Apple Store: 4 not very smart teenagers steal an unusable iPhone for 18,000 euros

The Apple Store in Santa Rosa Plaza in California has been the target of amateur thieves in the middle of the day. Four teenagers stole several Apple devices, and the damage amounted to 18,000 euros.

On Wednesday evening, Santa Rosa Police announced they were investigating a new armed robbery in broad daylight that targeted Apple Store in Santa Rosa Plaza, California, one hour from San Francisco. The amateur thieves would be a group of 4 teenagers aged 14 to 18, and they would have stolen Apple devices worth nearly 18,000 euros. This is not the biggest theft in an Apple Store, since we had already seen another theft of $ 27,000 in 2018.

The young people entered the Apple Store and grabbed the merchandise before fleeing into what authorities called a ” cheeky burglary in broad daylight “. The theft was recorded by CCTV footage, in which the group can be seen stealing phones from a table near the store entrance. According to witnesses on the spot, around 30 customers and at least 10 or 15 employees were in the store during the theft, but luckily none of them were hurt.

To read also – Amazon: 5 employees stole an iPhone for € 500,000 by exchanging boxes

Robbing an Apple Store is no use

Thefts committed in Apple Stores are quite rare, sincethey are simply useless for thieves. However, it appears that individuals are still unaware that the products on the tables in Apple stores do not use the same software version than conventional devices.

Indeed, the iPhones displayed in Apple Stores are linked to the Wi-Fi networks of Apple stores and designed to be immediately locked as soon as they leave the store, which makes them totally unusable for anyone who decides to take one and go with it.. IPhones in Apple Store Inventory Are Also Locked until they are actually sold to customers.

The four thieves are therefore now found with Apple products that they cannot use or resell. In addition, the criminals, who were all dressed in black or gray sweatshirts and jeans, are now actively sought by the police. They should quickly be caught by the authorities, since stolen iPhones can also become cookies. Indeed, smartphones are tracked and their geolocation is communicated to the police.

Source: Santa Rosa Police Department