Thefts at Apple retail stores on the rise, two reported this month
Yet another Apple Store has been burglarized, this time at University Village in Seattle, Washington, where thieves appear to have entered the store through the ceiling and made off with a slew of customer laptops that had been dropped off for servicing.
A store employee claims that at least one of the notebooks contained personal information, and that the theft could pose a risk to other customers. Additionally, an "unknown stock" of refurbished iPhones turned up missing alongside a high-end laptop used by the store's technical staff.
Seattle police were reportedly called to the University Village store at 4:44 a.m. Monday morning after an alarm signaled rear entry or motion, but the police report stated that all the doors were secure and nothing appeared to be out of place on the inside.
The latest burglary underscores a growing demand for the Cupertino-based company's products by unscrupulous or unknowing buyers, reports MacNN, which notes that there's been an increase in the number of thieves who are risking charges of grand theft and burglary just to acquire the goods.
Monday's incident comes less than two weeks after a similar Apple retail store burglary at Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. There, suspects stole $17,000 worth of goods by smashing out the front window of the store. The thieves reportedly made off with eight laptops, three iPods, and two iPhones at around 3:38 a.m. on August 13th.
Earlier this year, Apple's Twenty Ninth Street store in Colorado was forced to modified one of its display cases by securing the 30-pound container to the table upon which it rested. The changes came about after thieves boldly stole a 2 x 2 x 6-foot display case containing 42 4GB iPod nanos worth around $8,450. Amazingly, notes MacNN, the store employees said they noticed the case missing at around 5:00 p.m. which suggests that the theft may have occurred in broad daylight.
Last December, police stopped a motorist for having a brown plastic bag over his license plate and quickly learned that he had just burglarized an Apple Store in Weymouth, Massachusetts. The man was bleeding profusely from wounds he suffered as a result of smashing out the front glass window with a pipe wrench. He reportedly cut his arms on the broken glass while entering and exiting the store as he carried 56 stolen iPods worth almost $20,000 in a pink plastic tub.
One week prior, the Carrefour Lavel store in Canada was burglarized by thieves who managed to take numerous computers as well as several iPods, MacNN reported.
A store employee claims that at least one of the notebooks contained personal information, and that the theft could pose a risk to other customers. Additionally, an "unknown stock" of refurbished iPhones turned up missing alongside a high-end laptop used by the store's technical staff.
Seattle police were reportedly called to the University Village store at 4:44 a.m. Monday morning after an alarm signaled rear entry or motion, but the police report stated that all the doors were secure and nothing appeared to be out of place on the inside.
The latest burglary underscores a growing demand for the Cupertino-based company's products by unscrupulous or unknowing buyers, reports MacNN, which notes that there's been an increase in the number of thieves who are risking charges of grand theft and burglary just to acquire the goods.
Monday's incident comes less than two weeks after a similar Apple retail store burglary at Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. There, suspects stole $17,000 worth of goods by smashing out the front window of the store. The thieves reportedly made off with eight laptops, three iPods, and two iPhones at around 3:38 a.m. on August 13th.
Earlier this year, Apple's Twenty Ninth Street store in Colorado was forced to modified one of its display cases by securing the 30-pound container to the table upon which it rested. The changes came about after thieves boldly stole a 2 x 2 x 6-foot display case containing 42 4GB iPod nanos worth around $8,450. Amazingly, notes MacNN, the store employees said they noticed the case missing at around 5:00 p.m. which suggests that the theft may have occurred in broad daylight.
Last December, police stopped a motorist for having a brown plastic bag over his license plate and quickly learned that he had just burglarized an Apple Store in Weymouth, Massachusetts. The man was bleeding profusely from wounds he suffered as a result of smashing out the front glass window with a pipe wrench. He reportedly cut his arms on the broken glass while entering and exiting the store as he carried 56 stolen iPods worth almost $20,000 in a pink plastic tub.
One week prior, the Carrefour Lavel store in Canada was burglarized by thieves who managed to take numerous computers as well as several iPods, MacNN reported.
Comments
But Apple are going to have to think about security as everything is getting smaller. If one person can carry $20,000 worth of electronics, it has got to be tempting.
at 4:44 a.m. Monday morning after an alarm signaled rear entry or motion
yes its is quite hard to tell that early in the morning...
The thieves cut through the ceiling into the technicians' room and took the computers that were done with servicing. Kind of implies that whoever did this A: knew the layout of the store and B: knew which computers were easiest to lift / worth grabbing.
Without speculating overmuch, I'll at least say this: ...interesting.
Afterthought: Surely Apple has a way to identify the machine should it ever request a periodic software update, or if the machine has to be serviced. Forensic sleths should soon be all over this case.
I guess this is a good sign...
Totally agree. This is undoubtely another indication that Apple is very successful in raising its profile and doing well in attracting all sorts of people that really want to get their hands in Apple products.
But Apple are going to have to think about security as everything is getting smaller. If one person can carry $20,000 worth of electronics, it has got to be tempting.
It wouldn't be that hard to think of something that can track stolen iPods and Macs through an iTunes account. Apple maintains records of stolen serial numbers so in principle they should be able to track down thieves through automatic updates or when someone tries to download a song from iTunes. Then can then send an email saying `Update failed, stolen device. Your device has been wiped out. Thank you for your co-operation!'
not much apple can do really.
Amazingly, notes MacNN, the store employees said they noticed the case missing at around 5:00 p.m. which suggests that the theft may have occurred in broad daylight.
Excuse me, pardon me, nothing to see here, please move along and ignore the large persons hauling the display case out of the store.
And what if that individual bought it off ebay? are you going to brick their ipod because they thought they were just purchasing something on ebay?
Well, yes. In Sweden at least, bona fide purchases doesn't exist. If you buy something that is stolen, you're out of luck.
/Adrian
The thieves cut through the ceiling into the technicians' room and took the computers that were done with servicing. Kind of implies that whoever did this A: knew the layout of the store and B: knew which computers were easiest to lift / worth grabbing.
It's Sherlock Holmes!
thieves should have their hands cut off and inserted into their own colon... repeatedly.
by definition required to connect to the network for use, and could quite easily not only be identified but located.
Well, there's no GPS so that leaves a lot of space around a tower-log-in. Plus, since the first thing anyone whose ever stolen cell-phones would do is swap-out the SIM card. I don't get the point personally, because saving 500 or 600 is peanuts compared to the 2 year activation and service from AT&T.
that's one way to get your Apple products.
thieves should have their hands cut off and inserted into their own colon... repeatedly.
Oh, great, the Ayatollah has created a login.
Source: 1.6% of value of retail sales lost in 'retail shrinkage' in 2005. Surely higher now. Assuming that only about .5% is from theft, Apple sold roughly $3.36 billion in the retail sector in 2006, divided by 12 to get monthly average is: ~$280 million. .5% of 280 million=~$1.4 million that would be from theft if this were average. $17,000 from one theft and an unknown amount from another gives us much less than 5% (probably 2 or less) of average. So, what have we learned from this? Aside from absolutely nothing
In other news, Ebay revenues continue to rise.
I guess this is a good sign...
I think it's a good sign that directly relates to the popularity of Apple products. The typical shoplifter isn't going to be so elaborate in their efforts. Many of these stories are thought out planned attacks against the retailer. I'm glad I bought stock at $115. I see nothing but good things in Apple's future.