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Thieves pilfer $370,000 worth of iPhone Xs in San Francisco
Thieves broken into a UPS truck parked outside a San Francisco Apple Store and made off with 300 iPhone Xs valued at around $370,000, CBS SF Bay Area reports. The suspects were "husky," and "wearing hooded sweatshirts," according to SFPD Captain Rick Yarid, adding "it appears [they] knew what they were looking for." The UPS driver reportedly parked the vehicle outside a mall and went to do a delivery at a Macy's when the thieves snatched the devices, according to a witness.
'Find my iPhone' helps nab prolific Coachella smartphone thief
If you're thinking of stealing smartphones, the tech-centric Coachella festival is probably not the best place to do it. Savvy police teamed with equally savvy concert-goers to nab alleged smartphone thief Ronaldo De Jesus Henao with around 130 stolen smartphones. Police first discovered the rash of thefts at a specific tent by checking on Reddit, and were then aided by attendees that activated Apple's "Find my iPhone" feature.
Foxconn exec faces 10 years for stealing 5,700 iPhones
A senior manager at Foxconn, the company that makes Apple's iPhone handsets, is facing 10 years incarceration after being charged with the theft of 5,700 iPhones valued at nearly $1.5 million. According to AsiaOne, the Taiwanese testing department manager, identified only by his family name Tsai, coerced eight of his subordinates to smuggle iPhone 5 and 5Ses out of the Foxconn Shenzhen plant between 2013 and 2014.
Ex-NBA player gets community service after stealing $15,000 from Apple Store
Former NBA player Rex Chapman has pleaded guilty to four felony counts of theft after being arrested for stealing more than $15,000 worth of merchandise from an Apple Store in Scottsdale, Arizona last year. Chapman reportedly used a store's self-checkout system on seven different occasions but left without paying each time. He then allegedly sold the items for cash at a local pawn shop. He has been sentenced to a 28-day substance-abuse treatment program at the Brook Hospital in Louisville as well as 750 hours of community service. He'll also be placed on probation. He will also be required to pay the Apple Store more than $15,000 in restitution and be liable for up to $10,000 more should the store discover any additional incidents of theft. [Image Credit: NBAE/Getty Images]
Apple's new iCloud tool can show if a used iPhone is stolen
The market for used iPhones is fraught with risk, because you may end up paying hundreds of dollars for a locked off device, or worse -- one that appears legit but can't make calls. However, Apple has just revealed an iCloud tool that lets you check a device's activation lock status. All you'll need is the iPhone's IMEI or serial number, and if you're the rightful owner, you'll get info on how to disable any activation locks before selling. Meanwhile, buyers will be shown how to remove the previous account (with the seller's permission). The tool will be particularly useful at sussing out "doulCi" devices, which bypass iCloud to enable activation but won't actually connect to a cell network. That'll prevent you from being fooled by a stolen or lost iPhone that appears to work, but is effectively... an iPod.
It's just this easy to steal from the Apple Store (video)
Late last week, ex-NBA player Rex Chapman was picked up by Scottsdale, Arizona police on felony charges of theft and trafficking in stolen property. According to the police, that's because Chapman made off from the local Apple Store with over $14,000 worth of gear over several visits occurring in the last few months. As you can see in the raw security video footage of some nine visits released by the police today, he would browse around, pick up an item (headphones, although from the video we can't tell if they're Beats), pretend to check it out with Apple's EasyPay app and put it in a white Apple sales bag. Finally, all he had to do was walk out before selling the goods at a pawnshop.
Police say Apple's anti-theft switches have dramatically reduced iPhone thefts
When mobile sales are booming, smartphone thefts are almost certain to rise. That's something San Francisco and New York prosecutors George Gascón and Eric Schneiderman have been telling smartphone makers for over a year, but now they're finally making some headway. After pressuring Apple to implement a "kill switch" inside its devices, the New York Times reports that police officers in London and San Francisco saw iPhone robberies in the cities fall by 24 percent and 38 percent respectively in the six months before and after the company implemented its Activation Lock feature inside iOS 7. Over in New York, robberies were down by 19 percent and those involving grand larcenies dropped 29 percent when the police compared data in the first five months of 2014 with the same period from 2013.
Video: crooks clean out New Jersey Apple store in 31 impressive seconds
And you thought making off with 39 iPods in 15 seconds was something to behold. After studying said crooks in Utah, a trained team of larcenists headed over to Apple's Sagemore location in Marlton, New Jersey in order to one-up the duo by snagging even more goods in under a minute. As the surveillance shows, a single blunt object decimated the iconic glass doorway and enabled five hyped-up thieves to enter, snag 23 MacBook Pros, 14 iPhones and 9 iPod touches, and head for the hills -- all in just 31 seconds. Look, we aren't trying to glamorize crime or anything, but this is the stuff GTA heists are made of. Head on past the break for a look at the video, and please, don't try to replicate this at your nearest Apple store (without wearing a head-mounted camcorder and hooking us up with the footage, of course). [Via TUAW, thanks Mike]
