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New York Mulls New Anti-Theft Measures as Smartphone Thefts Continue to Surge

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Apr 12, 2001
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The New York City Council is considering a new measure to help fight iPhone and other smartphone thefts, in the form of a pawn shop bill that would require second hand dealers and pawn brokers to maintain easily accessible electronic records of purchased items, including photographs and serial numbers. Current law mandates non-electronic inventory records.

According to the New York Daily News, police believe such a measure would make it easier to search for stolen smartphones, Apple products, and other items, though pawn shop owners have opposed the bill, declaring it an invasion of customer privacy.

iPhone and iPad thefts continue to be a major issue for law enforcement, despite ongoing efforts to implement various theft deterrent programs. As noted earlier this year, in 2012 there were 16,000 "Apple picking" thefts in New York city, which accounted for 14 percent of all crime. As of last week, 45 percent of robberies involved cell phones, and half of those stolen devices were iPhones.

ios7_activation_lock.jpg
While Apple introduced Activation Lock with iOS 7, preventing stolen phones from being reactivated without an iCloud password, theft of Apple products continues to be an issue for users who have not activated iCloud or upgraded to iOS 7.

Both San Francisco district attorney George Gascón and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who have spearheaded anti-theft efforts, have praised Activation Lock, calling it the "world's first attempt to implement a technological solution to the global smartphone theft epidemic."

The two have also been pushing other cellphone makers to implement kill switches, allowing for the remote deactivation of a stolen phone. Yesterday, The New York Times reported Gascón had been working with Samsung on such an antitheft feature, but was running into trouble getting wireless carriers to cooperate.

While Apple has struck a deal with carriers that disallows them from controlling the software on iOS devices, other carriers, which ship with the Android operating system, do not have similar deals. Carriers are able to install proprietary software and have some measure of control over what manufacturers install on the phones as well.
Mr. Gascón said that, based on e-mails he had reviewed between a Samsung executive and a software developer, it appeared that the carriers were unwilling to allow Samsung to load the antitheft software. The emails, he said, suggest that the carriers are concerned that the software would eat into the profit they make from the insurance programs many consumers buy to cover lost or stolen phones.
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According to the CTIA, an industry trade group that represents carriers, kill switches are not an acceptable anti-theft solution, as it introduces a method for hackers to remotely disable phones. The CTIA and the four major wireless carriers in the United States have instead backed a centralized database designed to track stolen phones, but it has reportedly been largely ineffectual.

Gascón has said that he is evaluating what actions to take against the carriers for refusing to allow Samsung to implement a kill switch on its phones, and has said that he will force them to "prioritize the safety of their customers over additional money in their pockets."

As for the pawn shop bill, it remains under consideration. New York City lawmakers have also recently introduced legislation that would make it illegal for businesses to sell used smartphones without obtaining proof of ownership.

Article Link: New York Mulls New Anti-Theft Measures as Smartphone Thefts Continue to Surge
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/11/20/new-york-mulls-new-anti-theft-measures-as-smartphone-thefts-continue-to-surge/
My wife's phone was stolen recently. Activating Find My iPhone didn't help, as the thief presumably immediately removed the SIM card, disabling the phone from connecting to the Internet and receiving instructions to erase itself.

While this turns on Activation Lock, there are many phones with “bad ESN” sold on eBay, who knows how many of which are stolen. As such an iPhone 5 will still fetch upwards of $300 from those who use it for parts. Thus, Activation Lock only reduces the value of a stolen phone by $100 to $200.
 
I can attest to this - my iPhone 5 just got stolen off a table I was seated outside on the patio of the restaurant.

Guy took off with it. Two dudes running - I chase in a full suit. They diverge, I go after the one who stole my phone. Catch him - he says he has my phone (the other kid is across the street and takes off). I focus my attention on the taker, check his pockets, no phone. Gone and will never see it again.

Spoke with the detective who said next time don't do that unless it's your wife/children/family - what if he had knife or a gun?
 
I'll just sell it to Craigslist, EBay, Facebook, black market, overseas, Girl Scouts.
 
The carriers make money selling insurance for stolen phones - this is a good profit item for them and they don't want to lose it.

And how does eBay allow these stolen phones to even show up?
 
Klae17 said:
I'll just sell it to Craigslist, EBay, Facebook, black market, overseas, Girl Scouts.
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Not if it has iOS 7 and you remotely locked it after it's been stolen. If you don't have the apple ID and password associated to that phone to unlock it, it'll be basically a brick.
 
old-wiz said:
The carriers make money selling insurance for stolen phones - this is a good profit item for them and they don't want to lose it.

And how does eBay allow these stolen phones to even show up?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the quiet chuckle your post provided me with.

Of the possible responses I thought of . . . . . welcome, you're not from around here, are you.

It would seem that money is far more important to the mobile device market and eBay than integrity.

Frankly, I'm shocked. :D
 
Thief: "Give me your phone or I will hurt you."
iPhone5x owner: "Ok, here."
Thief: "iPhone5x... Arg!!! I need your finger too..."
 
though pawn shop owners have opposed the bill, declaring it an invasion of customer privacy.
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Right, I'm sure they're concerned about privacy. It probably has nothing to do with the hit their business is going to take when they can't sell as many stolen goods. Pawn shops thrive on stolen goods, anything that helps deter that sort of activity is a big hit to their bottom line.
 
Your average thief isn't going to stop and check version of iOS the phone is running before stealing it. At least people won't be able to use stolen phones.

The companies should try put some kind of check (if there isn't already one) to see if a phone is blacklisted.
 
perealb said:
Not if it has iOS 7 and you remotely locked it after it's been stolen. If you don't have the apple ID and password associated to that phone to unlock it, it'll be basically a brick.
Click to expand...

Yea.... Thieves know that. The lady on Craigslist buying probably doesn't. And I'm being scarastic.
 
perealb said:
Not if it has iOS 7 and you remotely locked it after it's been stolen. If you don't have the apple ID and password associated to that phone to unlock it, it'll be basically a brick.
Click to expand...

What if the thief shuts off the phone the minute he steals it, then takes the stolen phone to China where there is no US cellular signal at all, and of course without wifi, then turns on the phone. Your phone would have totally no idea that it has been stolen. It will happily tell the thief whatever information you have in it.
 
DominikHoffmann said:
My wife's phone was stolen recently. Activating Find My iPhone didn't help, as the thief presumably immediately removed the SIM card, disabling the phone from connecting to the Internet and receiving instructions to erase itself.

While this turns on Activation Lock, there are many phones with “bad ESN” sold on eBay, who knows how many of which are stolen. As such an iPhone 5 will still fetch upwards of $300 from those who use it for parts. Thus, Activation Lock only reduces the value of a stolen phone by $100 to $200.
Click to expand...
As I mentioned above, if that phone had iOS 7 and you remotely locked it, once they try to use that phone again (with old, new or no sim card) the phone would stop working. The only way for that phone to work again would be by entering the apple ID and password associated to that phone.
 
This response from the carriers should actually be illegal in my opinion. Blocking beneficial services so that they can sell more insurance? Also these laws they are proposing only harm the pawn shop owners and not the actual thief.
 
"While Apple introduced Activation Lock with iOS 7, preventing stolen phones from being reactivated without an iCloud password, theft of Apple products continues to be an issue for users who have not activated iCloud or upgraded to iOS 7."

Should read "... continues to be an issue for users who have had their phone stolen."

Activation Lock prevents the phone from being reactivated, not stolen. A thief stealing phones is probably stealing for volume. If 2 out of the 10 phones he steals is AL'd he still has 8 left to sell. The thieves aren't taking the time to see what model phone and version of OS you're running. If they steal one with AL, they will probably smash it and move on.

Activation Lock is nice to have but it's not the "be all - end all". I don't know what is. I do know the thief will not know the phone has AL until after they've stolen it.

Edit: After receiving multiple responses regarding Activation Lock as a longer termed solution I thought I should add that I realized that as well. More iOS7+ adoption, more AL penetration, less attraction for thieves. I get that. In a linear world that's exactly what would happen. I contend this ain't that world.

While Apple and other phone manufacturers are improving their security, thieves are improving their circumvention techniques as well. BAD ANALOGY ALERT <- imagine that flashing.

It's like two champion fighters. Thieves come out in the 1st round and throw heavy blows - stealing stuff. Companies get tired of getting hit so they punch back - Activation Lock and such. Thieves get bloodied but decide to start biting - Tyson style. And so it goes.

Again, I don't know what the answer is. I was thinking about carrying one of those Motorola bag phones but apparently there is still a market for them on EBay. Thieves suck.
 
Last edited:
Catch them..cut off their hands.

Worked in the past...would work now.

No real deterrence for crime nowadays.
 
hkenneth said:
What if the thief shuts off the phone the minute he steals it, then takes the stolen phone to China where there is no US cellular signal at all, and of course without wifi, then turns on the phone. Your phone would have totally no idea that it has been stolen. It will happily tell the thief whatever information you have in it.
Click to expand...
So, it's an iPhone that can't make call or connect to the internet. That sounds like a pretty useless phone to me. If you want to make sure no one can see your information, set a lock key.
 
hkenneth said:
What if the thief shuts off the phone the minute he steals it, then takes the stolen phone to China where there is no US cellular signal at all, and of course without wifi, then turns on the phone. Your phone would have totally no idea that it has been stolen. It will happily tell the thief whatever information you have in it.
Click to expand...
... Activation Lock would still be in place. The thief wouldn't be able to wipe the device and use it for themselves without the icloud login info of the rightful owner.

I'm hoping they have a passcode lock in place as well.
 
TheHateMachine said:
Isn't it funny how carriers would prefer that their customers get their phone stolen.
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No, they really don't care if it's stolen or not, as long as they can keep making big bucks by selling theft insurance to their "valued" customers. ;) Apple has the clout and power to say no to this, not many other companies do, or really care that much. Samsung is a day late and a dollar short and the carriers are saying no to them.
 
FirstNTenderbit said:
<snip>

Activation Lock is nice to have but it's not the "be all - end all". I don't know what is. I do know the thief will not know the phone has AL until after they've stolen it.
Click to expand...


It's too early for it to be a great deterrent for theft of iPhones or other iOS devices at this point.

I would be curious to see how things trend a year form now, as more devices are running iOS 7, and likely 8 .
 
Is there no such thing as IMEI blocking in the US ?

In Europe, your operator can block your IMEI number so your phone becomes useless right across Europe.

People don't really bother stealing phones as they know they'll get blocked.
 
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