Apple Crime blotter: 34 iPhones stolen from UPS, $100K in product lifted from Palo Alto, m...

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A six-figure Apple Store robbery in Palo Alto, a search for a stolen iPhone leads to hundreds of marijuana plants, and the first iPhone 11 thefts.

The Franklin Park Mall Apple Store in Toledo, OH
The Franklin Park Mall Apple Store in Toledo, OH"


The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime:

Mulltiple thefts of Apple Pencils from Apple Stores

There have been several reports in recent weeks about large thefts of Apple Pencil devices from Apple Stores, in more than one state.

Police in Toledo, Ohio, are looking for a man who they say stole over $2,000 worth of Apple Pencils from the Apple Store at the Franklin Park Mall, according to WTOL. This follows another report, from Cleveland.com, that a white male suspect made two separate thefts of Apple Pencils, also about $2,000 worth, from the Crocker Park Apple Store in Westlake, Ohio, about 100 miles away from the Toledo incident.

Earlier in the month, a suspect stole 11 Apple Pencils from the Apple Store in Alpharetta, Ga., per NorthFulton.com There was also a reported spate of Apple Pencil thefts shortly after the gadget was introduced in 2015, per Business Insider.

A six-figure Apple Store theft in Palo Alto

More than $100,000 worth of items were taken from the Apple Store at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, just 15 miles from Apple Park, on Sept. 18. Per The PA Daily Post, nine men carried out the heist, which included 22 iPads, 10 MacBooks, 71 iPhones and, yes, 23 Apple Pencils. They then fled in a pair of getaway cars. The theft continues a recent run of Apple Store thefts in the Bay Area.

Man's iPad stolen while he handed out iPhones

A California man whose job is arranging for free cell phones to the poor had his iPad stolen while doing so. According to KMPH, the theft took place while the man was set up at a gas station, and the thief rode by on a bike and took his iPad.

Images of the alleged thief were caught on video.

Search for stolen iPhone leads to marijuana bust

Police in Abbotsford, British Columbia followed the Find My iPhone signal of a stolen iPhone to a house -- where they discovered hundreds of marijuana plants. According to Abby News, "numerous marijuana plants were seen in plain view" outside the home, and more were found inside.

The 260 plants located at the house violated Canada's Cannabis Act, which only permits four. The iPhone was not found.

Find My iPhone ping leads to arrest

In other Find My iPhone news, a Florida woman was arrested last week when a man believed she had stolen his iPhone from an internet cafe. Per Ocala News, Find My iPhone confirmed his suspicions, as he accompanied police to the woman's resident to retrieve the device.

The woman was charged with larceny/grand theft.

34 iPhones stolen from UPS

Three cases of iPhone 11 shipments, valued at over $25,000, were stolen off a UPS truck in New Jersey, Patch reported. The theft took place while the phones were being delivered to a mall in Millburn, NJ.

Australian thieves "desperately sought" iPhone 11

A series of smash-and-grab robberies at electronics stores in Melbourne, Australia, have specifically targeted the new iPhone 11, as reported by 7 News. The thieves were "desperately trying to get their hands on the recently-launched iPhone 11, attempting to rip the devices from their displays," and at least one of the thefts was caught on security video.

"iPhone" that couple bought in park was actually two bars of soap

A Michigan couple who thought they were buying an iPhone for their daughter was tricked into paying $450 for two bars of soap. Per Fox 2 Detroit, the transaction took place in a park and was facilitated through the Letgo app.

Police tracked down the seller, who received a ticket.

Mobile phone store employee arrested for iPhone XS Max thefts

A 23-year-old Wisconsin man has been arrested for carrying out a scheme in which he stole 30 iPhones from area cell phone stores, including the one where he was employed. According to Racine County Eye, the man stole iPhone XS Max phones from both his place of employment, Cellular Sales, and other stores.

The suspect is alleged to then execute fake sales of the phones to people out of state, paying the taxes himself in cash but never shipping the phones.

Have an Apple crime story for us? Email AppleInsider and tell us about it.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    "Pencils"???
    netroxmacseeker
  • Reply 2 of 11
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,913member
    Not sure how to stop when employees or robbers are involved. Unless employ Saudi Arabia style law enforcement where you cut of hands than people won't do it. Many liberal countries are haven for criminals.
    ForumPost
  • Reply 3 of 11
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    These criminals and Apple heists are getting out of hand!

    Somebody sells 2 "iPhones" to somebody in a park and there's bars of soap in the box instead?

    And then the cops manage to find the criminal and they give them a ticket? WTF

    Throw the scum in jail!

    It also seems that Apple needs better security in their stores. There are too many thefts taking place and we read about them too often.

    And why was that man who got his iPad stolen giving away free iPhones to the poor? Give them Android phones instead! 


    macseeker
  • Reply 4 of 11
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,421member
    Imagine the profits to be gained from selling Pencils.
    ForumPost
  • Reply 5 of 11
    wood1208 said:
    Not sure how to stop when employees or robbers are involved. Unless employ Saudi Arabia style law enforcement where you cut of hands than people won't do it. Many liberal countries are haven for criminals.
    Can you provide sources that backup this claim?
  • Reply 6 of 11
    thrangthrang Posts: 1,009member
    My son's girlfriend received her return box for the iPhone trade it, and it the tape was slit clean open - someone was sniffing
  • Reply 7 of 11
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,644member
    I thought activation and iCloud lock and all that Jazz was supposed to deter iPhone thieves.   

    Are they just stripping them for parts that aren’t locked?   There must be a market for genuine iPhones even if they are new and unusable.   


  • Reply 8 of 11
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,166member
    These are new iPhones though, yet to be activated. I doubt Apple could identify a stolen iPhone that had yet to be activated. It would have to kill a batch.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    entropys said:
    These are new iPhones though, yet to be activated. I doubt Apple could identify a stolen iPhone that had yet to be activated. It would have to kill a batch.
    Surely they have serial numbers and Apple keeps track of the inventory in their store, don't they?

    Why couldn't Apple just identify which phones and devices have been stolen and then just blacklist them, rendering them unable to activate or to be used?
    edited September 2019 zoetmb
  • Reply 10 of 11
    fred1fred1 Posts: 1,112member
    mobird said:
    "Pencils"???
    Uh, I don't understand what you're confused about.  These are expensive and not trackable like devices that connect to the internet.  Steal them, sell them for $50, and nothing can be traced (no pun intended).  
    macgui
  • Reply 11 of 11
    mobirdmobird Posts: 753member
    fred1 said:
    mobird said:
    "Pencils"???
    Uh, I don't understand what you're confused about.  These are expensive and not trackable like devices that connect to the internet.  Steal them, sell them for $50, and nothing can be traced (no pun intended).  
    Who's confused?
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