The Cincinnati Kid Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 My girlfriend had her iPhone stolen right out of her purse tonight. Its a longer story than that, but I'll spare you all the details. Is there any chance she'll ever see it again? Is there any way that if it gets taken to a Verizon or Apple store that they would see the serial number or something? She had the service deactivated right away, so basically its just a piece of plastic, metal and computer chips because she keeps it with a password. Thanks.
NoSaint Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Password does little. It's easily hacked. Without a police report apple will do nothing, even if reported stolen to them. It won't flag in their system sans police intervention last I knew (probably about a year old on that data). Even then, I gather it's spotty. Your best hope is it was a dumb amateur - if it's someone that does this regular or sells to a guy that does - your sol. Maybe watch craigslist for a few days though.
Just Jack Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Did you try find my iPhone to wipe it? You could also make it annoying for the person that has it by using the play sound feature in the middle of the night. http://www.apple.com/iphone/built-in-apps/find-my-iphone.html
The Cincinnati Kid Posted February 23, 2012 Author Posted February 23, 2012 She did immediately file a police report. I think she is unaware of the "wipe" and I don't have a way of getting in touch with her at the moment. She is going into Verizon tomorrow, so maybe they'll suggest that... I am just hopeful, but I know its a long shot... Thanks for any info anyone has. We/I appreciate it.
KD in CA Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Did you try find my iPhone to wipe it? Also, if you have multiple Apple products registered on the Find my Iphone app, you can see the phone's location right on your other device (unless the theft can get in and disable it).
stevestojan Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Its better that its Verizon. If it was at&t they could just switch the sim. With vzw, check that you have insurance (you likely do) and then file a police report (insurance on stolen only works with a PR. With Verizon, the ESN on that phone will be killed once you report it to VZW and unless they are SUPER tech savvy, they will not be able to ever use it without a clean ESN.
Captain Hindsight Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 with the iShiv There is an app for that
NoSaint Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Yo man shiv this mofo He's gotta get the phone back to use that app Seriously though- what's the long version of the story? Is it interesting? I don't want to be spared the details, as that normally means something embarrassing happened!
erynthered Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 He's gotta get the phone back to use that app Seriously though- what's the long version of the story? Is it interesting? I don't want to be spared the details, as that normally means something embarrassing happened! I heard a former NFL player from the 60's took it because he needed the cash cause the NFLPA wasnt paying him enough in retirement.
PTS Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 (edited) Happened to my sister with her iPad a few months back. I'm afraid it's probably too late to do anything now. The only chance she had was using Find My iPhone as soon as she realized it was stolen. Even then, the seasoned criminal knows to turn it off right away. Occasionally the dumb thief will leave it on and you can lead the police right to his location. http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/new-york-cop-arrests-robber-using-find-my-iphone-28-01-2012/ http://9to5mac.com/2011/11/22/find-my-iphone-helps-police-arrest-an-armed-robbery-suspect/ Edited February 23, 2012 by PTS
The Cincinnati Kid Posted February 23, 2012 Author Posted February 23, 2012 The long version is that she went to her gym for a quick treadmill session and left her purse and coat in an unlocked locker thinking that 20 minutes wouldn't hurt anything. Her credit cards, iphone and a $100 gift card to a really nice spa that I had given her were stolen. Live and learn, I guess... She called the police and filed a report immediately, and another girl had a north face jacket stolen during the same time frame. My girlfriend had turned the phone off herself prior to it being stolen. She is pretty busted up about it because it's absolutely her own fault. (I tried to not say that when I was consoling her last night...)
MarkyMannn Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 The long version is that she went to her gym for a quick treadmill session and left her purse and coat in an unlocked locker thinking that 20 minutes wouldn't hurt anything. Her credit cards, iphone and a $100 gift card to a really nice spa that I had given her were stolen. My son a few years back did the same thing. Went to the gym and left everything in the open. Lost it all......................although he didn't have a purse
KD in CA Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 The long version is that she went to her gym for a quick treadmill session and left her purse and coat in an unlocked locker thinking that 20 minutes wouldn't hurt anything. Her credit cards, iphone and a $100 gift card to a really nice spa that I had given her were stolen. Live and learn, I guess... She called the police and filed a report immediately, and another girl had a north face jacket stolen during the same time frame. My girlfriend had turned the phone off herself prior to it being stolen. She is pretty busted up about it because it's absolutely her own fault. (I tried to not say that when I was consoling her last night...) Spas generally keep track of who purchases gift cards so you might call them and see if they will cooperate in letting you know if someone tries to redeem the certificate. I had my iphone stolen from inside the "secured" NIC-U unit at the hospital last year after my girls were born. Nowhere is safe to leave your stuff unattended. Unless of course you're on the beach and you put it in your shoe.
Ramius Posted February 23, 2012 Posted February 23, 2012 Spas generally keep track of who purchases gift cards so you might call them and see if they will cooperate in letting you know if someone tries to redeem the certificate. I had my iphone stolen from inside the "secured" NIC-U unit at the hospital last year after my girls were born. Nowhere is safe to leave your stuff unattended. Unless of course you're on the beach and you put it in your shoe. Good point on the gift card. The spa i've purchased gift certificates from always gets my name as the purchaser, and asks me to give the name of who will be using it.
The Cincinnati Kid Posted February 23, 2012 Author Posted February 23, 2012 Thanks for the tip on the gift card. I just contacted the spa.
boyst Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 My son a few years back did the same thing. Went to the gym and left everything in the open. Lost it all......................although he didn't have a purse Reminds me of running track in college. We (the team) were walking back in to the locker room and actually passed the guy we were pretty sure. He looked nervous as hell. Track guys may not be thought of as big buff dudes but we are not slouches. Nonetheless, he got in to our stuff in our team locker room. He had to have been an employee of the campus or something because of the access. We only found out he stole cards etc that next morning after the credit card company called and asked about me spending $600 on liquor in one night at a liquor store (I was 19).
DrDawkinstein Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 This story popped up on Reddit earlier today. Guy has pics of the person who has the iPad, knows their exact location, and where they will be shopping, but the Police cant (read: wont) do anything about it.
boyst Posted February 24, 2012 Posted February 24, 2012 If you have any info you're better off using the interwebs. There are a few sites that would help if you presented yourself right.
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