Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 5 stolen, got an email from finder

It won't matter if it was sent from starbucks. The police can just contact whomever the email provider is and track other emails sent from other IP addresses. Or did they twitter you?

What kind of email address was it? a free one or comcast/verizon one?

Also, was your phone not locked, is that how they got your email address?

I would be more worried about your personal info on the phone than getting the phone back itself. I would have remote wiped it by now, if you haven't already.
 
It was a @me.com address, emailed to me at the same email address I mentioned on Lost Mode. (although why iCloud didn't send me an email saying 'this iPhone was located at blahblah at timetime') :confused:

My iPhone had a lock code, running iOS 7.0.4, and was showing as offline on iCloud.com - only way this can happen is if the phone is off. iCloud says doing an erase will make the iPhone not traceable or findable via iCloud anymore, so it's in Lost Mode (showing as Pending on iCloud, but I think that's because I did it a few times).

Passcode lock, so should be safe...hopefully.

davelanger said:
It won't matter if it was sent from starbucks. The police can just contact whomever the email provider is and track other emails sent from other IP addresses. Or did they twitter you?

What kind of email address was it? a free one or comcast/verizon one?

Also, was your phone not locked, is that how they got your email address?

I would be more worried about your personal info on the phone than getting the phone back itself. I would have remote wiped it by now, if you haven't already.
Click to expand...
 
KoolAid-Drink said:
It was a @me.com address, emailed to me at the same email address I mentioned on Lost Mode. (although why iCloud didn't send me an email saying 'this iPhone was located at blahblah at timetime') :confused:

My iPhone had a lock code, running iOS 7.0.4, and was showing as offline on iCloud.com - only way this can happen is if the phone is off. iCloud says doing an erase will make the iPhone not traceable or findable via iCloud anymore, so it's in Lost Mode (showing as Pending on iCloud, but I think that's because I did it a few times).

Passcode lock, so should be safe...hopefully.
Click to expand...


If it were me, I wouldnt take any chances and would remote wipe it if you have all your personal info on there.

I mean is getting your identity possibly stolen worth the few hundred bucks you would get if you get your phone back which is slim to none?

If the phone is off and the battery is out, its not like they can track it anyways right
 
Wait a minute. I think I MAY know why iCloud/Find my iPhone hasn't been showing anything at all, and 'Lost Mode' as pending, yet they were able to find my email address. I tested this just now with my 5s, and if the iPhone is put in Airplane Mode, then it won't be eraseable/traceable, but still will be on. If I put the 5s in Lost Mode/Erase, it won't do anything to the Airplane-Mode'd 5s. As the 5 has been showing as offline the whole time, with 'lost mode/play a sound' showing as pending... that must be the only way.
 
KoolAid-Drink said:
Wait a minute. I think I MAY know why iCloud/Find my iPhone hasn't been showing anything at all, and 'Lost Mode' as pending, yet they were able to find my email address. I tested this just now with my 5s, and if the iPhone is put in Airplane Mode, then it won't be eraseable/traceable, but still will be on. If I put the 5s in Lost Mode/Erase, it won't do anything to the Airplane-Mode'd 5s. As the 5 has been showing as offline the whole time, with 'lost mode/play a sound' showing as pending... that must be the only way.
Click to expand...

That is the one bad thing about IOS 7 the phone can be locked but you can swipe up and put it in airplane mode.
 
Right. The only personally identifiable information I have on my iPhone that I know for sure they could access with Airplane Mode being on is:

-my full name
-birthday
-address
-some emails cached - gmail?

Does the Gmail app store/cache all emails or just more of the recent ones?

I should change all my passwords, just to be safe... my main concern at this time is emails via the gmail app. Would they be able to access all emails from gmail or just the more recent ones that were cached?
 
Even if the phone is in airplane mode (due to control center being accessible on the lock screen?) wouldn't it be locked and thus not much information would be accessible (aside from what Siri might provide perhaps, if that is enabled on the lock screen or any lock screen notifications)?
 
KoolAid-Drink said:
And, what if the emails were sent from a Starbucks?
Click to expand...

Then you'll have to hope the Starbucks had cameras, and caught the shady-looking dude on his laptop trying to get an iPhone in Activation Lock to work.

It would be interesting to know how get your e-mail address. My guess is that he got it from the phone before he wiped it and tried reactivating. Course that means he may have gotten other personal info, too.
 
Yeah, that's what I'm worried most about right now. I can't believe it didn't hit me that the 5 could have been on airplane mode this whole time. I kind of assumed iOS 7 could circumvent Airplane Mode and force through a lock/lost mode/erase.

HOWEVER, one point stands - my 5 had the passcode lock set to lock every 15 minutes... so once the phone was locked (even in airplane mode), there's no way they could have gotten the info because the phone would be locked, alebit useless. It could be that they kept it open every 5 minutes, but overnight, etc - I doubt it? Eventually, they'd get locked out. They can't change the passcode settings without them entering my passcode.

I hope it's just the few minutes they used the phone before it being locked. My email is pretty easy to remember, too. My theory is that they got the email before having the phone locked, then waited a few days, so it wouldn't look too suspicious.

Ugh. This could be worse than I think. I seriously don't want them having my address and birth date, of all things!

Should I call the police again, explain this is quite urgent and potentially has the chance to grow really bad (i.e., identity theft)?

scaredpoet said:
Then you'll have to hope the Starbucks had cameras, and caught the shady-looking dude on his laptop trying to get an iPhone in Activation Lock to work.

It would be interesting to know how get your e-mail address. My guess is that he got it from the phone before he wiped it and tried reactivating. Course that means he may have gotten other personal info, too.
Click to expand...
 
KoolAid-Drink said:
What makes me nervous is, this may be time-sensitive. If said person doesn't get a reply from me within a certain amount of time, he may assume I have ignored his email and, instead, decide to throw it away or sell it again, or whatever... that's why I'm concerned, and a bit annoyed no reply from the detective (altho it's not his fault, probably a sucky factor of it being Friday night)... I want my damn phone back. That's what is making me so restless.

I've been through a lot of hassle with AT&T this week alone. Ugh.



Edit; and, no, I haven't contacted said person yet. My iPhone on Find my iPhone is still offline.
Click to expand...


Are you that naive.
 
You've been getting bad advise. Reply back to the email with the following:

"Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?"
 
i had a phone stolen once.


its a horrible experience which makes you feel really impotent.




anyhow at that time all i wanted was my phone back. i sent a message to it offering to pay a fee if returned.


right now, this guy has nothing to lose. he can toss your phone in a river and you'll be without a phone.


or you can pay him and get your phone back. it'll be cheaper than buying a new one.


once that is accomplished you can start thinking about getting your money back or some sense of justice.


you have nothing on him yet. you don't even know who he is nor can you prove he (whoever he is) stole your phone.
 
I know you do not want to hear this, however odds are VERY slim that you will get the phone back. Recovery rate is near zilch. If I were you, I would wait to hear back from the detective and cooperate with him/her as much as you can. In the meantime, I would look at avenues to obtain another phone, assuming that you are in need of another one. I know it sucks, but the fact is that iPhones are stolen literally by the thousands and are almost never recovered.
 
Last edited:
I would like to know the outcome of this. Keep us updated. If I were you, I wouldn't give into the demands of the moron who stole your phone. Keep working with the police and have them help you. Thats what the police are for, to help the public with any criminal problems that may happen.
 
Reply back and give him an offer to return. Bring friends with a bat and beat out of him !
No cops needed ...
Slime balls need to be dealt with in a non sensible way.
 
mentaluproar said:
AT&T is not going to help you. They have every reason not to. If you don't get it back, you have to buy a new phone.
Click to expand...


Well, the exception would be if the OP purchased Lost/Stolen/Damage insurance via AT&T in which case he/she is required to call AT&T to report it stolen before the insurance provider will send out a replacement.
 
davelanger said:
That is the one bad thing about IOS 7 the phone can be locked but you can swipe up and put it in airplane mode.
Click to expand...

This is why I jailbreak, and completely suppress all gesture based features in the lockscreen. Including control center and notification center. Hell you can't even turn off the device from the lock screen.

All that works is passcode, nothing else.

What OP concerns I really wouldn't know what I would do in this situation, hence why i've secured the device to this point.
 
Serelus said:
This is why I jailbreak, and completely suppress all gesture based features in the lockscreen. Including control center and notification center. Hell you can't even turn off the screen from the lock screen.

All that works is passcode, nothing else.
Click to expand...
No need to jailbreak even to disable control center or notification center from the lock screen, the options for all that are in the settings.
 
I'm going to be frank since common sense seems to be eluding you

No matter what you may think, getting your phone back is not that urgent. Especially when you already have a replacement. Detectives have a large caseload and john smith who lost his iphone is pretty far down the list. You constantly calling and hassling the police isn't going to help things either. Grow a pair, start thinking for yourself, cut your losses and move on. If they find it, great. If not, it's a phone and not a child. You're not going to want to hear this but the police have larger concerns and more important cases. Relax and don't call 911. Let the detective get back to you when he has time.
 
Get 10 of your biggest criminal friends, tell the guy to meet you under a freeway overpass. Have 5 of the felons cover all directions, about 100 yards away, have two of the felons hide in your trunk with bats, have one felon ride his bike by the transaction just as it's going down. Have the last two felons go to McDonalds and grab a few McRibs. When the perp shows up, tell him the money is in the trunk, pop it and go to town Rambo style. Get your phone and your money back.

Oh, have the felon on the bike have a Gopro and tape the whole thing at 120fps so it can be slow-mo'ed later. Post the link when it's over, I gotta see this.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back