$370,000 Worth of iPhone Xs Stolen From UPS Truck in San Francisco

[Max_Settings]

A group of men have stolen $370,000 of iPhone Xs out of the back of the UPS truck that was delivering them to the Apple store for today's release. The thieves waited until the truck first stopped at a Macy's then struck. 

 

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Three "husky" men wearing hoodies broke into a UPS truck parked outside an Apple Store in San Francisco and stole over 300 iPhone X devices, with a total value of about $370,000, according to local news reports. The incident occurred between 11:15am and 11:30am PT Wednesday morning. The driver of the UPS truck had locked the vehicle after parking outside the Stonestown Galleria mall, and went to a nearby Macy's to make another delivery. During that time the thieves, who have not been caught, managed to break in and take off in a white Dodge van with all 313 of the $999+ devices.

(Source: https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/3/16601970/iphone-x-devices-stolen-apple-store-san-francisco )

[79wjd]

Good news, my iPhone wasn't on the truck.

[AlexGoesHigh]

 

[ProjectBox153]

Hmm, are people really that hyped? That they'd go and steal these things?

[Sam.]

That's the issue with overpriced products. I think that's brilliant though.

[Misanthrope]

It sounds like a lot but then I remember you can probably fit them inside a big box.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, Misanthrope said:

It sounds like a lot but then I remember you can probably fit them inside a big box.

Well considering they are $1000-$1150 a piece that's a few hundred phones.

[Guest]

Well this was a stupid target to steal, considering it should be possible to block or track them provided they know the IMEIs of the stolen batch.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, tjcater said:

Well this was a stupid target to steal, considering it should be possible to block or track them provided they know the IMEIs of the stolen batch.

Yep that's what Apple is doing, all the stolen ones are now tagged so anyone who uses one is going to get busted.

[Sauron]

1 minute ago, Jamiec1130 said:

Hmm, are people really that hyped? That they'd go and steal these things?

I think thieves will gladly go and steal anything that has a weight to price ratio in the same order of magnitute as gold. These things are extremely expensive and easy to carry, they are the perfect target for a robbery. It's not about hype.

1 minute ago, Misanthrope said:

It sounds like a lot but then I remember you can probably fit them inside a big box.

313 iphones are roughly 53Kg, so two people could easily carry them while running.

 

5 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

Interesting.

More importantly, what are husky men?

In my head I'm thinking freakish human dog hybrids

[Sam.]

Wait. Wouldn't Apple know which ones had been stolen via serial codes and just deactivate the devices? Just thinking... 

[Max_Settings]

Just now, Sam. said:

Wait. Wouldn't Apple know which ones had been stolen via serial codes and just deactivate the devices? Just thinking... 

Yes that's what they are doing.

[Sauron]

2 minutes ago, tjcater said:

Well this was a stupid target to steal, considering it should be possible to block or track them provided they know the IMEIs of the stolen batch.

 

1 minute ago, Max_Settings said:

Yep that's what Apple is doing, all the stolen ones are now tagged so anyone who uses one is going to get busted.

Doesn't matter once they sold them. The buyer doesn't know they are stolen.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Sauron said:

 

Doesn't matter once they sold them. The buyer doesn't know they are stolen.

It might not directly show who sold them, but with an investigation I'm sure it would be easier to track down the thiefs than say stealing non-electronics. Not sure how Apple would handle the devices that were sold (Not clear on this part of law).

[RileyTheFox]

2 minutes ago, Sauron said:

 

Doesn't matter once they sold them. The buyer doesn't know they are stolen.

How on earth are these thieves going to sell them though? It would look highly suspicious if a sudden bunch of brand new iPhone X’s appeared on eBay after the launch. 

 

I doubt they would use eBay, most likely some deep web black market. But still, easily caught if you ask me.

[atrash]

2 minutes ago, Sauron said:

 

Doesn't matter once they sold them. The buyer doesn't know they are stolen.

i think the onus should be on the buyer to purchase their phones from a legitimate seller. they should know the risk of buying one at a much cheaper price (doubtfully) could bite their arse. Don't get too greedy

[Misanthrope]

9 minutes ago, Sam. said:

Wait. Wouldn't Apple know which ones had been stolen via serial codes and just deactivate the devices? Just thinking... 

Yes but even that's not beyond their control: There's a famous contact center here with a location here in my city called Teleperformance. They had a contact line for AT&T for like over 20 years and a few years ago they finally cancelled their long standing contract when they found out some of the Supervisors from the center were actually unlocking stolen iphones to be later sold abroad.

 

So there's always a way to break through even the most dedicated security systems.

 

http://www.nearshoreamericas.com/att-agrees-pay-25-million-customer-data-breach-call-centers/

[Sam.]

3 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

Yes but even that's not beyond their control: There's a famous contact center here with a location here in my city called Teleperformance. They had a contact line for AT&T for like over 20 years and a few years ago they finally cancelled their long standing contract when they found out some of the Supervisors from the center were actually unlocking stolen iphones to be later sold abroad.

 

So there's always a way to break through even the most dedicated security systems.

 

http://www.nearshoreamericas.com/att-agrees-pay-25-million-customer-data-breach-call-centers/

Ok. I didn't know that happened sorry.

[79wjd]

18 minutes ago, Sam. said:

That's the issue with overpriced products. I think that's brilliant though.

Ahhh, I forgot, only overpriced products get stolen. I guess only overpriced products that were acquired for $0 can be sold for a profit.

6 minutes ago, EvilCat70 said:

How on earth are these thieves going to sell them though? It would look highly suspicious if a sudden bunch of brand new iPhone X’s appeared on eBay after the launch. 

 

I doubt they would use eBay, most likely some deep web black market. But still, easily caught if you ask me.

Craigslist for cash. 

[Max_Settings]

17 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

Interesting.

More importantly, what are husky men?

In my head I'm thinking freakish human dog hybrids

You've never heard the term husky? It's like not fat, but not exactly thin either.

[linustouchtips]

it was like a perfectly planned heist except they stole tracking devices smh

[Sauron]

3 minutes ago, tjcater said:

It might not directly show who sold them, but with an investigation I'm sure it would be easier to track down the thiefs than say stealing non-electronics. Not sure how Apple would handle the devices that were sold (Not clear on this part of law).

Oh, they'll brick them and blame the customer for buying stolen goods. 99% guaranteed. Tracking this sort of thing to the thieves is very hard if they're smart unfortunately.

4 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

looks like there's going to be tons of iCloud-locked iPhones X on ebay soon ._.

And the worst part is that you can't distinguish between those and the scalpers selling legal phones at jacked up prices.

5 minutes ago, EvilCat70 said:

How on earth are these thieves going to sell them though? It would look highly suspicious if a sudden bunch of brand new iPhone X’s appeared on eBay after the launch. 

 

I doubt they would use eBay, most likely some deep web black market. But still, easily caught if you ask me.

It wouldn't look suspicious at all, it's already happening. Some people just buy dozens of them to profit off of the scarcety and hype behind them. It's a scumbag thing to do but it's not illegal, and if the thieves are smart they'll use separate accounts selling a handful at a time.

6 minutes ago, atrash said:

i think the onus should be on the buyer to purchase their phones from a legitimate seller. they should know the risk of buying one at a much cheaper price (doubtfully) could bite their arse. Don't get too greedy

The supply problems create a situation where some people simply won't be able to get them in any other way. And it's likely they'll keep the prices the same as retail or higher, knowing some people are willing to pay.

 

[emosun]

that's funny as hell.

I honestly don't feel sorry at all , don't have 370,000$ worth of merch behind a 37$ grumman olson lock 

[System Error Message]

those poor customers who get sold stolen stuff, they're gonna feel the heat from apple later. Rather apple can just give them a phone in exchange for information on how they obtained it and all the details pertaining to it rather than blaming them.

 

its not like the iphone actually costs $1k, its only the street price that makes it look big. Apple could easily afford to sell it at half price, so the loss to apple is actually minimal.

 

insurance will cover the losses from this.

[79wjd]

12 minutes ago, System Error Message said:

those poor customers who get sold stolen stuff, they're gonna feel the heat from apple later. Rather apple can just give them a phone in exchange for information on how they obtained it and all the details pertaining to it rather than blaming them.

 

its not like the iphone actually costs $1k, its only the street price that makes it look big. Apple could easily afford to sell it at half price, so the loss to apple is actually minimal.

 

insurance will cover the losses from this.

Insurance will cover these phones, so that's not a big deal (to Apple), however they should NOT give anyone who bought a stolen phone a free one, nor should they give them a discount. It's not Apple's fault that you chose to buy stolen goods from someone sketchy. If you bought it with a credit card/paypal/etc... then you will get refunded yourself. The only people who will get screwed are those who paid with cash/gift cards and didn't do their due diligence first -- you shouldn't be buying an iPhone (or any product for that matter) with cash/anything non-refundable from someone unless they can also provide proof of purchase. 

 

Personal. Responsibility.