Bluewater Apple Store in the UK
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In this week's Apple crime roundup, the man who burned house over an iPhone miscommunication ends up in jail, iPhone scammers are arrested, and a man tracks down his stolen AirPods Pro in Iraq.
A video of a thief ransacking a Bay Area Apple Store in January went so viral that crime reporting app Citizen used the video in its social media ads.
Two men accused of the thefts were scheduled to appear in court on May 20, SFGate.com reports.
Bail remains at $100,000 for each of the two defendants in the case, which was set back in February, according to Alameda County criminal records. The two men are due back in court on June 27 for a preliminary hearing.
Both men are charged with second-degree aggravated burglary, grand theft, organized retail theft by conspiracy and receiving stolen property. !!! -home-over-find-my-iphone-misunderstanding-“>Teen pleads guilty to setting house on fire over Find My iPhone misunderstanding
20-year-old Denver man pleads guilty to second charge of moderate murder in a 2020 incident in which five people died in a house fire
None of the home's residents were involved in the theft of the iPhone. According to WKCR, the then 16-year-old set the family's home on fire due to a misunderstanding over a stolen iPhone. He followed a Find My iPhone signal to the neighborhood of the home, planning the arson with two friends who had previously pleaded guilty.
Ironically, police used cell phone location data to identify the suspects
Two arrested for A string of Apple Watch thefts across multiple states
Pennsylvania State Police have arrested two California men who they say stole more than 30 Apple Watches across multiple states.
Police say two men were arrested at a Target store where they were “attempting to trade real Apple watches for counterfeit ones,” according to The Delaware County Times. Police believe the two men committed fraud in nine states.
Items were seized from stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.
A UK Apple store thief who pushed an employee received 19 months
A man who robbed an Apple Store in Bluewater, UK, and knocked down an employee in November, was sentenced to a year and seven months imprisonment.
According to News Shopper, the 24-year-old man “pushed the employee to the floor” before stealing the iPhone. The man, who was arrested a few days after the theft, was on probation for a similar crime.
Iphone scammers accused in Wyoming
Two New York men have been arrested in what authorities say is a scam in which they steal identities from people in Wyoming and Montana, buy iPhones and open Verizon accounts in the victims' names.
According to the Cowboy State Daily, authorities say one of the men arrested was the lead scam artist and the other was the hit-and-run driver.
The scheme came to a head in April when a police officer confronted the suspect, leading to a car chase. The suspect dropped the phone while leaving the parking lot, and a Verizon store employee “used the dropped phone's Siri feature to call the store,” making it clear that the phone account belonged to one of the theft victims.
A man tracks stolen AirPods Pro to Iraq
User X named Billy Jansen was tracking a pair of stolen AirPods Pro and in early May noticed that they had reached an unexpected location: Najaf, Iraq:
My stolen @apple AirPods have already reached Iraq pic.twitter.com/CzIOWaR0Ha
— Billy Jansen (@HellbenderSTL) May 8, 2024
Jansen later wrote that “the number of people from Iraq who have reached out to us and offered to buy new ones or track them down” is unreal. It’s not necessary, obviously, but people are so kind.”
Several iPhone and iPad thefts by 'porch pirates' reported in Florida
Police are investigating multiple thefts of boxes of Apple products by 'porch pirates' in Port St. Lucie , Florida.
According to WQCS, at least five thefts of packages from iPhones or iPads were reported between late April and early May.
Police provided tips to residents, including delivering packages to workplaces, post offices and FedEx locations or requiring a signature upon delivery.
AT&T Store Employee Charged with Fraud AirPods
An Indiana man who worked at an AT&T Store was arrested for his alleged involvement in an AirPods scam.
According to the NWI Times, the man spent more than a month “creating fictitious transactions” in which he credited fake refunds to gift cards or his personal cards. This act was caught on video surveillance. He faces one count of larceny/theft.
Man caught trying to use stolen card to buy iPhone
A man in New Jersey was arrested after trying to use a stolen credit card at Walmart to buy an iPhone.
According to Hudson County View, the man was caught after the card got stuck in a credit card reader and he started tampering with the device. The man then falsely identified himself to police, who discovered he was wanted for another crime in his home state of Pennsylvania.
The man was charged with fraudulent use of a credit card, theft of a credit card, hindering apprehension by providing false information to police and fugitive from justice.
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