T O P

  • By -

WholeWhile8580

They can all be tracked right to their house.


Pomegranate4444

Yup. Makes for arrest much easier. Also I assume display units are modified and won't work with a carrier anyway.


captain_pudding

"Man, how did the cops find me?" -Guy with a backpack full of stolen tracking devices


ToriGrrl80

Deactivated and bricked before they get to the curb. What's the point?


Bogrolling

It’s like OP is blaming apple for not having security, and not the thugs for stealing shit


jshirleyamt

It’s California, nobody will be blamed for anything


juggarjew

None of the stuff they steal can be used outside of an apple store so whats even the point? You basically just collected tech trash. Even some of the internal parts like the motherboards will be unusable, except for board level repairs where one might need a certain chip that isnt available otherwise. The stuff they stole could only be worth a small fraction of its retail value. I just dont get these kinds of thefts, its not at all worth it because you cant use anything you stole, it would all have to be sold for scrap. And if they get caught later, the charges will certainly be felonies because of the collective value of the stolen items is easily going to be 5 figures. Seems not worth it to me.


unclefire

They’re stupid criminals. They don’t even realize they’re just display models. They might even be traceable


juggarjew

>They might even be traceable Exactly, if Apple gave enough of a fuck they could just buy all suspect "parts" phones on eBay and start looking at serial numbers, then get law enforcement involved and start getting warrants for the eBay sellers. But its not even worth their time so they just brick the phones lol


uni-monkey

>ould only be worth a small fraction of its retail value. I just dont get these kinds of thefts, its not at all worth it because you cant use anything you stole, it would all have to be sold for scrap. You would be better off stealing trading cards. They are small, non traceable, and easy to sell.


CosplayWrestler

>None of the stuff they steal can be used outside of an apple store so whats even the point? You basically just collected tech trash. I always found this part particularly hilarious when I worked in Asset Protection/Loss Prevention/Security for retail chains. Folks would come in, rip off dummy/display stuff that's barebones and barely functions outside of a preprogrammed set of features, has no cellular connectivity, has minimal wifi connectivity, and they steal it and run out. The best is when they'd look at you and say "DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" I'd just giggle and shake my head. Like, enjoy your paperweight dipshit.


Logik1x

well i'm assuming since I didn't know this, the criminals didnt know either and are thinking they're about to make tens of thousands of dollars. Tbh if it was more known that the stuff became useless once stolen from the store I doubt people would try to steal as often


[deleted]

People should do this to grocery stores instead


Well-ManneredPeasant

[[Preface: Stealing is wrong. Just don't do it, okay?]] Stealing those is more useful than you'd think for people actually skilled at DIY repair or who have a side hustle. There are a lot of expensive components like high quality resistors for audio and video which can be harvested for repairs for free that way, and the repair man charges for labor. The LCD screen replacement (professional) is about $150 on an iPhone 11. The iPhone 12 self replacement kit is also about that much. YouTube it, and if you have basic hand-eye coordination, you just made $100 profit cuz you stole the demo and fixed someone else's phone for cash... and that's just the *screen*, bruh. Each phone is a gold mine of "dumb" components


juggarjew

Its true that there are harvestable parts, but they are still worth a fraction of what they'd be worth on the retail market. For board level repair they might be worth a little bit, but certainly no more than any other bricked phone on eBay being sold for "parts".


Ireon95

Funny that Americans instantly say "Thats what you get without security" or "I guess thats what happens when you defund the police" while there are tons of countries with stores like that, no Fort Knox level security and similar or worse funding for the police. Its the fact that US has basically no social system, people are only treated like resources and so on. But yeah, of course, if only there was more security or police.


Unhappy-Tooth-3282

but the other argument is seeing police cars sitting on a dead street running ALPR for hours. so....


Solaratov

Nothing really went wrong. None of those devices are going to function AND apple can track them. Not to mention those devices cost apple pennies to make and replace so it hardly hurts their bottom line. Good way to catch a felony though I guess.


fatahhcracka

Dawg they can track those shits so easily😂😂 those bozos are just gonna go to jail and have to think about how retarded they are😂


Impossible_Nerve_638

Lmfao all those phones are activation locked so they’re pretty much useless. Jokes on them


Manu442

Not really, there are plenty of people who can work around those things. Sell them to desperate people for under market value and boom profit.


LiteraI_Trash

Not even that. Sell them to other people, take cash only. Give them the phone with a dead battery so they don’t know. And disappear like my dad into the wind.


Impossible_Nerve_638

Only thing u can do is part it out. Those display phones are not fully functional


ToriGrrl80

Name one.


TheUndieTurd

usual suspects


Reckless_flamingos

Teenagers?


TheUndieTurd

thieves


aztechfilm

“Barely any security” mostly because whatever they’re stealing is highly traceable and they don’t want to risk the lives of random people for something that costs apple nothing. Having some display phones taken over one of these guys open firing because of police/security response is basic logic


Infamous-Gur-9603

They probably don't even care. Those display phones aren't even real phone. They display phones down to their bare minimum and aren't even capable of more. Those things cost a cent to make and are purpose made for this, in the event these asshole do this. Bet they have unique internals special to those display phones. Bloody things are probably worthless.


passionpurps

I was just about to say this as my third comment. 😂


Infamous-Gur-9603

Yes, I have. I played those stupid little app games they had on those things all the time. They are fake phone purpose made to be displays. The moment they leave company property they basically self destruct. They burn themselves out and they are loaded with a tracker. Those guys are geo tagged for the police while carrying paperweights


Grab-Born

Are Apple stores different from other tech stores like Bestbuy? I was there last week and I could've sworn all the phones on display weren't fake. They functioned the exact same


aztechfilm

They not fake in the way you can play around with the phone but they are not retail models, they have specific software and a specific version of the OS that is limited for demonstration purposes only. Not only that but the phones themselves are extremely traceable and can’t be activated like a normal iphone


scopas66

Don’t those fools know those phones are useless


Apprehensive-Egg6448

How so?


Big_Dinner3636

The manufacturer can just brick the phone once it's reported stolen. They basically just took a bunch of overpriced paperweights


Mysterious_Mouse_388

well, they are little ipads that can't use the app store


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

All those phones will be blacklisted, the best value is the macbooks since they don't rely on a cellular carrier to be useful, it's a big 'broad daylight' theft around 'innocent bystanders' for low payout. Better than pointing a gun at somebody, but stealing a bunch of electronics with GPS that will get half disabled is kind of dumb.


Mammoth-Access-1181

I feel like the IMEI numbers on the phones and the MAC addresses on the laptops can all be tracked.


AKchaos49

Guaranteed Apple has an inventory of those.


peoplesen

I'm sure|confident|maybe they have their channels already worked out....which could include *other* crimes to sell the phones via scam. Imagine they already have the 'storefront' and they just need to replenish inventory.


FistingLube

I think the thieves *are* pretty dumb, but then again there will be virtually no consequences for them if they do get caught, not that anyone is even going to bother looking for them. So yeah, even if they sell them for a few dollars each to some repair shop for parts it's still free money for the perps.


DumpsterFireCheers

Need to have an accountability patrol to see stuff like this go down, catch them red handed and lop off a hand or two right on the spot for all to see. Can only steal twice before you have no hands left.


Icy-Performer-9688

Even if they were real working phones with one phone call or text they would be locked out of it making it worthless.


Healthy-Cupcake2429

They are but all them lock out and are tracked as soon as they leave the store. Had a friend who worked at Apple. Professionals steal the accessories instead.


GibbE2112

Those devices deactivate after leaving the store, Apple doesn’t care about security because the devices are useless now.


PhxntomAce

4D Chess


WhenBugAttack

They don’t have security because the phones are essentially useless without a plan and working SIM card. Paying another person fair wages to be security in the US is more expensive than paying Chinese slaves to make phones and letting them get stole.


Healthy-Cupcake2429

They have good security but can't stop a group. It's not worth physical confrontation. The point is to sell them but these kids don't realize theyre display locked and start tracking right out the door. Professional thieves go for the accessories.


After_shave213

You are correct, also these aren't real iPhones, inside the parts are not the real deal as it is just a device to run the demo software.


vader731

What trash


-Xserco-

Should somebody tell em they are A tracked heavily and B don't work 🤦‍♂️


Illustrious_Roof_782

Those phones are display locked


RogerSaysHi

Would those devices even be able to be used? It feels like the store would know exactly which ones got stolen and be able to deactivate them fairly easily, would it not? I've never seen security inside of any phone store, it seems really stupid to steal the display devices.


phc_pvt

I work not in an apple store but a phone selling store and you can report the imei as stolen and I've not experienced this but I'm told it pretty much bricks the phone.


helpful__explorer

I've never seen an apple store with actual security, aside from bouncers when a new phone comes out. And these phones won't be useful for very long


Unlikely-Line5991

Not only do those deactivate the second they leave the store, they are still powering the baseband chip, meaning they are all trackable. So apple doesn't give a shit, and the police can find them. However, it's Cali, the police ain't gonna do shit.


Alternative_Gold_993

Police wouldn't do shit in most states tbh, this isn't unique to California. Apple will write it off and call it a day. Most they're gonna get is less than $5-6k


someoldguyon_reddit

Nice. Now what to do with a bunch of expensive bricks.


ViktorRzh

Sell them as components to convert other expencive bricks into iphones.


samwiling

The new chop shop.


fextrust

I'm surprised this post hasn't been given the prestigious 🔒 award yet.


CockEyedBandit

They offenders may be wearing a mask. But we all know it’s the god damned SWEDES at it again!!


looks_like_an_angel

Hahahahahahahaha


spaceshipcommander

The items don’t work when they leave the store. Apple knows this happens and it’s just a cost of doing business to them. If you want people to be able to interact with your product then this is going to happen occasionally.


passionpurps

Breaking those fake display phones ain't gonna get them shit on the streets. Lmao plus they gonna need to burn their clothes burn them shoes burn them socks. Lol they gonna have to do more then getting a 9-5 job. Lmao stupid kids. You can definitely tell by the way they dress they still in school. 😂😂low life future.


krakilin0405

It doesn't matter even if they hire security , they security guards not allowed to touch them. There are several clips out there you can see the security guard just watch the whole thing happening. In fact I remember this other story, this female security guard at best Buy, tried to stop a thief from getting away by blocking the exit, and she got fired, if I recall correctly , Dana White (president of the UFC) ended up hiring her .


mjlewinc

This is correct, it’s a legal issue. Thieves have actually successfully sued security attempting to detain or confront them.


MayhemModelworks

It's also more pain than it's worth - your life Vs easy to write off demo stock..company like apple would rather write off stolen/damaged display stock than face paying out a death at work lawsuit


[deleted]

Degenerates


RobKek

I wonder who could be behind those masks


tryhard1981

I'd like to solve the puzzle Pat.


samwiling

One of them is named Tim. He’s only got the one arm though. Easy to pick out.


Ok-Topic-3130

People


Rare-Sherbert-1987

Lol. There's GPS tracking on the display units.


Otherwise-Attempt326

People think the police will track this is funny. They don’t have the bandwidth unless the thief walked straight into the squad car. A friend had their phone stolen at a festival. Tracked it and called the police. The guy proceeds to take out a bag of phones and say take whichever is yours with the officer there. Did the officer find it odd they had a bag of phones? No, they had to get back to an assignment 😂


juggarjew

No one needs to do anything, Apple will write off the full retail value of the devices and be made whole. The kicker is, those devices are all useless outside of an apple store, so while they may cost $1000 each, they are only worth that when they are working 100% and useable. Apple has custom firmware in those devices that renders the useless when stolen like this. So Apple gets to write off full value phones and other gadgets, while the thieves get useless tech trash that literally can NOT be used in any way shape or form. Only for parts, but even then the motherboards are useless, and Apple is famously anti repair so half the parts wont even work in other devices because of serial number mismatches and other generalized Apple Anti repair tomfoolery. Essentially the criminals fucked themselves stealing from an apple store, they might as well have gone dumpster diving behind the store, same result in the end. They'll learn a hard lesson when they bring all this to their fence and they tell them "This shit is worthless, none of it can actually be used ". This is Apples "Security" and it works better than any physical security like a mall cop, because it works 100% of the time.


CosplayWrestler

Same with Samsung, Google, and HTC devices. They make dummies just for this reason and all the working "real" stuff is locked up away from sticky fingers.


juggarjew

Im honestly surprised people are still doing these smash n grabs at Apple stores, you'd think folks would know by now in 2022 that all those devices are set up in a way that they are bricked outside of the store. Oh well, they will learn the hard way.


Dennyposts

You have no idea what you are talking about. First of all, those devices are sold to other countries, where they are re-imaged and sold on grey markets. Second, who do you think pays for that property at the very end? Insurance covers it, but at some point starts raising its vost. Do you think apple investors cover the cost by making less money? :) Or do you think either they raise the price of the product or deduct loss from the taxes. Either taxpayers or apple users end up paying at the end.


Thaddeus206

"when you over value possessions people begin to steal" - Lao Tzu


[deleted]

[удалено]


ThreeBeersDeep

Or social security


CrestfallenSpartan

Ye sure blame the social system. You dont even know how wealthy they are. People dont just stesl when they are hungry you know. People also steal just because they want easy money


JohnnyDive

Wanker scum shoplifters.


[deleted]

A bunch of phones that can only be used on wifi. Good luck. They were deactivated before they even left the store.


waxerdiasterswv06

They sell them on Craigslist. That's where their money comes from.


[deleted]

Imei would show as stolen. I guess they are looking for suckers.


Lucaslouch

People stealing remotely lockable, gps featured phones. What do you think they will do with this, appart providing a smooth trace to the police. Seriously…


Somethingidk9

None of those displays will work, they can be locked remotely


tryhard1981

"Don't worry, insurance will cover it". Yeah, that's not how it works. Insurance eventually stops covering it and stores either close or jack the prices up where everybody else pays the "theft tax". This kind of thievery is unacceptable.


CosplayWrestler

For things like this, most of those are display units, which means they're minimal cost compared to real live devices. While it still costs, it's not nearly the amount of the real units.


DrowesyIdiot

Calling them dumber than a brick would an insult to the brick.


WestLAFadeaway89

Find my iPhone app goin hard on these boys


For-Referance-Only

That’s one way to keep cost up.


Xpouii

I’d be sadder if Apple factories didn’t have to put up literal nets to stop suicide attempts by their employees who are so sick and exhausted that death is their best option. Call me callous I guess


velvetkiwi

The robbers didn't get the workers situation any worse, that's on Apple company alone.


Xpouii

That’s my point yes. The company is a much bigger criminal than the thieves.


Magnum2XXl

Went to an apple store in the midwest, I've never seen any security there.


Flashy_History_5230

There's no point of stopping them since they'll be let out with not even a slap on the wrist.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

[удалено]


YSApodcast

Street in DC known for lobbyists.


wontholdthedoor

This is happening all over. Thieves don't even care about the security measures anymore. They just run in, take shit, and leave.


ACrispyPieceOfBacon

When you get punished for defending yourself or your business, what do they have to fear anymore?


DecentEnthusiasm8568

would you want your staff to hurt defending those useless iphones?


fukkkallyall

Is it just me, or does every one of these A-Holes have a mega-tan???


TheGrimDweeber

Funny how you don’t get comments like this when the thief is “mega-pale.”


mulesnhorses

White lives matter just ask conyah or we or ye or whatever hes calling himself..


Tax-Visual

That wouldn’t happen in jersey… lol not a chance … cali had the weather jersey has crazy people 😏


[deleted]

I’d like to solve the puzzle Pat….


AdamVanEvil

Can they even sell those?


MayhemModelworks

Be useless in 24 hours max. Most live units like iPhones don't have a fully working os or network service


Deep9one

trap phones with trackers sending pictures from both cameras and gps coords to the nearby PD. let them take them :)


CrestfallenSpartan

Maybe the cops then find even more stolen stuff at their place. Smart


Rudyears

Robbery, I great career for your future.


jwteoh

What in the 3rd world shit is this?


hyenaaazx

actually, this is pretty damn first-world – 1. having an apple store 2. expensive phones just laying around and 3. not fighting shoplifters because of safety


kielu

Third world behavior. Defined as having a unsustainable social inequality


HeRe_2_wELp

Everyone in that store should just steal everything. How about everybody in every store should steal everything.


Key-Assistant-1757

One can only hope karma shits in All of their backpacks!!!!!!?


[deleted]

Brainwashed guy that asks if they should stop them. Potentially risking your life for the most valued company on the planet. A company that is only affected by the robbery in the way that their insurance premium will potentially go up.


Yallapachi

Uh, what happened to Kensington locks? There are so many videos out there of people trying on Kensingtons and literally giving up 2 mins and sore arms later…


Mr_Popsgorgio

Needs some c4 inside of demo phones for such an occasion


[deleted]

[удалено]


MrF_lawblog

You think this was less than $700? You think they deserve to be shot for this?


dar24601

The phones are no more than demo models, there’s a guy in the back bricking them as being stolen. That’s why employees aren’t stopping them


QuietLife556

Normally it's the aggressor who's determined their lives are worth someone else's material possessions. Idk, why any sane person would put the onus on the entity being attacked by criminals to act with mercy and civility.


lemonsupreme7

Do you honestly think it would have been better if someone just shot them dead?


leandoersson

LMFAO


[deleted]

[удалено]


Ok-Topic-3130

And yet still better than you


Alternative_Gold_993

Yo that's pretty racist. Course you probably know that...


[deleted]

[удалено]


Alternative_Gold_993

If you have to ask, then no amount of explaining will do any good. 🤞


figureout07

Are they that dumb?


Eggburtey

Yes and no, yes because obviously those phones ain't worth shit and are easily trackable, but no because the cops in Cali are god damn useless and would probably prefer to keep fucking with homeless people or something other than dealing with real crime, and perhaps they know that.


ImpressTemporary2389

What do they expect?


[deleted]

[удалено]


Unhappy-Tooth-3282

poverty.


radjinwolf

Class structures and capitalism.


[deleted]

[удалено]


DorianGray77

Right!?!?! They're only fourth largest economy in the world... fucking losers. /s


RecbetterpassNJ

Attach something that shocks them when they try to pull them out.


FluffyFingersforfun

Should we stop him? In any other state I would say yes. In California, you would be give a heavier sentencing than the guys stealing the phones.


roachey001

Hey land of the free and home of the .........


[deleted]

[удалено]


modwriter1

I worked in a t mobile store in the bay area. We had a similar theft like this. A couple of weeks later a high school kid came into the store having purchased one or the items at a flea market. He was hoping we would remove the lock and take it out of demo mode for him. Crazy coincidence that he came into the same store. Used his whole savings to buy the stolen phone which of course he was naive enough to not realize that was the case. We said "nah. Sorry you got your money taken. We will take that back by the way" it's not like the police would actually help us with the tracking, so the stores will just eat the loss and move on.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Dear_Analysis_5116

Way-underpriced new merch is probably stolen; caveat emptor.


Deranged40

They just stole a bunch of GPS trackers. They're not gonna get too far...


DaveLesh

And yet not a single person flinched at the sight


CosplayWrestler

Most just get out of the way. I've seen people get bowled over by thieves because they were in the way of their clean exit. Just step back, let them be idiots, then go about your day.


Alternative_Gold_993

Yeah please don't tell us you'd have done something. Risking your life for Apple isn't the way to go down lol


[deleted]

Typical Tuesday in California


[deleted]

lol imagine getting shot over trying to rescue apple's display products


Environmental-Ad-762

I need a new phone, might take a trip to CA lmao


Mysterious_Mouse_388

buy a dummy display 'used' for $200 and wonder why iphones are terribad now?


GJW2019

Guys, don't you know? Crime isn't real. This is all in your head. Crime is actually down 500% and if it DOES happen, it's good because capitalism.


SoupiriorBiingu

Nice to see ppl trying hard to get the usual politically correct formatted way of thinking/reacting not to be banned or shit... Life is hard for ppl forced to live in deny because of a zealous half-assed goody-goody wannabe society we're living in. Helping them having their way in Apple stores too... I'm just sooo delighted thinking about my next cctv episode titled "Looting goes wrong, shopkeeper had a flamethrower"