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Recently Opened Dutch Apple Store in Haarlem Hit by Smash-and-Grab Robbers

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Apr 12, 2001
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The recently opened Apple Retail Store located in the Dutch city of Haarlem was the site of a smash-and-grab robbery last night, reports Dutch news website NU.nl [Google Translate].

smashandgrab_haarlem1-800x600.jpg
People living in the area of the store claimed to hear a loud bang in the middle of the night, which likely represented the sound of a car hitting the front of the Apple Store. The car used to ram the Apple Store was reportedly left behind as the thieves allegedly used two scooters to escape the crime scene.

Dutch Police are actively investigating the crime scene as the store remains closed to the public, but also states that only a small amount of merchandise was stolen. Employees at the retail location will also not be permitted to identify what was stolen until police complete their analysis of the crime scene.

smashandgrab_haarlem2-800x600.jpg
With Apple gadgets fetching a high price on the secondary market, thefts of individual devices in muggings are common. However, organized robberies on Apple Retail Stores are mostly uncommon.

The Haarlem Apple Store opened on December 7 and is located roughly 20km from Apple's existing Amsterdam store. The incident also follows another smash-and-grab robbery committed at an Apple Retail Store located in Kurfürstendamm, Berlin in which thieves 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: Recently Opened Dutch Apple Store in Haarlem Hit by Smash-and-Grab Robbers
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/12/31/recently-opened-dutch-apple-store-in-haarlem-hit-by-smash-and-grab-robbers/
The sooner thieves realise iOS devices are now bricks without the associated Apple ID password - the better. Also, you know Apple have the MAC address and serial nos. of all the stock in their store.

Just stupid. But I guess the kind of people who do this aren't known for their forward thinking ...
 
iZac said:
The sooner thieves realise iOS devices are now bricks without the associated Apple ID password - the better. Also, you know Apple have the MAC address and serial nos. of all the stock in their store.

Just stupid. But I guess the kind of people who do this aren't known for their forward thinking ...
Click to expand...

My guess is they believe this is a way to avoid activation lock.
 
I know it's off-topic, but it feels strange when you refer to a corsa as supermini. What would you people call a Smart? ...
 
What with the sheer glass 'invisible' fronts to Apple stores, I have often wondered why they don't install anti ram-raid posts in front of the stores as standard.

All you need is to sink stainless steel tubes (shiny to fit in with the store's design ethos) into the ground a few feet from the store front at 4 foot intervals and fill them with concrete and you'd stop most vehicles except the very largest - i.e a 40 ton truck might make it through, but it would probably destroy the entire building and render any equipment worthless in the rubble anyway.

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iPhysicist said:
I know it's off-topic, but it feels strange when you refer to a corsa as supermini. What would you people call a Smart? ...
Click to expand...

Given the average size of cars in the US, a Corsa would definitely qualify as a supermini.

I guess it all depends on your local perspective.
 
cogitodexter said:
Given the average size of cars in the US, a Corsa would definitely qualify as a supermini.

I guess it all depends on your local perspective.
Click to expand...

But here in Holland where this happened a Corsa is just an average family car. By the way it depends a lot on the model year, e.g. the 2000 Corsa was quite small but recent models are as big as the Astra used to be. Not sure what model was used here.

In either case its definitely not a supermini in the Netherlands, that would be something like a Smart or an older Suzuki Alto.

My feelings are with the staff though :( I used to work in a computer store and we got robbed twice, wasn't fun. Even though this happened after hours it's not cool when you can't feel safe at work :(
 
cogitodexter said:
What with the sheer glass 'invisible' fronts to Apple stores, I have often wondered why they don't install anti ram-raid posts in front of the stores as standard.
Click to expand...

Depends on the location. In Europe Apple has a penchant for older buildings in chi-chi areas. Those are likely to have strict planning regulations, which might prevent the erection of bollards in case they spoil the look of the area.
 
ogun7 said:
I was waiting for some racist **** to be said in this forum. 8 posts in.
Click to expand...

How is this racist? New York was first colonized by the Dutch, hence their names carry over into our cities. That's just history, not racism.

Besides, everybody knows a Dutch Apple store has a crumb top. This makes it easy to break into.
 
iPhysicist said:
I know it's off-topic, but it feels strange when you refer to a corsa as supermini. What would you people call a Smart? ...
Click to expand...

What you have to remember is that American cars the size of buses with a 27 litre V8 engine (developing 7 horsepower) are considered to be 'sport coupes'. ;)
 
iZac said:
The sooner thieves realise iOS devices are now bricks without the associated Apple ID password - the better. Also, you know Apple have the MAC address and serial nos. of all the stock in their store.

Just stupid. But I guess the kind of people who do this aren't known for their forward thinking ...
Click to expand...

But if the devices they stole are new and unopened there is no associated Apple ID. Can apple prevent these from ever be activated by their serial numbers?
 
cogitodexter said:
What with the sheer glass 'invisible' fronts to Apple stores, I have often wondered why they don't install anti ram-raid posts in front of the stores as standard.

All you need is to sink stainless steel tubes (shiny to fit in with the store's design ethos) into the ground a few feet from the store front at 4 foot intervals and fill them with concrete and you'd stop most vehicles except the very largest - i.e a 40 ton truck might make it through, but it would probably destroy the entire building and render any equipment worthless in the rubble anyway.

Image
Click to expand...

I find those rather hideous. I think the huge concrete balls in front of Targets are supposed to serve the same purpose - still unsightly, even though they're themed to match Target's scarlet curve style.

These events always occur after hours... maybe Apple should move their products to a safe in the back when the store is closed? That's what jewelry stores do, granted, jewelry has a higher resell-value:ease-of-bulk-stealing.
 
ogun7 said:
I was waiting for some racist **** to be said in this forum. 8 posts in.
Click to expand...

Let me unpack this for you.

From the headline:

"Recently Opened Dutch Apple Store in Haarlem Hit by Smash-and-Grab Robbers"

Dutch Apple is a variety of pie.

Haarlem is a name very much like that of Harlem, a region of Manhattan.

I'm pretty concerned about racism, but your hypervigilance may have tripped you up here.
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
I find those rather hideous. I think the huge concrete balls in front of Targets are supposed to serve the same purpose - still unsightly, even though they're themed to match Target's scarlet curve style.

These events always occur after hours... maybe Apple should move their products to a safe in the back when the store is closed? That's what jewelry stores do, granted, jewelry has a higher resell-value:ease-of-bulk-stealing.
Click to expand...


They are Apple. I'm sure they have more than enough money to construct retractable ones that only come up at night, like roadblocks, but they'd probably never think of that.

Also, jewelry doesn't have a higher resell value unless you're a dealer. They always rip you off, and diamonds aren't really worth that much. It's only after the 60s I think that they started hyping it up and what not. You can Google it.

This gets me thinking... Maybe I can run my old scooter into the mall and crash into our Apple Store and reenact this. For educational purposes of course.
 
patchbook said:
They are Apple. I'm sure they have more than enough money to construct retractable ones that only come up at night, like roadblocks, but they'd probably never think of that.
Click to expand...

Sounds ugly. An Apple store should always look attractive, whether it's open or not.
 
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