author: Bart Swiatek
Apple Warns Thieves: „You're Being Tracked”
A picture of Apple's anti-theft system in action was posted on Twitter. It blocks the illegally acquired smartphone and tracks its location. The would-be user is also informed that the authorities will be notified about the theft.
IN A NUTSHELL:
- Apple's anti-theft system blocks smartphones that have been illegally taken from the store;
- The device informs the thief that he should go to the address indicated on the screen - and that he is being tracked and the authorities will be notified of the theft.
During the riots that broke out in the US after George Floyd was strangled by a policeman, many shops were looted by thieves. Very often the criminals' targets are the stores with RTV equipment - mainly because it is extremely expensive. However, thieves, who have put a box with an iPhone into their backpacks, after coming back home, will have an unpleasant surprise - in the form of such a message on the screen.
The tweet shows how Apple's clever theft protection system works. It turns the phone off and tells the user to return it to the specified specified - most likely the store where they picked it up. The message also mentions that the device is being tracked and the authorities will be informed of the whole situation.
One can guess that after seeing something like that on the screen of a freshly stolen smartphone, most thieves will get rid of it faster than you can finish reading this sentence. It's just a pity that we can't see what kind of face they would make when activating the device - this little pleasure is probably reserved for Apple employees (and the police), because smartphones are more likely to have all possible cameras on. The databese of the company must have a whole collection of this type of photos by now.