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

Stolen iPhone is tracked, next step?

G

Gdunkman

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 26, 2013
1
0
I had my backpack stolen on Friday, my documents, bank cards, cash, keys and iPhone 4 were in it.

The thief is an idiot, as he still didn't deactivate Find My iPhone, and I can see where it is located, it's in Montreal, Canada, about 1 mile from the place where it was stolen, here is a screenshot:

1189_900.png


Friday night he called from my number to Swarovski distributor, probably wanted to buy some gems with my credit card. He also used 3Mb of data on Friday, and 8Mb today.

I've been to this place there is a building of 6 apartments, there were 2 suspicious kids playing hockey and their suspicious father, I got his car's license plate number. Someone who has my phone should be at home at the moment, as he just plugged the phone to the charger, I can see it in Find My iPhone.

Police is not cooperative at all, they say not enough materials to work with, and app info is not an evidence according to the law.

How would you proceed with the investigation, if you were me? I can wait until they move the phone and try to traсe them. The phone will stop transmitting data as soon as they use all the prepaid data, if they don't connect it to wifi or insert new sim card.
 
First of all, why haven't you remotely locked this phone yet?

Try the police captain. You have proof. You are the only one who can actually unlock the phone; DUH. That's proof it's yours!

If possible, bring a reporter with you. If after that, the police don't cooperate, you might get a prosecuting attorney and see if they can force the police into action.

If they can't/won't, and you're not willing to arm yourself and take it back by force, then the next best option is to brick the phone remotely.

Then make a public campaign that your police and prosecutors are incompetent and lazy, because well...they are, and you are paying their salaries from your taxes. Be loud, be public, be persistent. Make some enemies. You may have to arm yourself after all and put up with unjust traffic stops. But eventually, you may be able to run for office on a law and order platform, and make the police listen to you! You might win. I'd vote for you if I didn't live outside of Canada!

But for right now, the phone has value and so does the data they're using. If you sever all capabilities by locking or better yet, bricking the phone, then they will not be able to benefit any more and they'll have to steal from somebody else. You probably won't get the phone back, but at least they won't be able to use it either.

And if you haven't engaged locking on your phone, then...just give it up and consider it an early Christmas present.
 
Flight Plan said:
Try the police captain. You have proof. You are the only one who can actually unlock the phone; DUH. That's proof it's yours!
Click to expand...

Problem:

Need probable cause to search someone's belongings. You can't just gather these people up and tell them to hand over phones so we can inspect.

To the rest of what you said... wow. What is it with people like you, always wanting to take things to the extreme? Hell, let's get CNN and everyone else on board while we're at it.
 
Ken Kaniff said:
Problem:

Need probable cause to search someone's belongings. You can't just gather these people up and tell them to hand over phones so we can inspect.
Click to expand...
Find My iPhone is indeed "probable cause". If you can't make that case, then get an attorney to do it for you. Or continue to be weak and let people walk all over you. It's your choice really. Sheesh.

To the rest of what you said... wow. What is it with people like you, always wanting to take things to the extreme? Hell, let's get CNN and everyone else on board while we're at it.
Click to expand...
"Captain Literal" there. I was being tongue in cheek for much of my post, but I also refuse to be weak about having something stolen from me when I can actually do half the cops' work for them.

Sometimes you have to be persistent to get the police to take action. Keep going back, and keep telling them you know where the bad guy is and you can PROVE that the phone is yours. Don't just "go away", because that does nobody any good.

When we are weak, we beget future weakness. Stop being weak and stop accepting "no" for things that you shouldn't have to. And stop telling other people that they should also exhibit weakness. It's bad for all of us. :(

----------

The upshot here is either give up, brick the phone and go buy a new one.

Or give 'em hell and enjoy doing it.

It's for each us to choose. This is why I have Lojack on my car and my computers. I like giving 'em hell and I don't like it when somebody steals from me and gets off without SOME pain and suffering.
 
Can you see the phone move if they leave the apartment with it? Is it accurate enough? Walk the hallways of the building and call the phone from another phone but block the number, maybe you can hear it ringing. If they answer, just act like a bill collector looking for yourself.
I know it's just a phone but street justice would make me feel better than the person getting arrested.
 
Flight Plan said:
Find My iPhone is indeed "probable cause". If you can't make that case, then get an attorney to do it for you. Or continue to be weak and let people walk all over you. It's your choice really. Sheesh.


"Captain Literal" there. I was being tongue in cheek for much of my post, but I also refuse to be weak about having something stolen from me when I can actually do half the cops' work for them.

Sometimes you have to be persistent to get the police to take action. Keep going back, and keep telling them you know where the bad guy is and you can PROVE that the phone is yours. Don't just "go away", because that does nobody any good.

When we are weak, we beget future weakness. Stop being weak and stop accepting "no" for things that you shouldn't have to. And stop telling other people that they should also exhibit weakness. It's bad for all of us. :(

----------

The upshot here is either give up, brick the phone and go buy a new one.

Or give 'em hell and enjoy doing it.

It's for each us to choose. This is why I have Lojack on my car and my computers. I like giving 'em hell and I don't like it when somebody steals from me and gets off without SOME pain and suffering.
Click to expand...

On the contrary. I don't believe in weakness either. I also don't believe in going to the cops, as I see them as useless in today's society and would rather they didn't exist at all.

iamMacPerson said:
Everyone replying knows that this was posted a year and three months ago correct?
Click to expand...

Wow.. Good call. Seems Flight Plan resurrected this necro thread. For what reason, who knows.
 
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