The Apple Store in Glendale, Calif.
A man went to the Apple Store to pick up a new MacBook Pro that he had purchased, only to find that someone else had impersonated him and grabbed it. The same thing, it turned out, had happened to someone else at a nearby Apple Store.
The latest in an occasional AppleInsider, feature, looking at the world of Apple-related crime.
Two MacBooks stolen from two Apple Stores in Glendale
A customer who ordered a new MacBook and went to the Apple Store at Americana at Brand in Glendale, Calif., to pick it up was told that someone else had picked it up already, by impersonating the buyer.
According to CBS News Los Angeles, the same thing had happened to another customer the same week, who had also ordered a MacBook, from the other Apple Store in Glendale.
Glendale Police Department Sgt. Vahe Abramyan told the TV station “We do have several reports that have occurred that’s gone to our financial crimes unit for investigation.”
This indicates that the recent trend of criminals intercepting package deliveries from UPS drivers has begun to spread to retail stores.
Two Missouri cops indicted for stealing nude photos from womens’ phones
Two law enforcement officers in Missouri, one a former State Highway Patrol trooper and the other a police officer were separately indicted in late November for stealing nude images from womens’ cell phones while on duty.
According to CNN, the images were found on the iCloud account of Julian Alcala, the former Florissant police officer, and on both of their phones.
While the two cases are not connected, both officers allegedly took women’s phones during traffic stops and searched them for intimate photos.
Both men were charged with one count of destroying records in a federal investigation and multiple counts of deprivation of the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and both have pled not guilty. Both the officers and their former agencies have been sued by alleged victims as well.
Woman confronts homeless people who may have stolen her iPhone
In a video that went viral in late November, a woman in Portland confronted a group of homeless people who she suspected may have stolen her iPhone.
“If you stole it from rich scum, then by all means, keep it and sell it,” the woman is shown telling the people, in the video posted by journalist Kevin Dahlgren. “And I want to say if you guys come up with my iPhone I’m an honest person.”
I filmed a liberal activist trying to retrieve her iPhone back from the homeless that possibly stole it. She encouraged them to sell anything they steal from “rich scum” but that she’s “nice” and “honest” and needs it back. She told @tarafaul503 and I she won’t call the police pic.twitter.com/STzxXlyDNY
— Kevin Dahlgren (@kevinvdahlgren) November 22, 2024
Two arrested for trying to steal iPhone from UPS driver
According to Patch, one of the thieves told the driver that he was the intended recipient of the package, and “wanted to accept delivery of the phone in the street, not at the address.” When the driver declined, the man left in a white Jeep.
After police pulled the Jeep over, they brought the man and the driver of the car to police headquarters. The man who asked for the iPhone was charged with several crimes, including attempted theft, possession of a weapon (tactical knives) during the commission of a crime, and possession of a controlled dangerous substance (anabolic steroids).
The driver was charged with possession of a weapon (tactical knife) during the commission of a crime, and possession of a fraudulent driver’s license, and also issued multiple traffic summonses.
California “porch pirate” stole MacBook Pros twice
In Southern California, a man is suspected of two different thefts that involved waiting outside for a UPS truck to arrive and then taking the package with a MacBook Pro in it from the driver, by claiming he was the recipient.
According to ABC 7, one such theft took place in Irvine, and after the TV station reported on it, a viewer told the station that the same thing had happened to him, in Lawndale.
“We saw the video that happened in Irvine,” the second homeowner said. “Same guy.” He added that the thief had shown a fake ID, claiming to be the homeowner.
UPS driver accused of Apple Watch theft
Also in Los Angeles, there was another alleged crime involving a UPS delivery, but this time the accused thief was the driver.
In the video, the driver can be seen carrying the package toward the porch, removing the Apple Watch from its packaging, and then throwing the empty box in a neighbor’s trash can.
“The temporary seasonal hire has been terminated,” UPS told the TV station in a statement.
Car theft solved, thanks to AirPods
According to CBS News Minnesota, the thief broke into a house, punched the owner, grabbed the keys, and drove off.
After police chased the thief, he abandoned the car and tried to escape on foot, before officers grabbed him.
Person in Singapore threatens curse on person who stole his iPhone
As reported by The Sun, a flier was placed on a wall on an elevator, in which the person posting says that due to the theft of the “purple colour iPhone with a light pink phone case,” and asks that it be returned.
“Otherwise you will be cursed your whole life by the charm, I’ll destroy the charm curse after you return,” the note concluded.
