Stolen iPhone on Launch Day

[bdb23]

I don't think people realize how much more valuable things UPS drivers deliver, everyday, that they don't steal...

Think about it, if you're willing to, as a UPS driver commit a felony by stealing a package why do an iPhone? $1000? They deliver much more valuable stuff... steal something more valuable and sell that and buy 100 iPhones.

Doesn't make sense. Possible... but waaaaaaay more possible, some poor college student saw an opportunity and went for it. Unlike UPS drivers, they don't see that kind of opportunity as often.

 

[iphone5att64]

I don't think people realize how much more valuable things UPS drivers deliver, everyday, that they don't steal...

Think about it, if you're willing to, as a UPS driver commit a felony by stealing a package why do an iPhone? $1000? They deliver much more valuable stuff... steal something more valuable and sell that and buy 100 iPhones.

Doesn't make sense. Possible... but waaaaaaay more possible, some poor college student saw an opportunity and went for it. Unlike UPS drivers, they don't see that kind of opportunity as often.

It's $2600-$4000 on the black market according to reports.

 

[mookgiants]

These are the steps you need to take, in order.

1. Contact Police
2. Contact someone at the school, either someone in the Presidents office or somewhere else, I would NOT contact someone in the mail office, as they may have been the ones that stole it.
3. Contact UPS
4. Contact your credit card company. I know american express has a 90 day accidental damage/loss/theft policy when you buy electronics on your card

 

[bdb23]

It's $2600-$4000 on the black market according to reports.

No, it's not.

Even if he had the 6+ 128GB stolen, still, no, it's not.

Not that difficult to look at latest auctions on e-bay. Stable price for 128GB 6+ unlocked is 1300-1400...

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_C...t=0&_nkw=iphone+6+plus+128gb+unlocked&_sop=13

 

[ZipZap]

Every release there are at least 2 or 3 people with this story. In the future, have the package held at UPS.

 

[cdesigns]

I don't think people realize how much more valuable things UPS drivers deliver, everyday, that they don't steal...

Think about it, if you're willing to, as a UPS driver commit a felony by stealing a package why do an iPhone? $1000? They deliver much more valuable stuff... steal something more valuable and sell that and buy 100 iPhones.

Doesn't make sense. Possible... but waaaaaaay more possible, some poor college student saw an opportunity and went for it. Unlike UPS drivers, they don't see that kind of opportunity as often.

they might not know what they are carrying everyday, it could be a $5000 laptop or a $5 book inside a square flat box, it will be a 50/50 on those situations, but the iphone boxes are very distinctive specialy this week.

either way, who ever has it is enjoying it lol.

 

[bdb23]

they might not know what they are carrying everyday, it could be a $5000 laptop or a $5 book inside a square flat box, it will be a 50/50 on those situations, but the iphone boxes are very distinctive specialy this week.

either way, who ever has it is enjoying it lol.

Let me give you an example... Today, I picked up my iPhone from UPS delivery center, in front of me was a guy who was picking up a box of live fish, these were Live Koi, and well known to be worth thousands of dollars box clearly marked of what was inside... They know what a Jewelery store company's name is, they see it on the box... they know what a TV box looks like for a 70inch plasma... they know more than you think. Sure, if you're grandma sends you gold watch in an unmarked box they may not know, but they know a lot of packages. I understand iPhone's are the most valuable thing in the world to people on this forum, but in real life, real people, it's just not...

 

[rritterson]

These are the steps you need to take, in order.

1. Contact Police
2. Contact someone at the school, either someone in the Presidents office or somewhere else, I would NOT contact someone in the mail office, as they may have been the ones that stole it.
3. Contact UPS
4. Contact your credit card company. I know american express has a 90 day accidental damage/loss/theft policy when you buy electronics on your card

This is correct, except that:
-step 2 is a waste of time unless your school is tiny, but you have to do it anyway. The mail room should know what happened, but no one is going to do crap for you.
-between step 3 and step 4 you should call Apple. Amazon replaces packages that are stolen (speaking from experience), and I bet Apple may too. It's trickier if a signature was obtained, but I wouldn't put it past Apple to replace it anyway.

 

[-Knight-]

Any update on this?

 

[erzhik]

The packaging slip will say where it shipped from. Call the cops, they will pull up video footage or a log of who was inside that mail room and who signed for delivery. Mail room guys still have to sign for when they receive any kind of packages.

Make sure you contact university police, because regular cops won't care about it. UPS driver wouldn't steal it, they have hundreds of iPhones on their trucks, why would they care about yours? And if UPS driver is caught stealing, he can forget about working anywhere except McDonalds maybe.

 

[charlituna]

I'm with everyone. I'm pretty sure it was someone in the mailroom.

Logic tells me that if it was UPS, I'm pretty sure they would have at least taped it back up.

nope. UPS driver wouldn't have left the box. Just claim it wasn't actually on the truck at all. Easy to do if you recognize the box and don't scan it to deliver it. "I guess the guy that claims he put it on the truck took it"

My money is one kid doing work study in the mail room. All too common unfortunately on campuses. which is why you don't want to have something like that delivered there if you can help it.

File a report with campus security and the police. It's pretty much all you can do.

 

[pdxmatts]

I just checked my box and there's really nothing that suggests it's an Apple product. But I did find something suspicious. Our school gives each package a sticker indicating the recipient and the time that the package is received.The sticker says 3:51PM. However on the UPS tracking website, it says the package was delivered on 2:48PM. Hmm...Going to check out security camera footages right now.

If you picked it up at 3:50 wouldn't it make more sense that the sticker meant the time you received it and picked up? This must be horrible for you. I really hope it will be replaced for you soon. Someone had to have put the sticker on that box, have you asked the campus police to question anyone who was in that room at the time?

 

[charlituna]

Sorry y'all, I was just too steam-headed...I'll change the title right away. And no college students couldn't have stolen it because students are not allowed in the storage area.

so it was a non student. Still had to be someone there to take the shipment. That person is the likely thief or did something stupid like had a buddy watch things while he/she took a pee break and that person took it.

 

[realeric]

Hmmm, UPS driver with a good job and good benefits from what I understand or some kid in a college mail room??? I'm assuming its a kid, that's all that worked in the dorm mail rooms when I was in school. My money's on someone in the mail room.

It's pretty tough to be a UPS driver.
Great benefits and a high hourly wage.

They don't steal packages.

+1. All UPS drivers are employees but FedEx ground delivery routes are usually sold for $70k~$150k depending on the location. If the driver stole something, he would loose the job(UPS) or the entire business(FedEx). I don't think the driver would ever do that for a few hundred bucks.

 

[charlituna]

iPhones cannot be identified? Doesn't each have a specific sort of ID identifying code? If it gets turned on maybe it could be tracked??

well yes, there are about five IDs. Trouble is that there might not be a way to find out that information without having a police report etc. Customer privacy and all that. the serial number may be listed on the support page already, maybe not given the number they are processing. And there may not be a way to prevent that serial from being activated. all depends on whether the order was tied to a contract. If it was device only the thief might have already gotten it on and on iCloud and so on. It's the first thing I would do if I spotted a likely iPhone going to someone with a foreign name who likely got an unlocked phone. Try to turn it on right away. if it didn't activate it wouldn't be that hard to hit 'start over', turn it off and ding up the box so it looks like the plastic got ripped by a clumsy driver

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Well the package actually just says it's from Harrisburg, PA, and there's nothing "Apple" about the package, so it's befuddling to me as to how someone figured out that this is an iPhone.

if it's someone that has been working there for a while its not hard to figure it out. A lot of boxes probably come during the same several days from said address. so he/she would know it's likely something big. not hard to sort out that given that it's iPhone launch weekend they could be iPhones

 

[pdxmatts]

I am still curious if you were maybe asking the mailroom if a package was delivered to you or checked on it often to see if it arrived? Being excited and all, maybe it slipped that you were waiting for your iPhone to arrive and it tipped them off?

 

[doxielover]

How about the janitor?

 

[Jordan921]

Damn that sucks! Hopefully you find out who took it.

 

[noslenam]

As of the mail room has any cameras? Being it's a school good chance it will. Ask to talk with the manager/supervisor and see who was working. Then you can narrow it down to workers possibly. Good luck. Don't they assign the serial numbers to orders? Can it be tracked as soon as it's activated?

 

[nuju0460]

well yes, there are about five IDs. Trouble is that there might not be a way to find out that information without having a police report etc. Customer privacy and all that. the serial number may be listed on the support page already, maybe not given the number they are processing. And there may not be a way to prevent that serial from being activated. all depends on whether the order was tied to a contract. If it was device only the thief might have already gotten it on and on iCloud and so on. It's the first thing I would do if I spotted a likely iPhone going to someone with a foreign name who likely got an unlocked phone. Try to turn it on right away. if it didn't activate it wouldn't be that hard to hit 'start over', turn it off and ding up the box so it looks like the plastic got ripped by a clumsy driver

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if it's someone that has been working there for a while its not hard to figure it out. A lot of boxes probably come during the same several days from said address. so he/she would know it's likely something big. not hard to sort out that given that it's iPhone launch weekend they could be iPhones

Right that's certainly a possibility.

I just finished 1. contacting campus public safety 2. getting in touch with an Apple senior advisor (who told me that replacement is not really an option because the package was already signed) 3. Filing a claim with UPS 4. Eating a burrito

I was informed that there are cameras right outside of the mail room, but the person who was in charge of my case wasn't sure about if there is surveillance inside the room. Hopefully this madness can get sorted out pretty soon.

Sorry I can't reply to all of you guys separately but your input has really helped me a bunch and given me some ideas. Thanks so much I'll keep y'all updated if anyone is interested.

 

[cdesigns]

Right that's certainly a possibility.

I just finished 1. contacting campus public safety 2. getting in touch with an Apple senior advisor (who told me that replacement is not really an option because the package was already signed) 3. Filing a claim with UPS 4. Eating a burrito

I was informed that there are cameras right outside of the mail room, but the person who was in charge of my case wasn't sure about if there is surveillance inside the room. Hopefully this madness can get sorted out pretty soon.

Sorry I can't reply to all of you guys separately but your input has really helped me a bunch and given me some ideas. Thanks so much I'll keep y'all updated if anyone is interested.

Tell them to act quickly, some CCTV only record 3 days in a loop and it might erase what happened to your phone if they take longer to investigate. All depends on their DVR though.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Wow. Never thought my first post would be something like this.

So basically what happened is: I had my iPhone shipped to my college, and when I went to pick it up at the mail room, I was given a box that was already sliced open, with just the packing slip and some cardboard in the box. I looked around the mail room for quite a bit and there was no sign of any iPhones. That was the point when I realized that MY IPHONE 6 HAS BEEN STOLE. Whoever stole the phone definitely knew what was inside and took advantage of the fact that the recipient did not have to be present when the package was delivered. I'm thinking about contacting the police already...

I thought today was supposed to be a really happy day for me, but now I'm just sitting here and freaking out. Any suggestions as to what actions I should take?

Sorry if there's any broken English. My brain's not even functioning now. I mean I still can't believe all this happened. Seriously WTF?!

Edit: Now that I'm thinking about it, it's also possible that the people at the mail room stole it. But how could they know that it was an iPhone inside? I mean, the package doesn't say anything except the address and tracking number.

I don't think you will get anywhere with UPS. Someone other than you accepted delivery. You have no way to prove (outside of possible cameras at the school) who took the device.

In the future, don't have items like that delivered to the mail room at college. Either pick up the phone yourself in person or have a family member accept delivery.

 

[nuju0460]

Tell them to act quickly, some CCTV only record 3 days in a loop and it might erase what happened to your phone if they take longer to investigate. All depends on their DVR though.

Thanks for the heads up! I'll definitely go check in with them when I get a chance tomorrow.

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I don't think you will get anywhere with UPS. Someone other than you accepted delivery. You have no way to prove (outside of possible cameras at the school) who took the device.

In the future, don't have items like that delivered to the mail room at college. Either pick up the phone yourself in person or have a family member accept delivery.

I basically contacted UPS just for the heck of it. The only problem is that I'm international so I don't have family here. Next time I'll tell them to hold for pick up.

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I am still curious if you were maybe asking the mailroom if a package was delivered to you or checked on it often to see if it arrived? Being excited and all, maybe it slipped that you were waiting for your iPhone to arrive and it tipped them off?

Haha no, I only go the mail room when I get a notification.

 

[Rhcpcjg]

It's pretty tough to be a UPS driver.
Great benefits and a high hourly wage.

They don't steal packages.

Please don't generalize. The ex ups driver that delivered packages to my businesses was fired because he was caught stealing packages.

 

[techiebug]

The iPhone 6 package requires a signature. Just check who signed it