iPhone thieves can get up to $800 more if they grab unlocked devices

There has been an epidemic in recent years of iPhone thieves using electric scooters and bikes to snatch the devices from their owners’ hands as they walk down the street.

The reason this method is favored by thieves is that it allows them to get hold of an unlocked iPhone, which can be worth $800 more to them than a locked iPhone…

Phone theft on an industrial scale

A report last year said the use of stolen e-scooters and bikes to grab 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 a week.

Part of the problem was that security concerns initially led police to call off pursuits when the risks to the thieves were deemed too high. In the UK, a move was made to reverse this position and allow police officers to use “tactical contact” to knock them off their bikes.

Unlocked iPhones worth up to $800 more

A Wired The report states that unlocked phones generate a very substantial premium because they facilitate access to data and financial accounts. Although banking and other financial apps require a Face ID or password to access, phishing attempts can be made in order to obtain logins.

“Phone thieves don’t just want the phone: they want access to bank accounts and personal information,” says Will Lyne, head of economic and cybercrime at the London Metropolitan Police. Lyne highlights the case of four men who were caught handling more than 5,000 stolen phones and spending money from their financial accounts on the devices.

Dan Guido, CEO and co-founder of security company Trail of Bits and strategic advisor to mobile security company iVerify, says a stolen phone may only be worth $50 to $200 when it’s locked. “But if you unlock it, it’s worth $500, or $1,000.”

A law enforcement professional had his iPhone stolen and received a phishing message that imitated the Apple Find My page and asked for the phone’s passcode. When someone falls for the trap, it allows the buyer of a stolen iPhone to remove the activation lock and sell it as a working device.

Illegal trade is facilitated by sophisticated phishing software sold on a pay-as-you-go model.

Phishing kits called “Find My iPhone Off” that can be used to gain access to accounts; and AI voice call scripts and software to execute phishing operations (…)

A video obtained by researchers shows software called iRealm generating phishing links and pages imitating Apple services. Other iRealm-related articles mention features like “Find My Canceled iPhone,” 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 contacting the company, it removed half a dozen groups advertising these services.

Photo by Jon RV on Unsplash