CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
APPLE
PICKING
in particular — tend to be abundant in the United States, but in
limited supply in foreign markets,
reinforcing their cachet there.
“There’s tremendous demand,”
said Israel Ganot, president of Gazelle, an electronics recycler, adding that his company checks stolen
phone databases before shipping
recycled phones overseas. “People
will pay almost anything.”
PRESSURE ON APPLE
Apple products are not the only
brand at the center of soaring
rates of gadget-related crime, but
iPhones — and increasingly iPads
HUFFINGTON
03.24.13
— appear to be in highest demand,
according to police. Two years ago,
a thief who robbed Columbia University students in New York City
demanded their iPhones. When
the students handed over BlackBerry smartphones instead, the
mugger didn’t want them and gave
them back, according to DNAinfo,
a local news site.
The iPhone is just the latest Apple product to be targeted for theft.
In 2005, New York police warned
commuters about an increase in
iPod thefts on city subways. That
year, two teenagers were charged
with stabbing 15-year-old Christopher Rose to death in Brooklyn
during a fight over an iPod. After
Rose’s slaying made headlines,
About 40
percent of
thefts in major
U.S. cities
now involve
cell phones.
Apple’s
iPhone is
the most
popular target.