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Crime Iphone Apple

Stolen iPhones from an Apple Store Remotely Disabled, Started Blaring Alarms (indiatimes.com) 108

Posted by EditorDavid from the crime-doesn't-pay dept.
Earlier this week looters who stole iPhones "got an unexpected message from Apple," reports the Economic Times.

"Please return to Apple Tower Theatre. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted."

Stolen phones "were remotely locked and triggered alarms, effectively turning the devices into high-tech bait. Videos circulating online show the phones flashing the message while blaring loudly, making them impossible to ignore." According to LAPD Officer Chris Miller, at least three suspects were apprehended in connection to the Apple Store burglary. One woman was arrested on the spot, while two others were detained for looting.

Stolen iPhones from an Apple Store Remotely Disabled, Started Blaring Alarms More | Reply

Stolen iPhones from an Apple Store Remotely Disabled, Started Blaring Alarms

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  • Looting (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    They're peaceful protests, really.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      So was Jan 6th. https://www.npr.org/2024/10/29... [npr.org]

      So peaceful that orange jesus had to pardon everyone involved.

      • I don't get it. Are we only allowed to denounce one of them?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by drnb ( 2434720 )

          I don't get it. Are we only allowed to denounce one of them?

          Correct, the one not committed by your team. :-)

          • I don't even know what team I'm supposed to be on. Generally I consider myself to be very liberal, but that refers to enlightenment era liberalism, which during the french revolution generally meant you sat on the left side of the room. Except those guys would guillotine anybody who either looked rich or just plain wasn't enthusiastic enough about Maxmillan Robespierre, so they probably would have guillotined me. But for whatever reason people still insist on that terminology, which never had any relevance

            • I don't even know what team I'm supposed to be on.

              Ask a college student. :-)

              Generally I consider myself to be very liberal, but that refers to enlightenment era liberalism

              I'm down with liberalism in the sense of western liberalism. For you college students out there, western liberalism is founded upon European, North African, Middle Eastern, and Persian philosophies. I pass on the Soviet reimagining of liberalism popular with the college professors. Again, for the college student readers out there, academia, like the internet, has trolls too. It's just that in academia they are better paid and an audience is provided.

              • At those schools you indicate favor Soviet influenced liberalism, they actually aren't that into communism and are really into democracy. At least the one I went to is. Think Robert Putnam, Making Democracy Work. And one of the key components of liberal democracy is institutions and electoral process. The US, with its majoritarian system of elections (a poor system compared to modern ones like the STV in Ireland) and super-strong executive is actually a challenging system to maintain. In Latin America

                • At those schools you indicate favor Soviet influenced liberalism, they actually aren't that into communism and are really into democracy.

                  Nope. They are very much anti-western liberalism. Neomarxist. Here in the USA at least. Remnants of various 1960s/70s era marxist and maoist inspired radicals. Think Weather Underground; arsons, bombers and political murders. When their support evaporated as the Vietnam War ended, which greatly disappointed them (the support evaporating), they decided to work from the inside, in particular academia. Today's anti-west colonial oppressor ideology comes straight from these 60s/70s radicals, which adopted it fr

                  • Nope. They are very much anti-western liberalism. Neomarxist. Here in the USA at least. Remnants of various 1960s/70s era marxist and maoist inspired radicals. .

                    I mean, I went to one of those "liberal" schools, and I learned a lot about democracy from authors such as Robert Dahl and Samuel Huntington; and a lot about how communism sucks and what led to the fall of Soviet Russia. The same professors I had less than 20 years ago are still there, at least all of them in the Political Science department. I'm not sure what you think goes on for the majority of students in these schools, but someone has to teach people who in the future will work in campaigns and ele

                    • Re: (Score:2)

                      by drnb ( 2434720 )

                      There's of course people into radical politics and ideology, ...

                      I am not talking about peaceful people who ideologically believe in and support communism. I am referring to people who desire actual revolution and an overthrow of the US government. For the latter, part of the work involves undermining faith in western liberalism and US institutions.

                      ... but that's true for many institutes of higher education on the other side too -- like Liberty University, or Brigham Young.

                      Which are the counterparts to the peaceful ideological individuals I refer to above. Not the radical revolutionaries.

                      I'd rather my children be exposed to "radical communist ideologies," which they can disagree with and make fun of the scatterbrained hippies should they choose ...

                      To be clear, I am not referring to hippy protesters of the 1960s/70s. I am referring to people who crossed t

                • At those schools you indicate favor Soviet influenced liberalism, they actually aren't that into communism and are really into democracy.

                  While the soviets said communism was their official philosophy, they were in fact socialist. And all communists claim to like democracy, but (and Karl Marx supported this) that there was to be no freedom of speech (and effectively, no democracy either) until they complete the revolution and fully transition to communism, which in practice never actually happens. You might also notice that at least some democrats going all the way back to FDR have supported the so-called economic bill of rights. Bernie and A

        • As long as you admit that the January 6th criminals are one and the same. I guess all the 3 looters needed to do was say trump won the election and wear a stupid outfit and they can crime away with no consequences.

          • What would I admit to? I've been saying this the entire time. The only dissenting opinion I've ever had about this is referring to it as a siege or an insurrection, I've always referred to it as a riot based on stupid conspiracy theories.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 )

            As long as you admit that the January 6th criminals are one and the same. I guess all the 3 looters needed to do was say trump won the election and wear a stupid outfit and they can crime away with no consequences.

            Yup. And he wants to arrest and prosecute the (actually very few) people who caused (are causing) trouble in LA, so the lesson here is: Wear MAGA stuff and limit your looting, rioting, and property destruction to The Capital building, in DC, then sit back and wait for the pardon ...

            For white-collar crimes: Get your mom to donate $1M to Trump and attend Mar-a-Lago dinner, and get pardoned: Trump Pardoned Tax Cheat After Mom Attended $1M Mar-a-Lago Dinner [thedailybeast.com]

  • Apple devices are difficult to steal (Score:5, Interesting)

    by linuxguy ( 98493 ) on Saturday June 14, 2025 @11:59AM (#65449243) Homepage

    Last year our office was broken into. Thieves stole a bunch of stuff, including some Apple laptops and ipads. We filed a police report, but it looked like they could not care less. I looked up the location of the devices and drove there. It was an apartment complex. I called the police. They did not want to knock on any doors and left. But it was enough to spook the thieves. They drove off after the police left and dumped the stolen equipment 10 miles away. I was able to recover almost all of our equipment, including several Windows laptops that were not trackable.

    • Re:Apple devices are difficult to steal (Score:5, Interesting)

      by abulafia ( 7826 ) on Saturday June 14, 2025 @12:15PM (#65449259)
      Everywhere I've lived, cops are generally utterly disinterested in property crime unless the victim is connected, the loss is huge or the media gets interested.

      Less than 10% [ppic.org] are cleared in California now, and yes, they used to be better at it.

      I'd say "demand better politicians who will demand better cops", but, hey, we're speedrunning the authoritarian shithole path (we are on to political assassinations as of today), so, uh, that ship has sailed.

      • As we convert our prisons into slave labor camps I suspect they will become very interested in minor property crime.

        Of course I don't think anyone is going to like the knock-on effects of that. Especially if you get accused. Heck it would be pretty easy to make somebody go away just by planting a stolen iPhone on them at that point.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Has Trump condemned the violence yet? Or has he posted some juvenile meme to celebrate it? My money is on the latter.

      • Look at the United Healthcare CEO shooting. A nationwide manhunt with dozens of agencies involved. Days later two teenagers were stabbed on the street after being asked if they spoke English. I bet the case is still open. https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/... [go.com]

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by drnb ( 2434720 )

        Everywhere I've lived, cops are generally utterly disinterested in property crime unless the victim is connected, the loss is huge or the media gets interested. Less than 10% are cleared in California now, and yes, they used to be better at it.

        We used to prosecute it. That's part of the feedback loop too.

      • Everywhere I've lived, cops are generally utterly disinterested in property crime unless the victim is connected, the loss is huge or the media gets interested.

        Less than 10% [ppic.org] are cleared in California now, and yes, they used to be better at it.

        I'd say "demand better politicians who will demand better cops", but, hey, we're speedrunning the authoritarian shithole path (we are on to political assassinations as of today), so, uh, that ship has sailed.

        Kind of a waste investigating property crimes if there are no legal consequences. What do you think is the message to the cop who arrests the same person for the same thing over and over again? Maybe this is not where our efforts are best spent?

      • Everywhere I've lived, cops are generally utterly disinterested in property crime unless the victim is connected, the loss is huge or the media gets interested.

        Less than 10% [ppic.org] are cleared in California now, and yes, they used to be better at it.

        This is why we of the dark side value the Second Amendment and keep iy holy.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mysidia ( 191772 )

        Probably all our resources are allocated towards anti-drug enforcement. Also, when enforcing those laws police get to seize and keep the cash. If it's just stolen property: police have to try and return that shit once it's found.. which doesn't get them paid as much as getting to seize and keep millions from a drug bust.

    • A friend lost his iPhone to a pickpocket in Paris a couple of years back (can't remember when) and when he got back home he checked its location. Sofia, Bulgaria. No chance of getting that back.

      As for an office break-in, around 15-17 years ago the company I was working for upgraded everything from Windows NT4 (really!) to Windows XP. The whole thing was handled by subcontracters and they were very active for a couple of days. The next day I came into the office at 7 am and started work normally, a few m

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      If you want tracking on Windows laptops, Lenovo and Dell both offer it. Probably HP as well.

      I'm not sure how useful this will be for iPhones though. Aren't they generally broken down for parts?

      • If you want tracking on Windows laptops, Lenovo and Dell both offer it. Probably HP as well.

        I'm not sure how useful this will be for iPhones though. Aren't they generally broken down for parts?

        And people wonder why Apple electronically Serializes some Components. . .

        • And people wonder why Apple electronically Serializes some Components. . .

          Nobody wonders. It is to lock down your repair options.

    • Last year our office was broken into. Thieves stole a bunch of stuff, including some Apple laptops and ipads. We filed a police report, but it looked like they could not care less. I looked up the location of the devices and drove there. It was an apartment complex. I called the police. They did not want to knock on any doors and left. But it was enough to spook the thieves. They drove off after the police left and dumped the stolen equipment 10 miles away. I was able to recover almost all of our equipment, including several Windows laptops that were not trackable.

      That's an excellent example on how the tracking capabilities of modern technology can work for us. Now, if only we can find ways to keep it from working against us.

      I recall watching a movie where some thugs crash a party where a bunch of rich people were and he demanded everyone hand over wallets, jewelry, and cell phones. That movie was from 1995, and even with the movie that old I thought the phones back then would have the ability for remote disabling. I'm pretty sure that is the case. With 30 years

      • That's an excellent example on how the tracking capabilities of modern technology can work for us. Now, if only we can find ways to keep it from working against us.

        This type of tech requires that the company involved isn't, and doesn't become, evil. Because if they can remotely turn off your iPhone if it's stolen, they can also remotely turn it off if you owe them money for something unrelated, or if they don't like your politics. There's that thing about giving up liberty to gain security and all that.

        ... With 30 years of cell phones being disabled remotely would not looters know not to steal them by now? ...

        Looters mostly aren't thinking or strategizing in the moment. A business for which I do IT was looted in the George Floyd peaceful protests. I was involved in proce

  • Duh? (Score:1)

    by BoFo ( 518917 )
    Has Apple considered that with the first alert the iPhone gets dumped in the ocean? Satisfying yes, but it won't lead to the recovery of all their property.

  • It's not about thieving, looting, destroying property and rioting in general. It's all about peaceful protests against enforcing the law.

  • >"According to LAPD Officer Chris Miller, at least three suspects were apprehended in connection to the Apple Store burglary. One woman was arrested on the spot, while two others were detained for looting."

    And will any of them actually be prosecuted and punished? Or will officials make all kinds of nonsense excuses for them?

    • The phones belong to Apple. What do you think?

    • And will any of them actually be prosecuted and punished? Or will officials make all kinds of nonsense excuses for them?

      Arresting people is most of the work. Typically when someone is arrested for a property crime a prosecution follows. If the police actually didn't care, they wouldn't have gone there in the first place.

    • Trump is ready to pardon as long as they say he won the 2020 election and wear an ugly, stupid hat.
  • Apple could do this for its customers paying them thousands of dollars for their goods and services.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      If only. But it appears not. Apple was already paid for those phones. So, why give a sh*t anymore?

      Sad, but this [theregister.com] take on the problem implies that theft and resale is (among certain political camps) considered to be a way to place digital technology into the hands of third world customers who would otherwise remain unconnected.

    • You want your phone to go into lockdown and sound alarms when you remove it from an Apple Store too?

    • If only there were some way for customers to remotely lock, sound alarms, and display messages such as “"Please return to XXX. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted." on their iPhones that have been stolen. That would be cool. Oh wait

  • I love stories about smart tech vs. dumb thugs. On a much larger scale, that's also what's been happening this year in the Middle East.

  • While I enjoy thieves getting what they deserve...I worry about them undersecuring this functionality and some hacker turns my iPhone into a remote alarm because I connect to a public WiFi or my kid visits the wrong website.

  • Theft ends when the incentive is negated.

    • Theft ends when the incentive is negated.

      The phone can still be harvested for parts. Not as lucrative to thieves as a fully functional iPhone, but there is still some money to be made.

    • Remote locking, alarms, tracking and message display has been available on iPhone for years. I’ve personally used it to recover a few phones for my kids: most from honest people when the phone was lost, but two from thieves.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Ossifer ( 703813 )

        Sure, to a certain degree--many people have complained about the difficulties of DIY iPhone justice. But when Apple loses their own, suddenly new secret features come out.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mysidia ( 191772 )

        Very useful, but what's missing is:
          1. Take and upload pictures or start/stop recording a live stream from front and back camera uploaded to the service.
          2. Permanent text banner button (custom text banner that cannot be dismissed from the phone)
          3. Permanent alarm-sound on/off button (custom alarm sound for X seconds with volume and mute buttons on the phone disabled; can only be muted/ended from findMy service)

  • I find this kind of control of products creepy, but I understand this is probably a bluetooth proximity system that Apple put in the devices to curb theft. But I wish I could have been there to see these things go off!
  • Has to be the dumbest thing. Only an ignorant ldiot would steal those. They have the IMEI, serial numbers etc recorded and can be bricked. This was a great way for Apple to get the phones back.

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