Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Bay Area Apple Stores Experience String of Robberies
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This has to go down with the least useful suspect descriptions ever... They were people. In clothes...
They aren't believed to be linked because of the uniform, but because of how methodically this is happening.
[doublepost=1480961840][/doublepost]
Valuable enough that they think it's worth splitting the proceeds from parting out, what, 30 devices among 5-10 people? It seems like a really slow way to get rich...
Last edited:
Crime scene update:
Police are unable to explain why no new MacBook Pros were stolen.
Police are unable to explain why no new MacBook Pros were stolen.
Maybe an easily-shatterable all-glass front wasn't the best idea...
(could be talking about the Apple Stores. Could be talking about the iPhone. Works on so many levels...)
(could be talking about the Apple Stores. Could be talking about the iPhone. Works on so many levels...)
I read about Apple and related stories all the time and I didn't know about the WiFi security feature. Awesome feature, it should be talked about more with signage in the store so those that are checking it out before robbing the store can be educated to the fruitlessness of their planned endeavor.
I don't think it's the case, if WIFI would drop out nobody could use the iPhones/iPadson display.
Think it would be stupid of Apple to do so.
If they get stolen they will still be fairly barely useful, Apple will lock them remotely if not done automatically.
They could sell them for parts only.
Maybe he's still recovering from 8 years of liberal oppression where simply stating a fact got you labeled as a racist or a bigot. Give people some time to get over their fear of being _____shamed for telling the truth.
I guess that's still OK to stereotype over. Amazing the hypocrisy of people.
The Stockton St store, or Apple Union Square, has not been hit by these rings so much as I can tell (yet), contrary to what the story mentions.
Hopefully it stays that way.
That store has Apple employed security staff, like at the Cupertino campus, but I'm sure they're going to try.
Hopefully it stays that way.
That store has Apple employed security staff, like at the Cupertino campus, but I'm sure they're going to try.
Yes a description of the perps would be in order, but it's not really interesting, this is political correctness. If the perps were wearing MAGA hats while driving a pickup truck you'd have their photos, names and home addresses on CNN by now.
I wonder how valuable the parts actually are. The motherboard is bricked so unless you have a way to unblock one very valuable part is worthless. The screen, case, touch ID probably has value but I doubt they are getting that much for the parts; at least from the iPhones / iPads. MacBooks probably are worth more as the screen isn't cheap nor is the case / keyboard / battery. If the motherboard can be had cheap enough you could recreate function Macs, but I doubt t the thieves are doing that. My guess is they are netting maybe 10% or so of the street value; especially since markings / serials / bricked devices would be a red flag that the merchandise "fell off a truck: and thus dealers who might pay more will not touch them.
Not to mention the fact they smashed their getaway vehicle tryin' to get in..... lol
Useless? I just read a story on iPhone activation lock bypass ... http://www.pcworld.com/article/3147...ind-a-way-bypass-the-ios-activation-lock.html
IPad using the cover, not the iPhone. Now the question is will Apple send out another lock signal the first time one of their stolen devices accesses their servers?
I recall some posts a while back talking about a special OS version for display devices but no definitive conclusion was reached as to wether Apple does that or just uses regular stock.
[doublepost=1480978946][/doublepost]Crime doesn't iPay.
A robbery at an Apple Store in Palo Alto over the weekend has continued a string of Apple Store-related burglaries plaguing the Bay Area over the past few weeks. In Palo Alto, the University Avenue Apple Store was targeted by between eight and ten individuals who drove a rented SUV directly into the store's floor-to-ceiling glass front, and made away with an unspecified amount of iPhones, iPads, "and other gadgets on display."
The SUV used to crash into the Apple Store was subsequently disabled due to the purposeful wreck, and the thieves had to escape on foot. Since the event, which occurred early Sunday morning, four suspects have been arrested.
Image via The Mercury News
Elsewhere in and around San Francisco, since October there have been three Apple Store thefts within San Francisco itself, three in Berkeley, three in Burlingame, one in Los Gatos, and one in Corte Madera. These eleven crimes are all believed to be linked, with similar descriptions of the perpetrators connecting each robbery: "a group of young men in their late teens or early 20s wearing hooded sweatshirts."
The hooded thieves were said to rush into each Apple Store and "in about 45 seconds" stole upwards of $20,000 worth of iPhones and iPads tethered to their display tables. The Apple Store on Chestnut Street in San Francisco was hit on Black Friday and again the following Tuesday, at nearly the same time the Apple Store on Stockton Street was robbed. The frequency and "brazenness" of each robbery has lead to increased security in front of most Apple Stores in each area.
The Palo Alto theft is not connected with these other crimes, according to local police. Local news channel KTVU reached out to Apple for a comment, but Apple spokesperson Nick Leahy said "we don't comment on matters of security."
It should be mentioned that in any Apple Store robbery, all of the devices that make it out of the store's Wi-Fi range become useless thanks to Apple's built-in security measure that bricks each smartphone and tablet.
Article Link: Bay Area Apple Stores Experience String of Robberies
Please do. The fact you have to mention that probably means you're a racist.
This has been going on forever. Used to work for one of the stores mentioned. Was "grab and run" robbed at least twice when I was there. I wonder if the idiots doing the robberies have gotten any smarter, back then they didn't even turn the iPhones off. Granted this was back in the 3G/3GS days when Find My iPhone was still new.
The yoga moms whose baby "somehow" pulled a $169 family pack box of iWork or Final Cut Express off a shelf 4 feet above their head and into the stroller, you could at least give them credit for being creative.
The yoga moms whose baby "somehow" pulled a $169 family pack box of iWork or Final Cut Express off a shelf 4 feet above their head and into the stroller, you could at least give them credit for being creative.