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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 am so sorry to hear this. What a rotten thing to happen to you. It probably was a pretty small package, and whoever stole it probably knew what the packages looked it, or perhaps they opened the package hoping to find anything good at all.

You should file a police report, and report it to the shipper used, i.e USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. Also, file a report with campus police, and of course let Apple know.

Do you know if there is anyway the phone can be blocked? Surely Apple knows the serial number, etc., of the phone? Do you have any sort of insurance that might cover the claim such as home owners?

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I've been reading lots of people aren't having to sign for their phones, but I thought that was a requirement with the iPhones at least. Sounds to me like if nobody signed, you need to contact UPS immediately and file a claim. If someone did sign, you need to hunt them down.

This.

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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.

You are assuming the thief knew it was an iphone. It is possible the thief was prepared to steal any package in the hope there was something valuable inside that he could use or sell.
 
Get a police report.
VISA has theft purchase protection that can help you get some money back.
 
The iPhone 6 package requires a signature. Just check who signed it

if the person had a clue what was in the box when they signed I can promise you that the signature will be impossible to read. It will be basically a giant loop of nothing. The only way to pin it down to anyone would be if there was a set schedule of who was in the room and restricted access and cameras to prove that that person is the only one that could have entered said area.

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You are assuming the thief knew it was an iphone. It is possible the thief was prepared to steal any package in the hope there was something valuable inside that he could use or sell.

it's a pretty easy assumption to make on iPhone launch day for a package that size.
 
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. Also, it's way too traceable if UPS did it; I don't think the driver could be that stupid.

What was the time lapse between UPS delivery and you picking it up?


UPS Packages go to Sorting Centers with tons of Part Time Workers before the Drivers even get the Packages. It is Possible it was stolen there, my Company uses them for Shipping and we've had thousands of Dollars in Claims...
 
1. UPS didn't take it
2. it's obvious someone at the college in the mail room stole it. Any college student with half a brain knew yesterday with the delivery day for the iPhone 6.

Pretty sure they saw multiple boxes from the same place with weight... which meant iPhone 6. And, if students are working in the mail room then its a given. UPS would not deliver an empty sliced open box that without making a notation of it on there end.
 
I am so sorry to hear this. What a rotten thing to happen to you. It probably was a pretty small package, and whoever stole it probably knew what the packages looked it, or perhaps they opened the package hoping to find anything good at all.

You should file a police report, and report it to the shipper used, i.e USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc. Also, file a report with campus police, and of course let Apple know.

Do you know if there is anyway the phone can be blocked? Surely Apple knows the serial number, etc., of the phone? Do you have any sort of insurance that might cover the claim such as home owners?

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This.

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You are assuming the thief knew it was an iphone. It is possible the thief was prepared to steal any package in the hope there was something valuable inside that he could use or sell.

I did all that, except the officer at my district PD wasn't in the mood of assisting me, at all. He kept telling me "why would a UPS guy risk his job for a phone?" and seemed really unwilling to just even take a report. He also kept saying that I should confirm with the school first that nobody at the mail room stole it and then he would take a report. WTH. THE PHONE WAS STOLEN AND IT IS THEFT, THEREFORE I HAVE A RIGHT TO FILE A REPORT REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU THINK. IT'S YOUR JOB. But yeah I didn't really bother to keep the convo going and I'm going to the headquarters on Monday instead of the district police. Way to be helpful today, officer.

And regarding the blocking thing: I contacted Apple and they said they have no tools to block a certain phone, but the carriers do. I then called T-Mobile and they said blocking would need a IMEI No. but I currently only have the serial number. I'll contact Apple tomorrow to see if they can pull up all the info about the phone.

Man this thing really blows. It was supposed to be for my B'Day, but now I'm just here stuck with my sluggish Android phone :(

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UPS Packages go to Sorting Centers with tons of Part Time Workers before the Drivers even get the Packages. It is Possible it was stolen there, my Company uses them for Shipping and we've had thousands of Dollars in Claims...

So what happened in the end? Did the company get the money back or is it still an unsolved mystery till this day?
 
nevermind

I saw the original post haha but it's all good. The box isn't actually small tbh. It measures about 12*10*4, a lot bigger than an actual iPhone box. I'm assuming the person that stole it probably saw TONS of identical boxes shipped from the same address, and remembered that it was the launch day of the iPhone 6, therefore picked mine as the "lucky one". Maybe I should go buy lottery tickets today. lol
 
Even if the camera is outside the mailroom, can't they look at who entered and who came out? Maybe they can see if some one walked out with an iPhone white box? Unless they had it hidden under a jacket or put in a backpack or something, but maybe they didn't. But at least question who was there that day. Worth a try to look at it.

If it was a mailroom employee, it's possible that they may have hid it until later to take home. So I would have them watch the tape for the entire day. Has anyone questioned the mailroom clerk who accepted the package? Did they notice it already opened? What was their story about it?
 
College mail rooms have terrible security and are usually operated by dumb students. So it was most likely someone in there that stole it. Invest in a PO box at a post office near the campus.
 
I did all that, except the officer at my district PD wasn't in the mood of assisting me, at all. He kept telling me "why would a UPS guy risk his job for a phone?" and seemed really unwilling to just even take a report. He also kept saying that I should confirm with the school first that nobody at the mail room stole it and then he would take a report. WTH. THE PHONE WAS STOLEN AND IT IS THEFT, THEREFORE I HAVE A RIGHT TO FILE A REPORT REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU THINK. IT'S YOUR JOB. But yeah I didn't really bother to keep the convo going and I'm going to the headquarters on Monday instead of the district police. Way to be helpful today, officer.



And regarding the blocking thing: I contacted Apple and they said they have no tools to block a certain phone, but the carriers do. I then called T-Mobile and they said blocking would need a IMEI No. but I currently only have the serial number. I'll contact Apple tomorrow to see if they can pull up all the info about the phone.



Man this thing really blows. It was supposed to be for my B'Day, but now I'm just here stuck with my sluggish Android phone :(

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So what happened in the end? Did the company get the money back or is it still an unsolved mystery till this day?


I work for Mopar, Chrysler's Parts Division.
The Claims are written off and we just ship out more Parts. With a Company that big a few thousand is a drop in the Bucket!!!
 
Could the OP contact Apple and find out the serial or IMEI number and have the phone shut down or classified as stolen? I know it was nicked too early to activate find my iPhone so that's a bummer. Report it to the police too. :)
 
I did all that, except the officer at my district PD wasn't in the mood of assisting me, at all. He kept telling me "why would a UPS guy risk his job for a phone?" and seemed really unwilling to just even take a report.

Was that cop serious? Employees steal all the time. UPS, Fedex, USPS, airports, every week there are stories about thefts of people's property at these kind of places.
 
Wow. This sucks for sure. But I have to say that I'd have a MUCH greater sense of urgency about it than you appeared to have (words like: when I have time, I might call, I'm thinking about, etc.). If someone steals your *****, GET ON IT!

There may be a "rule" saying "no students in the mailroom", which means exactly nothing to anybody.

I'm with the poster who said get a PO box at a USPS near campus. It may be a pain in the butt going there when you have something sent to it but at least there aren't hooligan university students, who DEFINITELY knew those things would be arriving that day and what to look for, sorting through things.

Good luck with it! I hope you get it resolved.
 
Wow. This sucks for sure. But I have to say that I'd have a MUCH greater sense of urgency about it than you appeared to have (words like: when I have time, I might call, I'm thinking about, etc.). If someone steals your *****, GET ON IT!

There may be a "rule" saying "no students in the mailroom", which means exactly nothing to anybody.

I'm with the poster who said get a PO box at a USPS near campus. It may be a pain in the butt going there when you have something sent to it but at least there aren't hooligan university students, who DEFINITELY knew those things would be arriving that day and what to look for, sorting through things.

Good luck with it! I hope you get it resolved.

Except that most places won't ship an order to a PO box.
 
OP I'm wondering if this has happened to any other students considering it may be a big school and there may have been multiple iPhone shipments on launch day. Any chance of asking around and seeing if this has happened to other people?
 
Wow. This sucks for sure. But I have to say that I'd have a MUCH greater sense of urgency about it than you appeared to have (words like: when I have time, I might call, I'm thinking about, etc.). If someone steals your *****, GET ON IT!

There may be a "rule" saying "no students in the mailroom", which means exactly nothing to anybody.

I'm with the poster who said get a PO box at a USPS near campus. It may be a pain in the butt going there when you have something sent to it but at least there aren't hooligan university students, who DEFINITELY knew those things would be arriving that day and what to look for, sorting through things.

Good luck with it! I hope you get it resolved.

Well the mail room is run entirely by school employees, and certainly no students were recruited to work there as a part-time job either (I doubled checked today with the school). I accidentally walked into the room once and they immediately started shouting at me and kicked me out. In order to pick up packages we have to present the person at the counter our IDs and then he'll check where the package is located and afterwards he gives us the package through the counter window. So the chances of a student stealing is kind of slim.

I'll be moving out next year. For one thing the boarding fee at my school is INSANE, plus I'll get to sign/pick up my package in person so if there's anything wrong I can just refuse the package.
 
1. UPS didn't take it
2. it's obvious someone at the college in the mail room stole it. Any college student with half a brain knew yesterday with the delivery day for the iPhone 6.

Pretty sure they saw multiple boxes from the same place with weight... which meant iPhone 6. And, if students are working in the mail room then its a given. UPS would not deliver an empty sliced open box that without making a notation of it on there end.

Except that the box was the kind that you seal on the bottom, not the ones with 2 flaps on the top. Those would be obvious if you cut the seal open, but the one on my box is hardly noticeable unless you actually turn the box around to look at it. See the attached picture and I think you'll know what I mean.
IMG_20140921_205642341.jpg
 
Was that cop serious? Employees steal all the time. UPS, Fedex, USPS, airports, every week there are stories about thefts of people's property at these kind of places.

I know. I'll definitely file a claim besides the theft report.
 
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