Berlin Apple Retail Store Smashed by Car, Display Merchandise Stolen

[MacZach94]

I wonder if anyone would ever crash their car into, and steal a bunch of stuff from, a Microsoft Store...

Lol it would cost more for the car they crash then the "junk" they get

 

[osx11]

Aren't they usually inside a mall? I've never seen a free standing MSFT store. I could be wrong though.

There's one in Seattle's University Village.

 

[835153]

Should make your posts even more rare if you cant stop stereotyping.

I'll do what I like!

My point is these forums are now full of angry people looking to shoot down anyone over anything when in the past it was actually a place where you could get help and even make friends. Now if you try and help people, make a joke or even spell something wrong you get abuse.

All I did was make a tongue in cheek statement (be it correct or not - as I said I wouldn't class a Corsa as a Supermini) and in about 5 minutes there were 4 responses shooting it down. Not including your second distasteful response above.

 

[tennisproha]

Like banks - Banks used to hire security guards to protect against bank robberies. But then robbers would bring in guns, injure and kill people, take $10,000. This also cost the banks money through lawsuits from customers and higher insurance premiums to pay for injured workers. So what do they do now? Simply install a security camera, and give anyone who walks in and hands the teller a note (no weapon need be shown) - $500.

It's cheaper this way, and there's a safer work environment. Employees know what to do. No crazy stuff happens anymore. It's easier for criminals, but eventually being on the security cameras enough, they'll be caught.

It's amazing, what seems so wrong at first, is the most logical route to go.

Really? I did not know that. It def does make sense for the sake of employee safety. I would love to read more about how this works if you've got any links you can share. Not scheming anything, just find it to be an interesting concept.

 

[Solomani]

Isn't it pointless to steel from an apple store since they can remotely brick any device cataloged there?

But will the people BUYING the stolen goods know this in advance?

 

[Gudi]

I would love to read more about how this works if you've got any links you can share. Not scheming anything, just find it to be an interesting concept.

No. Apple won't hand you an iPhone, when you walk in and just show them a note.

 

[mossy]

It's always a business decision. Spend all your money finding all the ways to protect your building or buy insurance. Whichever is cheapest, companies use.

Like banks - Banks used to hire security guards to protect against bank robberies. But then robbers would bring in guns, injure and kill people, take $10,000. This also cost the banks money through lawsuits from customers and higher insurance premiums to pay for injured workers. So what do they do now? Simply install a security camera, and give anyone who walks in and hands the teller a note (no weapon need be shown) - $500.

It's cheaper this way, and there's a safer work environment. Employees know what to do. No crazy stuff happens anymore. It's easier for criminals, but eventually being on the security cameras enough, they'll be caught.

It's amazing, what seems so wrong at first, is the most logical route to go.

In Ireland - to get into a bank you press a button at one glass door - a security camera is pointing at you. A security guard in a room somewhere either buzzes you in or not. Then you go into a holding area and have to buzz to get in a second door. There are no more bank robberies now. You won't get out if you try.

 

[Consultant]

Apple Store should install barriers to prevent smash and grabs.

Less permanent versions would be concrete planters.

Apple seems to have a particularly large issue with cars smashing through their glass. They should come up with a design that minimizes that risk... surely someone in the world has invented car-resistant glass?

 

[Gudi]

In Ireland - to get into a bank you press a button at one glass door - a security camera is pointing at you. A security guard in a room somewhere either buzzes you in or not. Then you go into a holding area and have to buzz to get in a second door. There are no more bank robberies now. You won't get out if you try.

„Was ist ein Einbruch in eine Bank gegen die Gründung einer Bank?“ – Dreigroschenoper, Bertholt Brecht 1928

 

[kbfr08]

Funny in this day and age to still be reading crap like, "you American's".

Apostrophe ahoy!

 

[jlc1978]

Apple could make special display versions of their products; changing the BIOS so that they must connect to an Apple server to work or hardcoding in a boot password. That would destroy the resale value of stolen machines as they would be unusable and thus virtually unsaleable. Of course, Apple would have to junk the mobos each refresh which may coast more than the occasional thefts.

 

[bbeagle]

Really? I did not know that. It def does make sense for the sake of employee safety. I would love to read more about how this works if you've got any links you can share. Not scheming anything, just find it to be an interesting concept.

You could probably put a mask on, walk into a bank, hand the teller a note, and come out $500 richer.

Just hope there is no police officer in or around the bank at the time, make sure to leave on foot, so nobody sees your car's license plate, and find a way to deal with the exploding dye bag they put with your money.

It's risky enough that banks hope this deters the small criminals. Do a few google searches on 'banks no longer have security guards'. There were a lot of hits on variations of that when I just tried. I learned this, initially, from my brother who worked as a teller in a bank. I asked him one time if he was ever robbed, and he told me 'dozens of times', and how it worked. I've seen reports on 20/20 or Dateline? about this before too.

 

[Alfinator]

I am sure that opel corsa is not from any of the "thieves". They stole the car on the street for the job.

The two getaway car (audi) , are from transporter movie.

Opel Corsa is pretty overkill tho, reminds me of NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan to be honest.

 

[mossy]

„Was ist ein Einbruch in eine Bank gegen die Gründung einer Bank?“ – Dreigroschenoper, Bertholt Brecht 1928

Very true
And with the bank 'Stress tests' coming next year - a lot of people are going to get 'Cyprus-ed'.

 

[macs4nw]

How long before we are going to see those ugly, but somewhat effective, yellow-painted concrete-filled steel cylinders flanking the entrances to high-risk Apple stores. What a way to spoil the appearance of some of these iconic, and in some cases, beautiful historic buildings. A sad commentary on our society.

Hope they get away with it. Sure is worth some, good luck guys.

Really?

 

[N64]

Supermini? That car looks pretty big to me. Like a pre-2010 Ford Focus.

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Hope they get away with it. Sure is worth some, good luck guys.

You give newbies a bad name.

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Not four Americans though.

And if it did, they'd be called out as anorexic.

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This was no accident. The police should restore order by any means necessary.

You can't really accidentally steal a bunch of iPads.

 

[kmiahali]

I like how you Americans call the Corsa a 'super-mini'. It's not a big car but its definitely not supermini. It seats four people without problems. Hehe.

No, the class IS a supermini. That is how it is classified because it is larger than a city car but smaller than your average family car. I believe you guys call it a B-segment in Europe.

 

[3282868]

"A Microsoft store was smashed with a car today. $10,000 worth of computers were returned."

Genius! lol

 

[demodave]

One of the biggest grey markets for Apple products is Russia and other Federation states. Bet good money, this is the intended resale market.

The Russian mafia is alive and very well in Berlin, all the more so since American soldiers pulled out of Berlin after the Reunification. The German joke is "Heute gestohlen, morgen in Polen" (stolen today, in Poland tomorrow), because that is the route that Russian mafia material is trafficked through.

 

[demodave]

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


An Apple Retail Store located in Kurfürstendamm, Berlin was the site of a smash-and-grab robbery earlier this morning, reports Bild.de [Google Translate]. At 4:15 AM, thieves reportedly crashed an Opel Corsa supermini automobile into the store and proceeded to steal display iPhones, iPads, and computers before fleeing in two Audis.

Article Link: Berlin Apple Retail Store Smashed by Car, Display Merchandise Stolen

I will say that I am surprised that the crooks had the Eier/balls to pull this on the Kudamm (though I am glad to finally know where the Apple Store is in Berlin: I'll have to check it out some day). The Kudamm is very well-traveled, day or night. It's a cowardly stunt, but it's a vaguely brave/foolish cowardly stunt.

I agree with the others, too. The Opel was a sacrificial victim, surely stolen for the purpose earlier in the evening.

 

[Wiesenlooser]

of course the opel was stolen. Would you really consider doing a crime with a car that is registered on you?

I always thought theft was wrong... but I do kind of admire stunts like these or bank heists (as long as no one gets shot or killed of course)

By the way - they should have waited for the mac pro to come out... they would have made a lot more money by shoplifting some of these.

 

[alphaod]

Apple should really invest in those big concrete stanchions.

 

[gnasher729]

Funny in this day and age to still be reading crap like, "you American's".

In your post, yes. In the post you quoted the spelling was correct.

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of course the opel was stolen. Would you really consider doing a crime with a car that is registered on you?

I wouldn't. But I think there was a case in the USA where exactly that happened in a smash and grab.

 

[burne]

then sell them to customers who don't know any better

If you buy a 'new' iPad from a guy you don't know in a bar, for a reduced price, you do know better or you are extremely dumb.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

If you buy a 'new' iPad from a guy you don't know in a bar, for a reduced price, you do know better or you are extremely dumb.

What makes you think they make it that obvious? I'd set up a booth in a public marketplace (how about a mall) that looks legitimate, sell a few iPads at normal price for a few hours, then pack up and relocate the next day to continue selling.

Better yet, sell them in bulk to other hoodlums that don't know anything about you. Let them figure out how to sell them to the end consumers. If they get caught, oh well, you still have their money, they know nothing about you, and you're gone.