Thieves Rob Apple Store in Massachusetts and Get Away With $13,000 Worth of iPhones

[MacRumors]

A group of seven individuals robbed an Apple retail store in Natick, Massachusetts on Tuesday, managing to get away with a total of 19 iPhones worth more than $13,000 (via AppleInsider). The "organized pack of thieves" is believed to be comprised of young teenagers and potentially connected to a similar crime in the nearby town of Hingham.

In a video posted on the Natick Police Department's Facebook page, the group of seven is seen walking into the mall where Apple is located, and eventually gathering around one of the iPhone display tables. In "less than a minute," the group had organized and grabbed 19 iPhones from the table and made a beeline out of the store and from the mall, without authorities being able to stop them.

The Natick Apple location still carried security tethers on the iPhones -- a feature Apple is beginning to eliminate -- and the group "grabbed iPhones from the chargers and tore them away from the security cord that secured them."

On Tuesday, the group of seven walked into the Apple Store at the same time. Less than a minute later, they all grabbed iPhones from the chargers and tore them away from the security cord that secured them. “We’ve been hearing about this,” said police spokesman Lt. Cara Rossi. “They’re traveling in packs. They brazenly walk in together and steal.”

None of the suspects have yet to be identified following the robbery. Recently, a collection of Apple retail locations in New York City were targeted by criminals who dressed up as Apple employees to gain access to the store's devices. One individual managed to steal $16,130 from Apple SoHo in June, and a similar string of thefts in the Upper West Side in March added up to $50,000 in stolen iPhones.

Article Link: Thieves Rob Apple Store in Massachusetts and Get Away With $13,000 Worth of iPhones

 

[keysofanxiety]

Bunch of idiots. The phones will be immediately blocked. Plus don't the in-store phones run a slightly different version of iOS, which is for demo purposes only?

Anyway, hopefully they'll get caught pretty shortly.

 

[jamietomo78]

And then Apple deactivated them remotely thus leaving the thieves with a handful of paper weights.

 

[daemondust]

And 5 minutes later every one of those iPhones became worthless for anything but parts, and are probably tracking the thieves.

 

[keysofanxiety]

And 5 minutes later every one of those iPhones became worthless for anything but parts, and are probably tracking the thieves.

Yep. What's their next target? Stealing a bunch of ankle monitors from their local police station?

 

[countryside]

Haha, and recently we found Apple was removing security cords.

 

[maflynn]

Bunch of idiots. The phones will be immediately blocked. Plus don't the in-store phones run a slightly different version of iOS, which is for demo purposes only?

Anyway, hopefully they'll get caught pretty shortly.

They'll get away with it, because they'll sell them on craiglist as NIB, the buyers are the ones that lose out

 

[sunapple]

They're better off stealing Watch bands; not traceable and you can carry lots with you in a bag or something. And let's be real, everyone loves Watch bands.

 

[Three141]

I dislike hearing stuff like this; one of the things I like about the Apple store is it's roam free feel.
No harassment by sales staff or overbearing security but when things like this happen, you can't blame companies for going down that route.

 

[jmh600cbr]

Smart enough for that plot. Too dumb to know about activation lock?

 

[michaelsviews]

And not one person attempted to stop them? What the hell is this world coming too? Amazing, even though the devices are worthless too them after leaving the store.

 

[69Mustang]

Those phones are probably headed overseas to be "repurposed". Apple deactivating, blocking, or tracking them means nothing to the thieves. Worst case they will offload them on some unsuspecting dupe on ebay or craigslist.

 

[Avieshek]

For those that are saying Apple will render them useless. They haven't bought it anyways, how's their loss? But surely, rendering them useless through software won't make them refund an amount like $13,000s

 

[8692574]

For those that are saying Apple will render them useless. They haven't bought it anyways, how's their loss? But surely, rendering them useless through software won't make them refund an amount like $13,000s

And they can still sell spare parts....

Screens alone are a great deal.. i mean suppose a 80 bucks a dispplay it is 1520 $ for that part only...

 

[ftaok]

I wonder if this particular store has security guards. The big one in Delaware (Christiana Mall) has Delaware State Troopers guarding the place. You don't want to mess with those guys.

Anecdote - I remember one Holiday season where I noticed that the Apple Store had two huge DE State Troopers guarding the place (guns and everything). The jewelry store directly across from the Apple Store had a single guard (looked like a skinny high school student) with a can of pepper spray. I thought that was kinda funny.

 

[yanksfan114]

For those that are saying Apple will render them useless. They haven't bought it anyways, how's their loss? But surely, rendering them useless through software won't make them refund an amount like $13,000s

They committed a crime for useless paperweights. Whether they can flip them to unknowing customers though is another story.

 

[reallynotnick]

They'll get away with it, because they'll sell them on craiglist as NIB, the buyers are the ones that lose out

How? They need to have boxes and all the **** to go with them. These are display models not sealed boxes behind a counter.

 

[8692574]

They committed a crime for useless paperweights. Whether they can flip them to unknowing customers though is another story.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...are+part.TRS0&_nkw=iphone+spare+part&_sacat=0

You can make lots of money disassembling and reselling parts... might not get to 13K but still... far from paperweights.

 

[daemondust]

For those that are saying Apple will render them useless. They haven't bought it anyways, how's their loss? But surely, rendering them useless through software won't make them refund an amount like $13,000s

Manufacturing costs for an iPhone 7 are estimated to be around $220. Apple are out more like $4000 than $13000.

 

[ftaok]

For those that are saying Apple will render them useless. They haven't bought it anyways, how's their loss? But surely, rendering them useless through software won't make them refund an amount like $13,000s

I guess the point is that they are risking a great deal while the return is relatively small. $13,000 puts the crime at a felony level, for sure. That's a lot to risk when they surely can't get $13,000 for 19 disabled iPhones.

There's gotta be better ways to steal money. If these kids were smarter, they'd be hackers and make some real money.

 

[69Mustang]

And not one person attempted to stop them? What the hell is this world coming too? Amazing, even though the devices are worthless too them after leaving the store.

Why would someone try to stop them? You don't risk yourself and other people to save some phones that don't belong to you. Heck, retail employees are typically told to not stop things like this to avoid possible injury. It's a gadget. There are more of them. Not worth someone getting hurt over.
[doublepost=1477052866][/doublepost]

If these kids were smarter...

There's your answer right there.

 

[yg17]

And then Apple deactivated them remotely thus leaving the thieves with a handful of paper weights.

The thieves didn't buy these iPhones to use. They bought them to sell. Someone else is going to be stuck with a paperweight, after paying for it.

 

[maflynn]

How? They need to have boxes and all the **** to go with them. These are display models not sealed boxes behind a counter.

Oops, you're right, I typed faster then my brain

 

[chr1s60]

The Apple Watch bands were too close to the register so they went for the iPhones.

 

[vikingjunior]

And not one person attempted to stop them? What the hell is this world coming too? Amazing, even though the devices are worthless too them after leaving the store.

Many employees have been fired for trying to stop thieves. Observe and report is the name of the game. It's Law Enforcement job to apprehend suspects, that's the world we live in.