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Thieves Target Durham, North Carolina Apple Store in Smash-and-Grab Robbery

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MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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30,864



Thieves last night stole an unknown number of MacBooks in a smash-and-grab theft at the Apple Store located in the Southpoint Mall in Durham, North Carolina. The MacBook units reportedly were display models situated in the front section of the store.

southpoint-break-in.jpeg
The Apple Store is part of The Streets at Southpoint, a shopping destination that includes both an indoor mall and an outdoor shopping pavilion. The Apple store is located in an outdoor section of the complex, making it an easier target for an overnight theft. The store is currently closed following the break-in.

Smash-and-grab robberies are not uncommon at Apple retail stores, which often are built with glass panels to showcase the interior of the store. In December of last year, the new Haarlem store was the target of a smash-and-grab robbery shortly after it opened. Only a small amount of merchandise was stolen in that break-in.

Article Link: Thieves Target Durham, North Carolina Apple Store in Smash-and-Grab Robbery
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/07/29/southpoint-apple-store-robbery/
R

RedRallyeZ

macrumors regular
Nov 15, 2010
201
15
crazy, i was just there last week.

little chance of the police finding these douches, but would love to see someone actually get caught for this. I HATE thieves
 
gleepskip

gleepskip

macrumors 6502a
Apr 29, 2005
641
1,734
Redmond has gone from using copiers to physically stealing hardware. Shame. :eek:
 
firedept

firedept

macrumors 603
Jul 8, 2011
6,277
1,130
Somewhere!
Just out of curiosity? Are these stolen items even usable. I am not knowledgeable about this at all, but I would think that Apple has something in place to make these garbage except for parts. Is my thinking wrong?
 
G

goodcow

macrumors 6502a
Aug 4, 2007
749
1,001
firedept said:
Just out of curiosity? Are these stolen items even usable. I am not knowledgeable about this at all, but I would think that Apple has something in place to make these garbage except for parts. Is my thinking wrong?
Click to expand...

No. You can't assume somebody with stolen property is even aware that it's stolen. Had iPads been stolen, then sold on Craigslist, and somebody came in for AppleCare support, they would still receive service. You can blame our litigious society if you think it's a problem.
 
pdaholic

pdaholic

macrumors 68000
Jun 22, 2011
1,842
2,550
Unfortunately, the "geniuses" forgot to install the Find My iPhone app.
 
IGregory

IGregory

macrumors 6502a
Aug 5, 2012
669
6
RedRallyeZ said:
crazy, i was just there last week.

little chance of the police finding these douches, but would love to see someone actually get caught for this. I HATE thieves
Click to expand...

Apple chooses to ignore the concept "Crime Prevention by Design" during store construction. If a business designs its store layout in such a way as to make it easy for B&E artist to steal, then the company can't complain if victimized. Glass is pretty but does little to stop a determine criminal. :p
 
B

Babbles

macrumors newbie
Apr 10, 2014
15
0
U.S.A
firedept said:
Just out of curiosity? Are these stolen items even usable.
Click to expand...

They're very usable. You don't want to put junk models out that may not work and turn off the customer. I've actually purchased model units at a discounted price because it was about to be discontinued.
 
Viddrumr32

Viddrumr32

macrumors member
Aug 6, 2007
34
21
Raleigh NC
What a Shame

This is the local Apple Store I go to if I ever visit one. There may be a good chance of tracking these guys down since the property is swarming with cameras all over. Learned about all that when setting up snow machines on the roofs outside a few years ago.
 
PocketSand11

PocketSand11

macrumors 6502a
Jun 12, 2014
688
1
~/
Babbles said:
They're very usable. You don't want to put junk models out that may not work and turn off the customer. I've actually purchased model units at a discounted price because it was about to be discontinued.
Click to expand...

What if they've disabled automatic login, have set up a password that only employees know, and have locked the EFI firmware? If my information is correct, there is no way to reinstall the OS or make a new admin account.

But the Macs could still be sold for parts. I was browsing on eBay and found a lot of suspicious used parts from MacBook Pros being sold very close to the site of a famous Apple store robbery.
 
ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,561
6,059
Do the people involved in these Smash and Grabs ever get caught, or is it just not considered newsworthy when they are?
 
PocketSand11

PocketSand11

macrumors 6502a
Jun 12, 2014
688
1
~/
IGregory said:
Apple chooses to ignore the concept "Crime Prevention by Design" during store construction. If a business designs its store layout in such a way as to make it easy for B&E artist to steal, then the company can't complain if victimized. Glass is pretty but does little to stop a determine criminal. :p
Click to expand...

Well, they can complain that there are criminals out to steal their stuff in the first place. The cost of the glass plus a few MacBook Pros in a few robberies all over the world is probably worth the extra presentation anyway.
 
juanrp

juanrp

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2014
591
40
Florida
'Apple needs to get rid of all that damn glass'

I guess Jony Ive's theory of design translates into Apple's stores.

Fragile and easy to break.

Some stores only have glass on their doors and some windows. Apple stores ARE boxes of glass...

But hey, think different, right?
 
Alphabetize

Alphabetize

macrumors 6502
Oct 6, 2013
452
48
firedept said:
Just out of curiosity? Are these stolen items even usable. I am not knowledgeable about this at all, but I would think that Apple has something in place to make these garbage except for parts. Is my thinking wrong?
Click to expand...

I believe that the Apple products on display are just regular Macs/iPads/iPhones. The only difference is that they're loaded with some demo software. After restoring them, they're just regular devices.

Apple Stores used to use these demo DVDs that would be put in Macs to load up the demo software. I don't know if they still use them today, maybe as a flash drive, or they just download them now.
 
P

pure-rockstar

macrumors regular
Jul 24, 2014
143
0
The little elves. it's not even Christmas yet.

You have to be careful around the Apple stores as you never know when something like this will pop off.
 
I

i.mac

macrumors 6502a
Dec 14, 2007
996
247
Samedung add spin: 'our samedung products are so secure that not one steals them, unlike those from a fruit company.'
 
C

coolfactor

macrumors 604
Jul 29, 2002
7,062
9,730
Vancouver, BC
IGregory said:
Apple chooses to ignore the concept "Crime Prevention by Design" during store construction. If a business designs its store layout in such a way as to make it easy for B&E artist to steal, then the company can't complain if victimized. Glass is pretty but does little to stop a determine criminal. :p
Click to expand...

Do you ever hear Apple complaining? They just fix and move on. Although I do hope that they are working on some intuitive solution to this. Think about sapphire strands interwoven in the glass making it much, much stronger without compromising its transparency.

----------

They should employ robotic security guards inside the stores, equipped with laser guns.
 
lincolntran

lincolntran

macrumors 6502a
Jan 18, 2010
843
471
JuanBadApple said:
'Apple needs to get rid of all that damn glass'

I guess Jony Ive's theory of design translates into Apple's stores.

Fragile and easy to break.

Some stores only have glass on their doors and some windows. Apple stores ARE boxes of glass...

But hey, think different, right?
Click to expand...

Are you saying Apple products are more fragile and easier to break than its competitors?

Proof please.

I have friends with nexus and samsung phones that break a lot easier than iPhone
 
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