys, iPod and all sorts of other valuable items.”

You’ll be able to tell the artificial larcenist from the real deal because the police officer will don a get-up inspired by Hamburglar: striped shirt, mask and loot bag.

Once the fright wears off, police hope people will be more likely to use common sense habits to keep intruders out — close windows, lock doors and when at home, don’t leave keys in locks or on view and put keys out of sight to stop anyone who breaks in using your car as the getaway vehicle.
What’s still not clear: do the fake burglars give the iPods back?

Via This is Nottingham

Want to Keep Your iPod? Don’t Leave It in the Car

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Easy pickings: an iPod on the dash. Used with a CC-license, thanks to Willrad on Flickr.

Yeah, it’s common sense to take your valuables with you when you park. Online police blotters make it seem, however, that a parked car is a virtual shopping mall for thieves.

A few recent examples:

— An iPod was reported stolen from a vehicle broken into in the 3100 block of Ebano Drive. (Walnut Creek, Ca.)

— Complainant reported that his car was broken into and an iPod and a stereo faceplate were stolen early Wednesday morning.  The in-dash stereo was damaged in an attempt to steal it as well. (Lufkin, Texas.)

— Apple iPod stolen  from unlocked vehicle, Snowden Ave., July 21. A vehicle window was smashed and Apple iPod stolen, first block of Karen Way, July 19. (Both in Atherton, Ca.)

— A vehicle parked at 31 River St. was burglarized on July 19 at 11:30 p.m. A window was smashed and an 8-gig iPod touch, a purse and an orange-and-black Tony Hawk BMX were taken. (Lewiston, Maine).

In at least one area, Arlington County, Virginia, police report thefts are up 20 percent this year — attributing the increase to gadgets nicked from cars.

“Most are larcenies from vehicles to include valuables left in cars, including GPS’s, MP3 players, purses, wallets,” said Kraig Troxell, spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

“People walk by and see an iPod and a GPS on a car seat and just smash and grab,” Jody Donaldson, spokesman for Alexandria police told the Washington Post. “You’d be surprised how many people leave their car unlocked with that stuff out.”

Police advise if you leave your iPod in the car — at least put it out of sight — but warn that these thefts are bound to increase as more people use them.

“A lot of people have these items that used to not have them — BlackBerrys, iPods, iPhones, tiny cameras,” Donaldson said. “Think about how many people have this technology who didn’t a year ago.”

Baby as Bait in iPod Touch Theft

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A pair of theives “armed” only with a toddler to distract employees walked out of a SuperTarget with an iPod Touch. Police are still looking for the man and woman who snatched the device in a Boynton Beach, Florida store.

In the security cam footage, you can see the man talking to a sales associate in the foreground, then a woman comes along with a toddler (around 1:30) and asks a question. While the sales associate looks up, the man takes the iPod touch, an 8g model valued at $230.

Police hope the video footage will help ID the pair, you can contact them by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-8477 (TIPS).

Via Palm Beach Post

Police Launch iPod Registry to Curb Thefts

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Police in Portsmouth, New Hampshire are setting up an iPod registry to thwart stealing. The registry covers the local high school, where staff and students reported high numbers of Apple snatching.

It works like much like bike registration: students fill out a form with a description and serial number of the device, verified by police staff at registration, and are given a sticker stating the device has been ID’d. The iPod is also photographed and the info is kept on file at the police department.

Police said the program is meant to speed up investigations and perhaps prevent thefts.

Do you think the registration will act as a deterrent?

Image courtesy Portsmouth police dept.

Via Foster’s Daily Democrat

Police Go Undercover to Nab iPod Thieves

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Police in Allentown, Pennsylvania don’t mess around with iPod thieves. When a woman had an iPod stolen after meeting a potential buyer for it from craigslist, they sent an undercover agent to bust two teen theives.

Police contacted the same 17-year old through craigslist and set up a meeting for him to buy an iPod. He showed up with the same friend about 6:30 p.m. and met with the female detective. The teen snatched the iPod from the detective and he and his accomplice tried to run.

Both were charged with robbery, theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, resisting arrest and criminal use of a communication device. (This last charge, it seems, has to do with illegal activity on craigslist. )
Via The Morning Call
Via The Morning Call

Photo of anti-iPod theft poster in London used with a CC  license, thanks weegeebored.

iPod Repairman Charged with Shuffle & Switch Fraud

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An independent iPod repairman was charged with fraud and money laundering after acquiring more than 9,000 replacement iPod Shuffles by entering serial numbers into Apple’s Web site.

Nicholas Woodhams, 23, then sold the replacement iPods for $49 each, according to court documents filed Wednesday in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Through his repair business, Woodhams knew iPod owners could get a replacement if their Shuffle had problems.

“Through trial and error, the defendant determined that he could guess valid, warrantied serial numbers and enter them into Apple’s Web site for ‘replacement’ units without ever in fact purchasing or possessing the ‘original’ units,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote.

If Apple didn’t receive a defective iPod in return, the company would charge the cost of a replacement to a credit card provided by the customer. But Woodhams used credit or debt cards that rejected the transaction, the prosecutor said.

His lawyer Randall Levine told the Associated Press: “He is one of those guys who is computer-savvy. This is a very bright man who did not fully appreciate the seriousness of the situation.”

Image used with a CC license, thanks to re-ality

Thieves Prefer iPods to Zunes Six to One?

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A couple of Target employees were caught after recently after stealing a number of iPods and some Zunes — 25 Apple devices compared to just four Zunes.

Is the iPod six times more appealing for a five finger discount? Device did a candid camera video with some cubicle inhabitants, leaving an iPod and a Zune side by side in settings like an office kitchen and on top of the water cooler.

You’d think the fact that two MP3 players “left” out together would make them suspicious, but not so.

iPod Bait-And-Switch Thefts Rock Wal-Mart

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Crime is ugly. But it’s hard not to crack a smile at an enterprising thief who bought iPods, then returned the packages weighted down with rocks.

The thief took the empty Apple boxes back and exchanged them for four Zunes at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Nebraska.

Police believe the culprit used heat to reseal the plastic packaging. The iPods were put back on shelves, a customer who bought the iPod box without the MP3 device alerted the store.

Authorities warned that other stores in the area may have been hit by the same bait-and-switch scam.

Photo used under Creative Commons license, thanks to Dan Taylor on Flickr

Via Sioux City Journal