$24K worth of products stolen in 2nd recent robbery at Apple's Corte Madera, Calif., store...
Robbers reportedly struck an Apple outlet in Corte Madera, Calif. this week, stealing some $24,000 worth of goods just months after a previous raid on the store.
Five burglars filed into the store shortly after its 8 p.m. close on Monday night, taking 17 iPhones, three iPads, and two Macs, according to ABC7 News. The people were described only as in their late teens or early 20s.
A security guard last spotted the burglars running toward the rear of a Macy's. To date the people haven't been caught, and police are asking the public to call the Central Marin Police Authority if they have any information.
On Nov. 25, another group of burglars stole $35,000 to $40,000 worth of devices. ABC7 didn't suggest any immediate link between the two events.
Apple stores can be a prime target for burglars, since the company displays expensive electronics out on tables, visible even to people outside its shops thanks to the company's preference for glass facades.
In other robberies -- such as a December incident in Palo Alto -- burglars have simply smashed their way in after hours, sometimes using vehicles where streets and sidewalks allow it. To deter ramming, some locations have bollards in place.
Apple's next big outlet is an unlikely target. The store is opening inside the Dubai Mall on Thursday -- interior locations appear to be attacked less often, presumably because they're harder to reach and escape.
Five burglars filed into the store shortly after its 8 p.m. close on Monday night, taking 17 iPhones, three iPads, and two Macs, according to ABC7 News. The people were described only as in their late teens or early 20s.
A security guard last spotted the burglars running toward the rear of a Macy's. To date the people haven't been caught, and police are asking the public to call the Central Marin Police Authority if they have any information.
On Nov. 25, another group of burglars stole $35,000 to $40,000 worth of devices. ABC7 didn't suggest any immediate link between the two events.
Look at the empty counter at the Corte Madera Apple Store. Police say 5 thieves grabbed about $24k worth of products and took off last night pic.twitter.com/FSrkYSH32q
-- Amy Hollyfield (@amyhollyfield)
Apple stores can be a prime target for burglars, since the company displays expensive electronics out on tables, visible even to people outside its shops thanks to the company's preference for glass facades.
In other robberies -- such as a December incident in Palo Alto -- burglars have simply smashed their way in after hours, sometimes using vehicles where streets and sidewalks allow it. To deter ramming, some locations have bollards in place.
Apple's next big outlet is an unlikely target. The store is opening inside the Dubai Mall on Thursday -- interior locations appear to be attacked less often, presumably because they're harder to reach and escape.
Comments
I wonder what the total value of all merchandise in a mid-sized Apple Store would come to. My guess is, a lot.
$24k would be the retail value, most of the devices will be locked if they try to switch them on so they will only be useful for some of the parts; I wonder what value they had on the black market, split 5 ways... doubt it was even worth it.
Alao, why isn't it standard practice to lock away all floor models st the end of the business day? Hello, Angela Ahrendts?
Putting them away and setting them back up would be a pain in the ass and would require Apple to pay employees extra to do this as they'd have to come in earlier and stay later every single day. That wouldn't stop anyone from going outback then and taking them. Might be better off to either not worry about it as Apple insurance for these cases and/or hire overnight security for open storefronts.
Either way its not worth it...its only a matter of time before you get caught. Its not like there aren't any cameras around and if you do this enough times you're going to get caught. Maybe you were lucky the first time or two but your luck will run dry eventually. Then its jail time...all of that for a couple thousand in the end. Its like robbing a gas station...you get a whole $200 so you're set for a day or two...wow!
Apple should add "Geo fence/Disable and add tracking" to all there Display models!
Prison's not so bad...roof over your head, three meals a day...all the sex you could possibly want! /s
They could pawn or sell them on eBay. Nobody would ever know until they went to use them for the first time. I know everyone doesn't have this ability, in fact pretty much no one would but I always look up Serial #'s in GSX before even considering any Apple product on eBay and if you want to block out the serial # then you lost my sale. There's no reason to block it out. You're not really hiding anything from anyone.
Good to know. Thx.
i'm guessing you have never been in an Apple Store to see how the products are wired on those tables. you can't just unplug them and whisk them off the floor.
and honestly this isn't a big deal. every retail store worth its salt has insurance for such losses. If Apple even bothers to file. i mean they make that much in a day at any store. With like $100 billion in the bank this loss is nothing. They probably have the serials in some file and they can report any iPhones or cellular iPads to the carriers to be blacklisted, block the serials for service in their systems etc. Heck they might even have them all on an iCloud or similar account and can erase and lock them. or even have the power to blacklist them for activation if someone tries to erase them thinking Apple would have a way to track them. the computers might all have firmware locks as well as a way to remote wipe.