My iPhone Got Jacked At Gunpoint - Help!
Reader Dan says he was walking home last night and got robbed at gunpoint, losing his iPhone, which he only got five days ago, in the process. He asks, "Any tips from you or readers? Can it be tracked using the onboard gps? This STINKS!"
Sorry, Dan, that really sucks. Theoretically, it should be traceable by its signal. But checking the comments on a post about this issue on Chris Pirillo's blog, there's several people saying that AT&T was no help and wouldn't do a trace when they reported their phone stolen to the police. Here's one of the guys who was successful, though.
ConditionWon wrote:
I FOUND my phone because the thief registered it with ATT, so Apple help was able to confirm the phone #, and user who had taken my phone… I gave that info the the cops, and the guy was arrested! BTW… ATT was of NO help whatsoever, they wouldn't even confirm that the # my phone was registered under was their customer. Yay for Apple though!!!
What Happens when your iPhone gets Stolen [Chris Pirillo] (Photo: frankieleon)
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Comments:
Honestly, if you got robbed at gunpoint just call the iPhone a lost and keep it moving. Also, if you were able to track said individual, who has a gun, what would you do? Get shot at this time? I doubt the police will be willing to do a stake out with you over an iPhone. Just my thoughts though.
Involve the police as this was an theft at gunpoint, which is a felony. They'll do what they have to to get a possible violent felon off the street.
Gah this is why I HATE "After the jump" articles. Just another gimmick to get more ad views.
The minute Apple's contract with AT&T is up, I am out. ETF or no, they are shit for a company. This example of their appalling behavior, mixed with American Idol texts and more dropped calls than I have experienced ever and I am only in month one of my contract will have me running.
Add to this that you cannot buy insurance for your iphone and it makes me eager to see how their attitude will change once their breadwinner (iphone) isn't beholden only to them.
If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...
@bobbycreekwater: The police most definitely will investigate a gun crime. That is a major felony that includes substantial jail time. It's not the iPhone so much as the getting held up at gunpoint that will arouse the interest of the PD.
Consumerist is owned by Consumer Reports. They don't have to deal with advertising revenue anymore.
If Apple would release a self-destruct app, you wouldn't need AT&T or the cops...
ATT won't confirm anything because of potential liability. What if they gave the victim all the information they wanted, and then they proceeded to go and either hurt the thief or get themselves seriously hurt in the process? Immediately everyone turns to ATT, because they have deep pockets, and claims that the reason it happened was because ATT gave out the information, and they should have known this would occur. The proper procedure is to contact the police, give them all the information and let them handle it. I'll accept that the police aren't always motivated to do their jobs, but you can't blame ATT for not wanting to incur the wrath of thousands of personal injury lawyers. Occasionally you'll find a rep who will disregard the rules, and a really sly victim can skillfully socially engineer whatever information they want. However, most people are simply to illogical, emotional or just plain stupid to be out hunting down criminals who stole their stuff. Your $200 iPhone isn't worth getting yourself hurt or killed over. Hand the information over to the police and hound them constantly until they do their jobs.
To address the above comments, It was the police that contacted ATT to track the phone.
Of course I am not going to put myself in harm's way over a phone.
I called the police immediately, but even in my small town they were not very motivated. A fresh snow had even fallen, all they would have had to do was follow the footprints!
@ViperBorg - Facebook is the new AOL.: It was found that Apple does have the ability to kill apps (which they would NEVER do on a single phone basis). However, there is absolutely NO WAY for them to remotely wipe all data from your phone. Honestly, how would you feel if a company had the ability to remotely wipe every piece of data from your phone/computer?
@post_break: ATT won't do squat for you. ATT will bend over backward for a warrant from a police officer. File an armed robbery complaint with the police, and ask them to do it.
@Pylon83: Exactly. Especially since there was a firearm involved. If it was swiped from the locker room at the country club, I'd probably say go get'em.
With most phones you can turn off GPS features except for when calling 911. If the phone is off, locating it won't work. And then there's the issue of actually locating the phone, I'm not familiar with AT&T's set up, but it actually just might be as simple as them pushing a button and locate the phone - might be based off a SIM card or something which if the thief removed makes it impossible to track. They also might just not have the programs available to lower level help to just simply find a phone.
This is why i run Ihound on all of my devices..from my iphone to my flash drives. It works..
Get a handgun before Obama takes them away, get your conceal and carry license, you won't have this problem again.
@plyhard13: also, my mom had her iphone stolen just out of her purse while at a nail salon and the police still investigated it... I'm not saying they accomplished much, but they spent several hours with my mother and on the phone with AT&T and Apple.
I can't wait to get held up for my phone, have the guy realize I have a G1, and then get shot instead of losing my phone.
What if the person who registers the stolen phone bought it from the actual thief? Then just arresting the person who registered it makes no sense. It does make sense, however, to question the buyer to get info about the seller. Just a thought. Regardless, you should tell the police and also contact AT&T to assist.
ilocalis.com
@post_break: God, I hate all these stupid ads. They are so intrusive. Why can't I just read an article and make uninformed comments about it without being harassed by all these ads? For example, *looks around for ad examples to cite* Oh wait...
I guess people need to start carrying shitty cellphones as decoys when you own an iphone.
@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: It's important to own several weapons so you can stash them in various locations throughout your home and workplace for when the zombies attack.
@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected:
I agree whole-heartedly on this. Let some one walk up on me with a gun. Florida castle doctrine states if I feel threatened I can hold my ground, this includes using deadly force. With a concealed carry, my military background and their threatening actions, it will be a clear cut case and the DA will return my carry permit and my handgun.
@post_break: This is patently false. AT&T has no ability to perform remote wipes.
However, if you used the device with a Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync account, your Exchange admins can force a remote wipe, though not all are necessarily set up to do so. You'll have to check with them.
@bananaballs aka the urban juror: seconded. I already pay the same on a BB plan, but there's no way I'll give up my BB with BB's specialists (who kick ass) for AT&T's network and feeble front-line.
@NeutronDecker: The problem with the iPhone is that iHound must be running for you to be able to track it. So any time you're not using the phone for anything else you have to remember to manually launch iHound. If the crook simply turns the phone off and on again the app is defeated. It's a good idea in theory but unless/until Apple lets apps run in the background and startup when the phone is turned on then this is just a waste of money as far as I'm concerned.
Did a masked man steal your iPhone at gunpoint, and now AT&T won't help? There's an app for that.
Kidding aside, if you haven't already gotten the police involved, do so. They were helpful when someone stole my license plate out of the parking lot, so I imagine they'd be really interested in that. Good luck.
@Kawai Carvalho: Requires a jailbroken iPhone, which many people are reluctant to do for various reasons.
I hope you got the Apple Protection Plan so that AT&T will "let" you buy a replacement iphone at the "discounted" price again (instead of $600 or whatever....)
@post_break: Ads are so stupid. Why can't websites just create money out of thin air to cover their operating expenses? I don't want to pay money to read articles, or see ads...the internet should be entirely free! Ben and Megan don't need salaries, they should write for my own enjoyment...heck, Ben can't even spell "judgment"...
@AliyaBabasaur: It also depends on the jurisdiction. If they are a small town/area with not a lot of crime, they will investigate the smaller things, like a phone grabbed from a purse. Unlike Newark, NJ, which won't even send an officer out for car break ins. You call a special number, and they take the report over the phone!
@post_break: Can you tell me when comments were all listed on the front page and DIDN'T require you to click the story to read them?
I was told when purchasing the phone that no additional insurance was offered for the iPhone
Call ATT, they can wipe the data off of it remotely and possibly track it if the thief uses it.