Apple: two scammers get 13 years in prison for stealing 1.4 million euros with gift cards

In the United States, two scammers have developed a particularly effective scheme to buy Apple products for free. One of them walked into a store, stole a device dedicated to employees and collected all the gift cards available. His accomplice then went to the point of sale in turn to “buy” the devices. They have thus accumulated no less than 1.4 million euros of goods.

If all the tricks are not as effective as each other to steal Apple, some of them can however prove to be particularly fruitful. One of them is to manage to grab apple brand products for free before reselling them at exorbitant prices on the market. The schemes are diverse and varied but all have one thing in common: they have brought in millions to their creators. Today’s story is no exception.

To work, the scheme requires two scammers. The first goes to an Apple store and, as soon as the opportunity arises, steals a device called Isaac. The latter is used by store employees to directly access inventory and directly sell products remotely. Once in his hands, the thief then exits the store and, while still connected to the WiFi network, uses the employee’s credentials to access several thousand dollars in gift cards.

13 years in prison for stealing 1.4 million euros from Apple

These gift cards are then sent to the scammer’s Cards app, which then generates a QR code. This is where his accomplice comes in. Armed with the QR code, he in turn goes to the store to casually buy Apple products using the gift cards collected. A relatively simple process, which they were able to repeat in multiple outlets across the United States.

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In total, the two thieves were able to get their hands on around 1.4 million euros worth of goods in just two years. In 2017, one of the accomplices is finally caught in the act with an Isaac device. Arrested by the FBI, they have just been sentenced to 13 years in prison and a fine of 1.16 million euros in damages.