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LoganT

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 9, 2007
2,382
134
I've been thinking about pre-signing for the iPhone, and I'm not really worried about it getting stolen off my porch. The only thing I'm worried about is the UPS man stealing it. What's the risk of the UPS driver stealing it?
 
Of course they know, millions of these things are flooding the carriers. Theft happens but its a rare occurrence. I'd not worry too much about it, however I don't presign/waive the signature required because that increases the risk.
 
I've been thinking about pre-signing for the iPhone, and I'm not really worried about it getting stolen off my porch. The only thing I'm worried about is the UPS man stealing it. What's the risk of the UPS driver stealing it?

In a word -- Yes, it shows Apple on the outside carton.

The box's have always shown Apple as the sender. If the UPS guy is looking for an iPhone and is gonna steal it, he will just bypass your house, say you signed for it and bam. So, if your in a safe neighborhood, don't let pre-signing stop you from going out. I see where he sees a pre-sign and then just pockets it. I would figure that again, if the UPS person is gonna steal it, he will never even hit your house.
 
Unless they open the box, they don't know for sure. The DIAD they use to have you sign on, scan packages for tracking, etc does tell them where the package has been and where it was shipped from, but most products are shipped from China (whether its an Apple product or not) so they really don't know for certain.
 
It was the same with FedEx. When I ordered my iMac, the FedEx guy said, "I have an Apple computer here for ya" when he delivered it. The label on the box will say who it's from.
 
In a word -- Yes, it shows Apple on the outside carton.

The box's have always shown Apple as the sender. If the UPS guy is looking for an iPhone and is gonna steal it, he will just bypass your house, say you signed for it and bam. So, if your in a safe neighborhood, don't let pre-signing stop you from going out. I see where he sees a pre-sign and then just pockets it. I would figure that again, if the UPS person is gonna steal it, he will never even hit your house.

Sure about that? My MacBook Pro came in a nondescript box...
 
Call me paranoid, but I think I'll just sign it when he gets here.
 
Hmmm... a good job in this poor economy -or- the risk of losing job and getting charged for theft... that's a tough choice.
 
Hmmm... a good job in this poor economy -or- the risk of losing job and getting charged for theft... that's a tough choice.

People who steal things don't usually think in logical terms like that.
 
There's a million of these things shipping all at the exact same time. Yeah, its pretty obvious what's in the box, even without the shipper right on the label.

You shouldn't be worried about the delivery guy stealing yours, but you should be worried about the guy following the truck in his car and picking it up off your front step once the UPS truck is out of sight.
 
It actually can be a very realistic concern, my brother used to work for UPS and they def know the boxes for high traffic items (broken/fixed XBOXs were a big one at the time).
He also used to tell me about other employees stealing things out of packages.

almost all of those stories came from cases of them having to repackage items though, which the iphones wont deal with and obviously prob 99% of UPS employees are not scumbags like them.
 
I've been thinking about pre-signing for the iPhone, and I'm not really worried about it getting stolen off my porch. The only thing I'm worried about is the UPS man stealing it. What's the risk of the UPS driver stealing it?

The UPS driver has better things to do with his time than stealing packages. It's called a job and responsibility. They get paid well and are not going to jeopardize their jobs for a lousy 200$ phone.
 
The UPS driver has better things to do with his time than stealing packages. It's called a job and responsibility. They get paid well and are not going to jeopardize their jobs for a lousy 200$ phone.

It's actually a 400 dollar on contract, 850 dollar off contract phone.

But yeah, I see your point.
 
Any UPS or FedEx employee who's making deliveries today and who does not understand what's in all thoses flippin' little boxes could never have got the job in the first place. Get a grip! Anyway, the couriers are not going to steal them. They are people like you and me, holding a job to put food on table, roof over head. As the old saying goes, you don't poop where you eat.

Your concern if you pre-sign is this: who sees the deliveries? Who heard you talking about getting an Apple launch item via pre-order? Who knows the neighborhood and chance of getting caught trying to lift the thing after the FedEx or UPS guy leaves it?

Do you want the hassle of trying to disavow the fine print of a pre-signed release if something goes amiss? Pre signing is saying OK the guy can leave it and if he says he did and if it's not there when I come home, then it's MY problem. End of discussion. Perhaps you will pre-sign because you are among those who think that fine print applies to other people. Good luck in school of hard knocks.

I don't pre-sign for any expensive gear. In the past I have pre-signed for stuff like an Applecare box or a cable or some separately shipped little item like that. Apple finally wised up and often uses the post office for those little items now, thank goodness. At least that way you know where they are and you just go get them when you get a chance.
 
I'm not saying UPS steals packages. I'm just paranoid. I'm sorry if I offended anyone.
 
Funny UPS story:

The UPS guy arrived with my phone this morning and said "this is an iPhone right?" I said "yeah why?" to which he replied "is there a special offer on for them at the moment or something because thats all ive got on the van, its full of them!!!"

I educated him about it being a new iPhone and he was like "Ahhhhhhhh!" :D
 
Funny UPS story:

The UPS guy arrived with my phone this morning and said "this is an iPhone right?" I said "yeah why?" to which he replied "is there a special offer on for them at the moment or something because thats all ive got on the van, its full of them!!!"

I educated him about it being a new iPhone and he was like "Ahhhhhhhh!" :D

This is proof that the real world is slightly larger than just Apple stuff... :rolleyes:
 
They definitely know. I went to pick mine up at UPS this morning and the gentleman's first words to me were, "got the new iphone, eh?" The box is about the size of an iphone and the apple packing slip is attached to the back. If they attempt to deliver today and you miss it, just check online and then call them to say you want "will call." They'll call you when the truck is back at the local center and you can pick it up. Keep in mind this may be after 9pm tonight.
 
In a word -- Yes, it shows Apple on the outside carton.

The box's have always shown Apple as the sender. If the UPS guy is looking for an iPhone and is gonna steal it, he will just bypass your house, say you signed for it and bam. So, if your in a safe neighborhood, don't let pre-signing stop you from going out. I see where he sees a pre-sign and then just pockets it. I would figure that again, if the UPS person is gonna steal it, he will never even hit your house.

Thanks for the clarification.

Are you saying the UPS driver would just forge my name?
 
A stolen iPhone is very hard to get away with.

First of all, these iPhones all have several serial numbers associated with them - internally. When you get a confirmation e-mail about your order, you should see a list of codes and numbers.

Those numbers uniquely ID your phone and are tagged to you name the day your order gets processed.

If you report it stolen and someone tries to use it online wither by WIFI or it with a Cellular carrier, the phone will immediately send a location report to Apple and probably whatever carrier the phone is locked to also.

At that point, whoever is using your phone is carrying around a semi-accurate beacon that can be tracked either by GPS or by triangulation using various pinging methods.

Then the police take over...



Remember the iPhone prototype that was "lost" at that bar a couple months ago? They tracked the phone to an apartment building and began a search. They KNOW who has it, they just have it hidden. Apple even offered the accused a no-questions-asked deal. The Police are still working the case also.

If whoever has the phone turns on the WIFI or cellular on it again, they'll get nabbed.

So, if someone steals your iPhone, they won't be able to actually use it without giving away their location.
 
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Well I just got my package. So I guess this can go into the wasteland.

And yes he said "I was the first to get one of these today"
 
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