I just got my iPhone stolen...What can I do??!!??please help!!!

[andres1985]

Hello everyone...I was eating lunch at some restaurant here in San Jose, CA. earlier today and someone decided to steal my iphone!! I heard there is a way to get store credit from Apple....How Can I do this?!!!?!

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!!!

 

[benmrii]

Nope... Apple doesn't deal in insurance, only in warranties. Warranties don't cover theft. If you don't have third party insurance on it you're out of luck. Sorry.

 

[zmit]

I CAN USE CAPS LOCK TOO!!!!!



... go buy a new one.
but maybe lock the IMEI first...
call your provider
... you DID record the IMEI didnt you?

 

[hexonxonx]

Hello everyone...I was eating lunch at some restaurant here in San Jose, CA. earlier today and someone decided to steal my iphone!! I heard there is a way to get store credit from Apple....How Can I do this?!!!?!

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks!!!

You are so out of luck. About the only thing you can do is report it to the police but even that is useless.

 

[jfox00]

credit card could save you

If you purchased your iphone with a credit card - you might be ok. Lots of good cards have a "lost/stolen/damaged" clause that will let you get your money back for the purchase.

I found this with just a little searching:

American Express Gold Rewards Card generally includes the following protections:

• Purchase Protection Plan: The Purchase Protection Plan will repair or replace illegible items, or reimburse the amount you charged to the Card for covered items, up to $1000 per Occurrence, if they are stolen or accidentally damaged up to 90 days from the date of purchase.

• Buyer’s Assurance Plan: The Buyer’s Assurance Plan extends the terms of the original manufacturer’s warranty on covered items, up to one additional year on warranties of five years or less that are eligible in the U.S., when the entire amount was charged to your Card.

With Visa’s purchase security, “virtually everything” you purchase with your covered Visa card is protected in case of theft or damage for the first 90 days from the date of purchase. The plan allows you to replace or repair your purchases, get reimbursed for eligible items, and file claims online. Note that there is a $500 per claim maximum. MasterCard also offers a similar 90-day program.

Most credit card companies also include extension of the standard manufacturer’s warranty. Contact your issuer for details, and be sure to explicitly ask for coverage of the iPhone based on price and other details.

 

[f1]

I have no idea where you heard you can get a store credit for a stolen iPhone. But yeah, theres not much you can do. Police generally have more important things to deal with then stolen iPhones, and AT&T doesn't practice IMEI Blacklisting so, your iPhone will still be fully functional once the thief pops in a new SIM. Time to save up for a new one.

 

[Sun Baked]

Even if your credit card has theft protection, you will likely have to report the phone stolen with police and send the copy of the police report in for credit.

 

[zmit]

this is where he probably got the 'credit' thing from.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/355957/

he just didnt read far enough in to it....

and nickspohn... lol. nice post!

and lets be serious. there is a 0.02% chance he will get his iPhone back after somebody TOOK IT from him in a RESTAURANT in SAN JOSE!
(caps for a reason )

so ATT have no IMEI blacklisting? thats bloody stupid isnt it?
and whats this about some tracking thing?

 

[f1]

this is where he probably got the 'credit' thing from.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/355957/

he just didnt read far enough in to it....

and nickspohn... lol. nice post!

and lets be serious. there is a 0.02% chance he will get his iPhone back after somebody TOOK IT from him in a RESTAURANT in SAN JOSE!
(caps for a reason )

so ATT have no IMEI blacklisting? thats bloody stupid isnt it?
and whats this about some tracking thing?

Nope, AT&T does not employ IMEI Blacklisting and most carriers in North American don't either or are VERY reluctant to do so.

 

[LizKat]

Gee, i think about all the times apps "phone home" when i don't think it's necessary (like Apple's Calculator now does on launch, if it's connected to the internet, even if currency exchange rates were updated five minutes ago).

And then I wonder why an iPhone couldn't be made to phone home once in awhile to check on whether its original owner has filed a special "stolen" code or not.

Maybe the carrier doesn't give a damn about a stolen phone, but Apple could pretty much make an iPhone not worth stealing the next time the thief makes a USB connection, don't you think?

Of course imagine the flak if Apple somehow mistakenly disabled a phone that belonged to some l1wyer fond of filing cl1ss 1ction l1wsuits.

Mmm.. no wonder we're on our own if our phonebaby gets kidnapped.

 

[gkarris]

Nope, AT&T does not employ IMEI Blacklisting and most carriers in North American don't either or are VERY reluctant to do so.

And if they did, the iPhone would be on China Mobile or on an Eastern European carrier by the end of the week anyways...

Never leave your iPhone just sitting on a table.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Sorry to hear about your loss, but like others have said you are probably out of luck. Contact the police and your credit card company and you might get lucky.

 

[whsp]

stolen IPHONE by Macaroni Grill Italian Restaurant Employee

We had dinner at macaroni grill restaurant and we were sitting outside (fenced area) with some friends and families. We finished our dinner and we were about to leave the building when I realized that I had left my IPhone on the table where we had dinner.
I immediately went back to get my phone and noticed that my phone was gone. I immediately called the missing phone using my wife's mobile phone when I realized the phone had already been turned off, which again indicates that the phone was stolen and was intentionally turned off. We were the very last people who were sitting in that area as entire section was closed and there were absolutely no other customers in that area so obviously one of macaroni gril's employees stoled my phone. I spoke with the manager who was very uncooperative and unprofessional, and I asked him to find out who cleaned our table. After doing some research, he told me that the person who cleaned our table had already left and was no longer in the building. I paid $299 for that phone with two years service agreement and I have to pay 500 to get it replaced. I am trying to get my money from the restaurant or take them to court because this was clearly stolen by their employee

Ray G. www.whsp.com

 

[galanoth]

i had my 2g iphone stolen a couple months ago
after the thing happened i called the police
they came to my house took my statement
and a day later they called me into the police station and gave me my phone back
i guess im pretty lucky since everyone else is saying you cant do anything
but trying calling the police

 

[army91c]

We had dinner at macaroni grill restaurant and we were sitting outside (fenced area) with some friends and families. We finished our dinner and we were about to leave the building when I realized that I had left my IPhone on the table where we had dinner.
I immediately went back to get my phone and noticed that my phone was gone. I immediately called the missing phone using my wife's mobile phone when I realized the phone had already been turned off, which again indicates that the phone was stolen and was intentionally turned off. We were the very last people who were sitting in that area as entire section was closed and there were absolutely no other customers in that area so obviously one of macaroni gril's employees stoled my phone. I spoke with the manager who was very uncooperative and unprofessional, and I asked him to find out who cleaned our table. After doing some research, he told me that the person who cleaned our table had already left and was no longer in the building. I paid $299 for that phone with two years service agreement and I have to pay 500 to get it replaced. I am trying to get my money from the restaurant or take them to court because this was clearly stolen by their employee

Ray G. www.whsp.com

You KNOW it was an employee that took it? Maybe not someone walking by your table (being outside and all) on the other side of the fence and swiped it. Would you leave $500 sitting on the table? If not, why would you leave your $500 phone sitting on the table? I would not go after the MG because YOU left your phone sitting on a table and it was taken. Yes it sucks that people feel the need to take what isn't theirs, but of course maybe you should take care of your very expensive items. Tough lesson learned the hard way.

 

[maflynn]

I feel for you but your options are limited. Call the police, call ATT and buy a new one.

Also you may want to alter how you use the iPhone. Was the phone just sitting there on the table/chair?? Did someone just walk over and lift it. For me the phone is always ALWAYS in my possession while in a public place.

 

[iphoneftw]

sure hope you have mobile me
or maybe now you will
sorry you lost it

 

[matttye]

We had dinner at macaroni grill restaurant and we were sitting outside (fenced area) with some friends and families. We finished our dinner and we were about to leave the building when I realized that I had left my IPhone on the table where we had dinner.
I immediately went back to get my phone and noticed that my phone was gone. I immediately called the missing phone using my wife's mobile phone when I realized the phone had already been turned off, which again indicates that the phone was stolen and was intentionally turned off. We were the very last people who were sitting in that area as entire section was closed and there were absolutely no other customers in that area so obviously one of macaroni gril's employees stoled my phone. I spoke with the manager who was very uncooperative and unprofessional, and I asked him to find out who cleaned our table. After doing some research, he told me that the person who cleaned our table had already left and was no longer in the building. I paid $299 for that phone with two years service agreement and I have to pay 500 to get it replaced. I am trying to get my money from the restaurant or take them to court because this was clearly stolen by their employee

Ray G. www.whsp.com

Stop trying to blame other people for your own mistakes. If you leave your expensive phone on a table then somebody is bound to take it. You have no hard evidence that it was one of their employees.

 

[caligurl]

Would you leave $500 sitting on the table? If not, why would you leave your $500 phone sitting on the table?

ya.... that??????????????????

 

[dbwie]

too late, but..

The company that makes Undercover software for the Mac also makes a version for the iphone. Get that for your next iPhone. Also, if you have a MobileMe account, you can attempt to find the phone and send messages to whomever has it. http://www.apple.com/mobileme/whats-new/

I try to avoid leaving my phone someplace by always keeping it in my pocket when not using it.

 

[braddick]

We had dinner at macaroni grill restaurant and we were sitting outside (fenced area) with some friends and families. We finished our dinner and we were about to leave the building when I realized that I had left my IPhone on the table where we had dinner.
I immediately went back to get my phone and noticed that my phone was gone. I immediately called the missing phone using my wife's mobile phone when I realized the phone had already been turned off, which again indicates that the phone was stolen and was intentionally turned off. We were the very last people who were sitting in that area as entire section was closed and there were absolutely no other customers in that area so obviously one of macaroni gril's employees stoled my phone. I spoke with the manager who was very uncooperative and unprofessional, and I asked him to find out who cleaned our table. After doing some research, he told me that the person who cleaned our table had already left and was no longer in the building. I paid $299 for that phone with two years service agreement and I have to pay 500 to get it replaced. I am trying to get my money from the restaurant or take them to court because this was clearly stolen by their employee

Ray G. www.whsp.com

Could be the employee thought you were leaving a pretty decent and generous tip!

 

[enigmaverse]

We had dinner at macaroni grill restaurant and we were sitting outside (fenced area) with some friends and families. We finished our dinner and we were about to leave the building when I realized that I had left my IPhone on the table where we had dinner.
I immediately went back to get my phone and noticed that my phone was gone. I immediately called the missing phone using my wife's mobile phone when I realized the phone had already been turned off, which again indicates that the phone was stolen and was intentionally turned off. We were the very last people who were sitting in that area as entire section was closed and there were absolutely no other customers in that area so obviously one of macaroni gril's employees stoled my phone. I spoke with the manager who was very uncooperative and unprofessional, and I asked him to find out who cleaned our table. After doing some research, he told me that the person who cleaned our table had already left and was no longer in the building. I paid $299 for that phone with two years service agreement and I have to pay 500 to get it replaced. I am trying to get my money from the restaurant or take them to court because this was clearly stolen by their employee

Ray G. www.whsp.com

Did you call the police? I dont understand these post about "well would you leave $500 sitting on the table?" You guys are idiots. Everyone makes a mistake once in a while, this is no different than leaving a pourse at the table by accident. sorry we're not as perfect as you all seeing all knowing fanboys.

Personally I would have called the police while at the restaurant... after all that is the scene of the theft. I'm sure the manager would have loved that. It would have alos helped you get the information you needed from the manager. I find it odd that in the time it took you to walk back to the table, the bus boy finished cleaning your table, and clocked out and left.

 

[labman]

what undercover software r u talking about?

The company that makes Undercover software for the Mac also makes a version for the iphone. Get that for your next iPhone. Also, if you have a MobileMe account, you can attempt to find the phone and send messages to whomever has it. http://www.apple.com/mobileme/whats-new/

I try to avoid leaving my phone someplace by always keeping it in my pocket when not using it.

more info please I might be interested MobileMe doesn't really benefit me much other the as a phone finder there just isn't that much I can't get back that justifies paying a $100 a year. but I would be very interested in a tacking or location service or software

 

[acfusion29]

I CAN USE CAPS LOCK TOO!!!!!



... go buy a new one.
but maybe lock the IMEI first...
call your provider
... you DID record the IMEI didnt you?

Your provider won't do anything. Don't even bother with this, OP.

 

[-aggie-]

sure hope you have mobile me
or maybe now you will
sorry you lost it

MobileMe doesn't help when your phone is stolen, only if you've lost it. The first thing someone does when they steal a phone is turn it off, and then they wipe it and jailbreak.

The OP should've called the police right then. He should still do that, but the probability of getting it back is pretty slim now.