iPhone thieves can get up to $800 more if they snatch unlocked devices
Source: 9to5Mac
There’s been an epidemic in the past few years of iPhone thieves using scooters and electric bikes to snatch devices from the hands of their owners while they’re walking down the street.
The reason this is the method of choice for thieves is because it enables them to grab an unlocked iPhone, which can be worth $800 more to them than a locked one…
Industrial‑scale phone snatching
A report last year said that the use of stolen scooters and e‑bikes to snatch phones on the streets had reached an “industrial scale.” A Met Police crackdown in London saw 230 people arrested and more than a thousand phones recovered in the space of just one week.
Part of the problem was that safety concerns had initially led police to discontinue pursuits when the risks to the thieves were considered too high. In the UK, a decision was taken to reverse this position and to allow officers to use “tactical contact” to knock thieves off their bikes.
Unlocked iPhones worth up to $800 more
A Wired report says that unlocked phones attract a substantial premium because they facilitate access to data and financial accounts. Although banking and other financial apps should require Face ID or a passcode to access, phishing attempts can be made in order to obtain logins.
“Phone thieves don’t just want the handset—they want access to bank accounts and personal information,” says Will Lyne, head of economic and cybercrime at London’s Metropolitan Police. Lyne highlights one case of four men who had been caught handling more than 5,000 stolen phones and spending money from financial accounts on the devices.
Dan Guido, CEO and co‑founder of security firm Trail of Bits and a strategic adviser to mobile security firm iVerify, says a stolen phone may only be worth $50–$200 when it is locked. “But if you unlock it, it’s worth $500, or it’s worth $1,000.”
One law‑enforcement professional had their iPhone stolen and received a phishing message that mimicked the Apple Find My page and asked for the phone’s passcode. When someone falls for this, it allows the buyer of a stolen iPhone to remove Activation Lock and sell it as a working device.
The illegal trade is assisted by sophisticated phishing software sold on a pay‑per‑use model. Phishing kits referred to as “Find My iPhone Off” can be used to access accounts, and scripts and AI‑voice calling software run the phishing operations.
A video obtained by researchers shows software called iRealm generating phishing links and pages that mimic Apple services. Other posts linked to iRealm mention features such as “Find My iPhone nullified,” advertise “scripts” that mention Apple Pay, and claim the software can provide a “seamless experience” for “accessing and unlocking Apple devices.” Many of these services are offered through Telegram channels; after the company was contacted, it removed half a dozen groups advertising these services.