Thief Steals Apple device then tries to buy the owners Apple ID

If there's a will there's a way. Some people are either really stupid or innocently dumb. For this thief, he stole someone's Apple iPhone 5s and after a month or so, guess what? Tries to buy the owners Apple ID for him to be able to use the device! Thanks to Apple's security feature, you now won't be able to use a device if it's locked to another user.

The thief then tries to convince the original owner to sell him his Apple ID. [Below is the actual SMS message and translated to english]

Check out the actual screenshot of the message sent to the owner below.



"Mam kung ok lng sainyo buy namin apple i.d nio para po magamit?ok lng b?"
Ma'am, can we buy your Apple ID so we'll be able to use the unit?

Ganun p0h b?kht 5K po para my maibalik sainyo at magamit po?sayang kc m0ney pinambili namin luGi din po kmi.
Is that so? I'm offering you 5,000 pesos so you can recover part of what you lost and we can use it. We lost money by buying this unit.

Kaysa naman parepareho taung kawawa
Otherwise, we will be in a lose-lose situation

Pag icipan nyo poh mam balikan koh kau m0rning.incase poh ayaw nio ok lng poh..my nagsbi kc samin pwdE daw poh to palit b0ard? or icl0ud rem0val service medyo mahal 7k to 8k..kaya poh sainyo nlng 5K 4 ur apple i.d
Thing about it. I'll get back to you in the morning. In case you decide not to, it's ok. Someone told us we can change the board? or do an icloud removal service but it's expensive at 7 to 8k.. so if that'sthe case, we'll just give you 5,000 for your Apple ID.

From the conversation, we think that the thief is posing as the buyer of the stolen device and is trying to be on the "safe" side posing as the buyer. In case that person doesn't know, buying something stolen is also a crime. There's a law in the Philippines called the anti-fencing law.

ANTI-FENCING LAW OF 1979

"Fencing" is the act of any person who, with intent to gain for himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of, or shall buy and sell, or in any other manner deal in any article, item, object or anything of value which he knows, or should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft.

Source: http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1979/pd_1612_1979.html

Here are the details of the incident according to the iPhone owner:

I had an iPhone5S. It was stolen inside my restaurant last September 6, 2014 around 7pm. My restaurant is at Las Piñas. Sadly, the snatcher was one of my customers.  

When I realized that my phone was missing, my daughter immediately tagged the gadget as "Lost" in Find My Phone app. We were able to locate the gadget  and it was already in the general area of San Rafael, Pasay City.  

The night my phone was stolen, I  texted my own number asking for them (snatchers) to return my phone. I even mentioned that I was willing to give a "reward money" and will just consider the whole thing as  a "lost & found" incident.  

Two days after, my own number texted back saying that the gadget was already sold in Greenhills. The texter identified himself as an owner of one of the cell shops in Greenhills. He offered to buy my Apple ID for p2K.  

For a clearer understanding, when an iPhone has been tagged as "Lost" in Find My Phone app, there will be 2 messages that will appear every time the phone is opened. I don't know the exact message but basically, it informs whoever has the phone that the gadget has been tagged Lost and to call a number (you will be the one to provide this) & that before the phone can be used, the Apple ID and password of the one who tagged the phone as Lost must  be entered. This is why the snatchers are asking to buy my Apple ID.  

Anyhow,  I asked how he was going to pay me. He said thru money transfer or we can set to meet somewhere "safe". When I refused, he threatened that I should not be surprised if any of my photos will be uploaded in social media. I ignored his messages and a month after the incident, the offer was raised from p2K to p5K!  

Anyhow, thanks for doing a blog about this and informing others.
GOD bless 

While we are still waiting for the IMEI and Serial Number of the device to prevent you from purchasing this unit and give the thieves a harder time, make sure you're Apple devices are secured like hers. Apple device users with iOS7 and up can check if the device they are trying to buy or sell is locked. When the device is locked to a particular user, you will need the original owner's password to do anything to it. By entering the IMEI or Serial Number, you can check if an Apple device is locked.

Check if your Apple device is locked or unlocked: https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

To make sure your device is “locked”, simply follow these steps:
1) Tap Settings.
2) Tap iCloud.
3) Sign in with your Apple ID, if necessary.
4) Turn on Find My iPhone.

Ever experienced losing a device? At least Apple has this extra feature. And for this thick-faced thief, what comes around goes around.

Image on top from sxc.hu

Cheftonio
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