APPLE
PICKING
former Apple chief executive Steve
Jobs called the teen’s father to offer his condolences.
On its website, Apple directs
victims to report thefts to police and use the company’s “Find
My iPhone” feature, which helps
them locate a phone on a map,
display a message on its screen,
remotely set a passcode lock
and delete data from the device.
Police have used the feature to
catch several iPhone thieves.
In recent months, the company
has also helped a team of New
York police officers locate stolen
iPhones and iPads by tracking the
devices’ locations using their serial numbers. While about threefourths of Apple devices stolen in
New York City have been found
within city limits, some have
turned up as far away as the Dominican Republic, according to
Browne, the police spokesman.
But some industry experts say
Apple could do more to make stolen iPhones harder to resell.
For example, they say the company’s warranty policy links customer service plans to devices, not
their owners. If a stolen iPhone
is under warranty, a thief can replace the device at an Apple store
with a new iPhone that has not
HUFFINGTON
03.24.13
been reported stolen and avoid
detection. Thieves in Britain have
exploited this policy by placing
stolen iPhones in the microwave
to render them inoperable and
prove to Apple employees they
should be replaced, Wraith said.
Stolen smartphones are still
valuable — even when wireless
companies block them from their
networks — because they’re
more than just phones: They’re
mobile computers. A blacklisted
smartphone can still connect
to Wi-Fi hotspots to download
games and music, browse the
Web, make Skype calls and send
text messages using WhatsApp,
a popular Internet-based texting
application. Stolen phones can
also hold sensitive personal data
such as social security and credit
card numbers, a veritable treasure trove for criminals intent
on identity theft.
Apple could limit many of
those features — and make its
products less valuable to thieves
— by preventing stolen iPhones
from updating software or accessing its App store or iTunes store,
according David Rogers, who
teaches mobile security at Oxford
University. “Everybody knows the
iPhone is the hot product to be
stolen,” Rogers said. “Why would
Apple want consumers to be a
moving target for theft?”