Snatch and grab theft at Apple Stores

[bcla]

I was at a local Apple Store when I noticed a police officer stationed both inside or outside the buildings at various times. I asked if it was related to the organized thefts I've heard at various local Apple Stores. They'll typical storm in groups and grab a who.e bunch of the display models. I suppose the boxed iPads and iPhones would make more sense to illegally sell, but I think they're usually in the back room and brought out once someone buys them.

The stores I've seen look like huge targets, especially with Apple's intentional design. Many are in upscale shopping districts instead of malls, and I've heard of cars driven into the windows after hours, where they'll take what they can or even break into the back room if they can manage. Some reports are that law enforcement has made recommendations for better security features (like vehicle barriers), but Apple balks at them because it would affect their industrial design.

What doesn't make sense to me is what's the use of stealing these things from Apple. They've got GPS, and I'm pretty sure they're well inventoried. Any stolen device can be tracked once it's connected to the internet and/or disabled remotely. Thieves have to know this. And I'd hope anyone buying potentially stolen devices would know that.

 

[gwynne]

I was at a local Apple Store when I noticed a police officer stationed both inside or outside the buildings at various times. I asked if it was related to the organized thefts I've heard at various local Apple Stores. They'll typical storm in groups and grab a who.e bunch of the display models. I suppose the boxed iPads and iPhones would make more sense to illegally sell, but I think they're usually in the back room and brought out once someone buys them.

The stores I've seen look like huge targets, especially with Apple's intentional design. Many are in upscale shopping districts instead of malls, and I've heard of cars driven into the windows after hours, where they'll take what they can or even break into the back room if they can manage. Some reports are that law enforcement has made recommendations for better security features (like vehicle barriers), but Apple balks at them because it would affect their industrial design.

What doesn't make sense to me is what's the use of stealing these things from Apple. They've got GPS, and I'm pretty sure they're well inventoried. Any stolen device can be tracked once it's connected to the internet and/or disabled remotely. Thieves have to know this. And I'd hope anyone buying potentially stolen devices would know that.

It's nothing new. I've seen a police officer or security guard stationed outside various Apples stores for many years.

 

[design_mom]

I am guessing that the people who are buying the stolen phones don't realize they are stolen. I belong to several local "garage sale" pages on Facebook and there is a large secondary market for iphones and ipads, especially now that most of the carriers no longer subsidize the cost of the phones. I'd guess that the thieves are selling them places like that (or Craig's List or eBay or something) with the story that they 'recently upgraded" or "changed carriers" and got a new phone. Someone buys the 'old' phone, but doesn't realize it's stolen till they go to activate it.

I haven't heard about massive break-ins at Apple stores around here. And although I wasn't specifically looking, I did not notice more security than usual at our Apple Store when I was there last week.

 

[Hikergirl]

Police in stores is nothing new. The point of buying stole Apple products? Probably a price break for those who know, and some people have no idea they are buying stolen goods.
You brought up that they can be tracked, but does Apple do that with their inventory if its stolen?

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I worked for an Apple store from 2010-2013 and we had police officers in our store back then.

I remember once we were resetting the store at close and we found two of our display iPhones had been stolen - someone had unscrewed the back plates (where the security tether is attached) and taken the rest. How they managed that without being noticed, I'll never know. We were a huge store with over 100 people working, two police officers, and mall security all on duty. Other than that incident, we never really had a lot of theft while I was there. We were in a mall though, so nobody could pull the 'drive the car through the front of the store' move.

 

[DisneyHardin]

My DH is a Sheriff Deputy and one day he was in the Apple Store after work still in uniform and a guy with big baggy sweatpants filled his pants with Otterbox cases right in front of DH. DH detained him and the store called the police so an on duty officer could take over. DH being right there in uniform didn't even phase the thief.

 

[bcla]

It's nothing new. I've seen a police officer or security guard stationed outside various Apples stores for many years.

A security guard is one thing. I found that one local store has been robbed maybe six times within a month. For at least one case, witnesses said that security guards just stood there and did nothing while a robbery was clearly happening. They may only be instructed to stop single shoplifter and to observe anything else for a police report. That same store was rammed by a car a few years ago after closing. That case the security gate was probably run into several times until it gave way. I heard local police recommended they maybe install pop up barriers, but I guess they worried about the aesthetics.

I guess I have seen police outside of Apple Stores, but it was typically during new product releases. I thought it was more a crowd control issue. I don't recall police ever standing guard inside one before.

Police in stores is nothing new. The point of buying stole Apple products? Probably a price break for those who know, and some people have no idea they are buying stolen goods.
You brought up that they can be tracked, but does Apple do that with their inventory if its stolen?

They can "brick" almost anything. Anyone remember the lost iPhone 4 prototype from 2010 that was eventually sold to a tech blogger who took it apart? That one was disabled almost as soon as the employee reported the loss. Apple doesn't like to talk about their security measures, but it's easy enough for them to do it. I guess some of their stuff like computers could have their drives wiped, but any Apple OS installed on them could still report the device. I've heard of some hacks to iPhones and iPads that can unlock a disabled OS, but they probably aren't very stable. They would likely be devices that couldn't be upgraded after being hacked.

 

[bcla]

My DH is a Sheriff Deputy and one day he was in the Apple Store after work still in uniform and a guy with big baggy sweatpants filled his pants with Otterbox cases right in front of DH. DH detained him and the store called the police so an on duty officer could take over. DH being right there in uniform didn't even phase the thief.

Really? Might not have been recognized as law enforcement.

Actually the police officer I saw, I didn't think he was more than just an armed guard until I noticed the police patch. He was wearing a jumpsuit. Hoewever, the police vehicle parked in front of the store was probably more obvious.

 

[tvguy]

Only Apple stores I have been in are in a mall, on the second floor, so I'd love to see someone get a car in and smash the front! You might get a Smart car up the escalator.
I don't know about Apple, but I know at Best Buy many of the display models of other electronics brands are just that, display models lacking the features of the real phone and computer, they just have a demo program in them. Allegedly it costs Apple $225 to make the iPhone they sell for $649. Losing two display models would cost the company about $450........roughly the profit on 1 phone. The way those phones fly out the door, I don't think they would even notice a difference on the bottom line.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I never try to analyze the rationale behind thievery. The people who broke into my house took fast food ketchup packets & left behind $150 in tools. They also went through a box of glassware, picked what they wanted, wrapped up & left the rest behind instead of just taking the box. They ended up with a partial set.

The guy who broke into my truck took a freebie bag phone (never used it), and like the previous thieves, left behind all my tools.

 

[mrsheppo]

We had it happen at our local Apple store last week.

http://www.rgj.com/story/news/crime/2016/12/07/chp-5-arrested-reno-apple-store-robbery/95095630/

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My family and I go to two of the stores that were hit that way recently, and I've never seen either police or security there. Not sure how or if it will change. (Haven't been to either since.)

These types of robberies are bold. Eventually someone is going to get hurt or killed.

I was at a mall out of state this summer and I was surprised to see security guards in many of the stores. We haven't seen that in our area - yet.

A friend's son had his iPhone 6 stolen at college recently. I was wondering the same thing about usage of the stolen phone, but it makes sense the thief can just sell it to an unsuspecting person. Buyer beware!

 

[Hikergirl]

They can "brick" almost anything. Anyone remember the lost iPhone 4 prototype from 2010 that was eventually sold to a tech blogger who took it apart? That one was disabled almost as soon as the employee reported the loss. Apple doesn't like to talk about their security measures, but it's easy enough for them to do it. I guess some of their stuff like computers could have their drives wiped, but any Apple OS installed on them could still report the device. I've heard of some hacks to iPhones and iPads that can unlock a disabled OS, but they probably aren't very stable. They would likely be devices that couldn't be upgraded after being hacked.

I understand they can do things to make a device unusable, but my question is do that if a store has inventory missing? I don't think they bother too, if they did maybe there wouldn't be an issue with theft and selling the devices.

 

[wenrob]

I understand they can do things to make a device unusable, but my question is do that if a store has inventory missing? I don't think they bother too, if they did maybe there wouldn't be an issue with theft and selling the devices.

I'm sure they do. All those serial numbers can be shut down in a matter of seconds, why wouldn't they? It's not the thief that has the issue but the people who unsuspectingly buy a stolen/bricked product. Someone who steals for a living sure isn't going to care that their inventory is no good. There's no deterrent there for the theif at all, they already have cash in hand and are moving on to the next sucker. I highly doubt they bother to track the stolen devices down though.

We have 5 Apple Stores and I've never seen them without security. Three are indoor, up a level or two and two outdoor but so far in and the "streets," (paths really) would be too narrow/small to be able to get up the speed to ram a vehicle into them. All the inventory is in the back and I would think, though I have no way of knowing would be pretty damn hard to get to. The rest of the devices are tethered and not fully functional. As soon as someone tries to put in their own ID it'll be shut down. But again, the the theif doesn't care, they're not in the business of good CS.

 

[wenrob]

Here's a couple of stories on it. Both say the products become useless once out the door. The one store had just started untethering device for a "better experience." Watching the videos I have to say, I have NEVER seen an Apple Store so quiet. Ours are always packed to the gills. If I need service or am buying something I make an appt online. Otherwise I'd be waiting for hours.
http://fortune.com/2016/12/09/apple-store-robbery/
http://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/05/bay-area-apple-stores-robberies/

 

[bcla]

I'm sure they do. All those serial numbers can be shut down in a matter of seconds, why wouldn't they? It's not the thief that has the issue but the people who unsuspectingly buy a stolen/bricked product. Someone who steals for a living sure isn't going to care that their inventory is no good. There's no deterrent there for the theif at all, they already have cash in hand and are moving on to the next sucker. I highly doubt they bother to track the stolen devices down though.

We have 5 Apple Stores and I've never seen them without security. Three are indoor, up a level or two and two outdoor but so far in and the "streets," (paths really) would be too narrow/small to be able to get up the speed to ram a vehicle into them. All the inventory is in the back and I would think, though I have no way of knowing would be pretty damn hard to get to. The rest of the devices are tethered and not fully functional. As soon as someone tries to put in their own ID it'll be shut down. But again, the the theif doesn't care, they're not in the business of good CS.

The main issue is that Apple doesn't comment on security measures, so they haven't stated that stolen devices are disabled. However, I can track all my devices, and there's a feature to remotely place a device in lost mode, which should disable most features.

I've seen them in malls, but Apple does seem to covet outdoor locations with high visibility. The ones around here include the upscale Fourth Street neighborhood in Berkeley and Bay Street in Emeryville. Bay Street is a shopping center, but it is somewhat set up like a street.

 

[Hikergirl]

I'm sure they do. All those serial numbers can be shut down in a matter of seconds, why wouldn't they? It's not the thief that has the issue but the people who unsuspectingly buy a stolen/bricked product. Someone who steals for a living sure isn't going to care that their inventory is no good. There's no deterrent there for the theif at all, they already have cash in hand and are moving on to the next sucker. I highly doubt they bother to track the stolen devices down though.

But the question is do they, not are you (in general) sure they do?
Question still remains, does anyone here know for a fact whether they do?
I'm not arguing with you, I'm genuinely curious.

 

[Hikergirl]

The main issue is that Apple doesn't comment on security measures, so they haven't stated that stolen devices are disabled. However, I can track all my devices, and there's a feature to remotely place a device in lost mode, which should disable most features.

True they don't comment, but someone out there knows LOL


Does anyone know how to quote more than one poster at a time? I can't seem to get it to work.

 

[pryncess527]

But the question is do they, not are you (in general) sure they do?
Question still remains, does anyone here know for a fact whether they do?
I'm not arguing with you, I'm genuinely curious.

I do not know for sure, and I doubt anyone outside of Apple employees really does
But I think it's a safe assumption. iPhones are tied to an Apple ID -- all of the display models in the store are likely tied to the same store-specific Apple ID. If so, it would take about 10 seconds and a few clicks to wipe any phone that left the store. Any low-level Apple Store employee would know how. So I'd assume it's a standard procedure, just because it's so easy to do.

 

[wenrob]

But the question is do they, not are you (in general) sure they do?
Question still remains, does anyone here know for a fact whether they do?
I'm not arguing with you, I'm genuinely curious.

Hmm, I don't know who would actually know but the amount of security that goes into an Apple product makes it likely. Like the theft of anything serial numbers go on record with the police, out to Pawn Shops etc. I can't imagine that they'd just let it go but no, I can't say for sure either.

True they don't comment, but someone out there knows LOL


Does anyone know how to quote more than one poster at a time? I can't seem to get it to work.

Hit quote on each post you'd like to quote and then in the reply box hit "insert quotes" and then "quote these posts" when the box pops up.