Apple-related crime has featured in a series of incidents across the United States, India and elsewhere, ranging from co-ordinated iPhone theft rings to the recovery of a stolen food trailer using an AirTag.
Apple Store and retail thefts lead to arrests
Two men from Queens have been charged with stealing more than £6,700 worth of items from two shopping centres in northern New Jersey. The haul included ten accessory items taken from the Apple Store at Garden State Plaza in Paramus. Authorities say the pair also stole around £2,600 worth of goods from an ALO Yoga store at the American Dream Mall before being spotted at Garden State Plaza, where they moved through the accessory aisle at the Apple Store.
Police later recovered ten accessory items from the Apple Store in their car, valued at roughly £685. The men were charged with shoplifting, retail theft and receiving stolen property.
In Western Pennsylvania, police are seeking suspects accused of stealing more than £10,400 worth of Apple products from a Costco. Investigators believe two individuals used fake identification to obtain Costco cards, then used stolen credit cards in the store to acquire the products.
iPhone theft rings and the first iPhone 18 Pro cases
A Miami Beach taxi driver was arrested at the end of September, charged with taking part in a scheme to steal iPhones from intoxicated people leaving area nightclubs. Police said the man belonged to a ring that would target drunk victims and use biometrics and the victims’ faces to unlock iPhones, before carrying out fraudulent transactions and purchases. The 48-year-old faces eight charges, including kidnapping, an organised scheme to defraud, offences against computer users, unlawful use of a communications device and strong-arm robbery conspiracy.
One of the first prominent iPhone 18 Pro thefts has taken place in Asia. A woman named Shubhi Bhandari in Greater Noida, India, was travelling on an e-rickshaw and took out her iPhone to pay for the ride. Two men in helmets approached on a motorcycle, and after one asked whether she was holding the new iPhone, the other grabbed it and sped away. Police recovered the phone a few days later.
Earlier reports noted £2.9 million in iPhone 18 Pro purchase fraud in Hong Kong, underlining the demand for the latest devices among organised criminals.
In Virginia, a man who owns a food trailer had it stolen but was able to recover it thanks to an AirTag attached to the vehicle, enabling its location to be traced.
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Image: appleinsider.com
