Apple's Activation Lock drives iPhone thefts down 40% in San Francisco, 25% in New York
Once a hot item for thieves and pickpockets, Apple's iPhone is becoming a significantly less attractive target as the company's Activation Lock prevents the devices from being easily wiped and re-sold, a new report indicates.
In San Francisco, 40 percent fewer iPhones were stolen between Sept. 2013 and Sept. 2014, according to Reuters. The number dipped 25 percent in New York, and "smartphone thefts" were down 50 percent in London over the same period.
"We have made real progress in tackling the smartphone theft epidemic that was affecting many major cities just two years ago," London Mayor Boris Johnson said.
A similar report in June of last year showed thefts reduced by 38 percent in San Francisco and 24 percent in London. In New York, robberies and 'grand larcenies from a person' involving an iPhone dropped by 19 and 29 percent, respectively.
Apple introduced Activation Lock in iOS 7. The feature "locks" iOS devices with the owner's iCloud account credentials, and requires that they be authenticated with Apple before the device can be erased and set up again.
Activation Lock was the first commercially available "kill switch" for mobile operating systems, and similar features have since been implemented by Google and Samsung. California passed a law last August requiring that all smartphones sold in the state implement kill switches by July 2015, and an FCC panel in December recommended that the commission establish a similar nationwide framework, citing Activation Lock as model deterrent.
In San Francisco, 40 percent fewer iPhones were stolen between Sept. 2013 and Sept. 2014, according to Reuters. The number dipped 25 percent in New York, and "smartphone thefts" were down 50 percent in London over the same period.
"We have made real progress in tackling the smartphone theft epidemic that was affecting many major cities just two years ago," London Mayor Boris Johnson said.
A similar report in June of last year showed thefts reduced by 38 percent in San Francisco and 24 percent in London. In New York, robberies and 'grand larcenies from a person' involving an iPhone dropped by 19 and 29 percent, respectively.
Apple introduced Activation Lock in iOS 7. The feature "locks" iOS devices with the owner's iCloud account credentials, and requires that they be authenticated with Apple before the device can be erased and set up again.
Activation Lock was the first commercially available "kill switch" for mobile operating systems, and similar features have since been implemented by Google and Samsung. California passed a law last August requiring that all smartphones sold in the state implement kill switches by July 2015, and an FCC panel in December recommended that the commission establish a similar nationwide framework, citing Activation Lock as model deterrent.
Comments
I guess theft rates will be depressed even further once it becomes more common knowledge that the stolen devices are useless.
There’s always a parts market.
Let's not forget that it could be because Android is winning¡ I-Phones are so passé¡
I didn't consider that. I wonder how lucrative it is.
Let's not forget that it could be because Android is winning¡ I-Phones are so passé¡
If people quit stealing any phone because they're useless, Android phones would be never be stolen.
Exactly. A whole phone is much more valuable.
Parts? Not so much. You can buy iPhone parts from a lot of places:
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/iPhone/iPhone-5S
While there may be places where you could sell stolen iPhone parts... it's certainly not as lucrative.
It seems the would-be iPhone thieves have figured this out.
if you look at eBay, a non-working phone is only worth a fraction of a working phone. Even then, an iPhone is usually worth about $100 more then a current model Android phone being sold for parts.
I think the average thief is just too stupid to know better. You can do stuff like this with your desktop and laptop Apple devices as well. This was on the news today:
http://www.langleytimes.com/news/291462301.html
[QUOTE]
Two men charged after app locates stolen computer
posted Feb 10, 2015 at 4:00 PM
Two Langley men in their 30s are facing theft charges after [B]a stolen iMac computer was tracked back to them through the ‘Find My iPhone’ app.[/B]
The computer was stolen from a home in the 24900 block of 28 Ave. during a break-in on Jan. 16. A neighbour reported the break-in at the time and saw two men leaving the residence in a blue hatchback vehicle.
On Feb. 7, the owner of the computer called police to say the iMac was now active and the “Find my iPhone” app indicated it was just west of Fraser Highway in the 259A Street area. Officers went to the area, found the residence closest to the mapped location and spoke with the occupant, said Langley RCMP Cpl. Holly Marks.
As they conversed, two men were seen leaving through a basement suite door. One of the men was carrying an iMac computer in his hands.
Both suspects were arrested and released to appear in court later in the year. Police will be recommending charges against a 36-year-old man and a 38-year-old man.[/QUOTE]
Hint: That tiny upside down exclamation mark at the end of his post is the indicator for sarcasm.
And that's why I never buy used.
If a politician isn't stealing credit for something they haven't done, they're probably stealing something else.
To bad it doesn't actually work. My iPad was stolen right out of my car at the metreon garage and it's been pending erasure since November. Pretty sure the thieves just jail broke it, or decided to never take it online, and I'm still shit out of luck.
You can't jailbreak a iOS device without a password! It's still locked down. There's zero way to get around this. If it was that simple Activation lock would be worthless. Unless you were dumb enough to have no passwords on the device!!! If it was locked, it's pretty worthless. Maybe part it out. You're not going to get much for a used screen and a few other parts. More then likely it was tossed in the trash if it was locked.
Most likely once they discover it was useless to them, they just pitched it into a dumpster. Then went on to steal something else.
No. They probably realized it was useless and dumped it or smashed it out of frustration. And you can't jailbreak a device that had Activation Lock.
I find Activation Lock makes it safer. All you need to do is have the seller turn Find My iPhone off for you. If they can't, then stay away.
On another note it's intetesting how certain sites are reporting this as "smartphone kill switches" reducing theft. Android doesn't have a kill switch.