Slashdot Mirror
Smartphone Mugging More Popular Than Ever
SternisheFan writes with this snippet from gizmodo: "The Associated Press reports that smartphone robberies now account for nearly half of all robberies in San Francisco, as well as an impressive 40 percent here in New York City. And the numbers aren't just high, they're getting higher fast. In Los Angeles, smartphone robberies are up 27 percent from last year, with no signs of slowing down. The thefts come in all varieties as well. Victims have reported having their phones—iPhones in particular (surprise!)—yanked out of their hands while talking, snatched just as public transit reaches a stop, or even taken at gunpoint." When I was relieved at gunpoint of my (very, very dumb) phone a few years ago in Philadelphia (very, very dumb), it made for a lousy evening. Have you been robbed (or accosted) like this? If so, where?
All of these phones know their serial numbers. Just make it totally impossible to ever register a stolen serial number for new service and this should slow way down.
Dog is my co-pilot.
What, everyone got their smartphone robbed?
Most folks take one look at my crappy company-issued Blackberry Curve, and go look for better pickings (figuring that anyone still carryiong one of these probably doesn't have any money either).
I guess even criminals have more self-respect these days than to be seen trying to fence a entry-level crackberry.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
Just as there will be a Tickle Me Elmo every at Christmas, until folks stop taking things that don't belong to them, there will be a theft item du jour.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Why can't the cell phone company just brick your phone? I have an iPhone, and it can brick if I jailbreak wrong, so why can't I just call the carrier, tell them it's stolen, and have it bricked. Or like someone else said, never have that phone allowed to register again? Don't they do that over in Europe.
If the Smartphone Bandit tried to steal my iPhone, I would smash in the face, club him over the head, and cut out his liver... His tasty liver.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Most thieves simply use the phone until it gets disconnected, then throw it away and steal another one. Others sell them used on Ebay and Craigslist - once they get your money, they don't really care that you can't get service with it. The FCC is considering requiring the carriers to brick phones that are reported stolen, but that doesn't stop any of the above from happening. Smart thieves are stealing your personal data off your phone and re-selling that for a few extra bucks, or selling batches of them to foreign countries.
I used to get random schmoes on the street asking to use my phone as I pulled it out to check the time. Now I have a wristwatch and the worst I've gotten is, "Hey buddy, got the time?"
No fair! You changed the outcome by measuring it!
Just barf on it, and they'll find someone else to rob.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Simple, I'll carry around a loaf of cyanide-laced bread and an unmarked beaker of H2SO4.
Some stupid mugger stole my drink, but now he robs no more.
For what he thought was H2O, was H2SO4!
I had somebody ask me to use my smartphone at a light rail station in a reasonably nice part of Denver (at 11pm). I politely refused, but I couldn't help but wonder if this person was out to 1) just make a call, which was obviously not an emergency, 2) call some sort of pay-per-call or txt number that would put $20 on my phone bill and the person would get a commission, or 3) just start running, or pull out a weapon, and steal my phone.
Is this a common tactic for stealing phones?
I couldn't help but wonder if I should have let the person use it (I'm about 6'5, 265lbs, with a 36 inch waist, I exercise, etc - so it's not like I was picked out as being the "easy target")
In the end, I concluded that I was right to refuse a stranger access to my $700 "pocket computer" which contains all of my personal information, and costs about a hundred bucks a month to keep services to, in addition to the cost of the device.
Grandpa: My Homer is not a communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but he is not a porn star.
I used to get random schmoes on the street asking to use my phone as I pulled it out to check the time. Now I have a wristwatch and the worst I've gotten is, "Hey buddy, got the time?"
That line, "got the time", is the exact line a mugger used on me once to determine if I had a watch, before he attempted to mug me for it.
Steve Jobs would approve (of the cutting out the liver part). I'm sure you are obliged by the itunes EULA to hand it over to steve immediately.
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
that if you don't have a phone, no one can rob you for it.
Had mine yanked out while walking down the Gothic quarter staring at a map. Shitty way to end VMworld 2012, I tell ya. Will migrate to Hyper-V I guess.
to break out the old bluetooth retro handset.
My wife had her dumb phone stolen at work by a dumb criminal. It wasn't a big deal to report it stolen. It was inconvenient getting replaced with another dumb phone. At this point, neither one of us wants a smartphone.
Robbery of a smart phone is the least of my worries. I've seen people that got some bullets or knife injuries for a smart phone, and some were killed for a shinny iPhone. And really NONE kind of phone is worth my life in exchange. I use a dumb nokia phone that only call and SMS, the smart phone never leave the house.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Equipment_Identity#Blacklist_of_stolen_devices
Hey, how about that. An existing solution. It's not perfect, but it'd make it a bit harder than just throwing the iPhone on craigslist - especially since they'd have to modify the sticker on the phone as well, and if they didn't, it'd be proof the phone was stolen.
Let's not forget that the reason these people steal phones is because there's a market - plenty of other people happy to get a phone cheap off craigslist.
Please help metamoderate.
Oh well, I have karma to burn.....
http://www.theiphonespot.net/muggers-dont-want-android-tend-to-go-for-iphone-owners/
"A pair of would-be robbers targeting Columbia students in upper Manhattan seem to be rather picky as they prowl. Twice at 526 114th St., and once at 556 114th St., the suspects demanded the victims hand over their iPhones, police said. The first victim complied, but the second only had a Droid, according to police. The thieves apparently didn't want a Droid â" so they took cash instead."
Is this a common tactic for stealing phones?
Maybe. If you handed it to him, he'd probably run. If it was still in your pocket, instinct causes many people to reach for it to see if its still there. Even if you refuse the request, his buddy the pickpocket knows where it is now.
I'm about 6'5, 265lbs, with a 36 inch waist,
These people work in gangs. So unless you want to add 'skilled at practical self defense' to that (not all martial arts qualifies) that won't matter much. One guy grabs your phone and runs, two or three trip you, knock you down and kick the crap out of you.
Have gnu, will travel.
Seems to me that IMEI blackilisting after a theft is one thing, but why not allow people to pre-emptively opt in to locking their IMEI so that it can't be used with another account without some additional authentication (a it like registrar locking for domains)?
Obviously not everyone would want it (ie people who switch sims etc) but for a lot of people it would make sense as a default.
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
While the IMEI may help track down the theft of an iPhone, the serial number doesn't. Apple's policy is that they support the product not the user, and that theft of property is a police matter.
Disagreeing with you does not make me a troll.
You forgot the Good News Everybody!
Opportunity Makes the Thief: By the saturation stage, most people who really want the product have it, and thefts decline. For example, video cassette and CD players are now so common that they cost relatively little and offer few rewards to the thief; hand calculators sell for a few dollars and are mostly safe on your desk with the door open.
Here in south-western Florida, it seems purloined phones aren't too popular among thugs. Two friends who were mugged on the same street on separate occasions both still had their phones after they'd been beaten lightly (I love that string). They both lost their wallets and one lost his bike, but not their phones. Others have lost their lives, but I don't know about their phones. This is, after all, the place where two British tourists were killed for no apparent reason.
Perhaps it's time to begin integrating some serious self-defense attributes into these otherwise worthless "smart"phones. Yes, I despise smartphones. But I may consider one if it were mounted to a solid stick, or if it shot lightning and pepper-spray.
Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
Is this a common tactic for stealing phones?
Maybe. If you handed it to him, he'd probably run. If it was still in your pocket, instinct causes many people to reach for it to see if its still there. Even if you refuse the request, his buddy the pickpocket knows where it is now.
Indeed, I was VERY careful to be aware of where my phone was for the remainder of that trip, and I be "aware" while getting off the last train and walking to my truck.
I'm about 6'5, 265lbs, with a 36 inch waist,
These people work in gangs. So unless you want to add 'skilled at practical self defense' to that (not all martial arts qualifies) that won't matter much. One guy grabs your phone and runs, two or three trip you, knock you down and kick the crap out of you.
I would not add "skilled at practical self defense against multiple attackers with nothing to lose" to my resume. I was in that situation when I was 18, and 75 lbs lighter, and I wouldn't want to play that game again. I have "good" health insurance, but it's not worth $700 to get a new set of teeth, and I also have homeowners, auto, and phone insurance. At that point, I'd let 'em have it. Hell, I might show them how to use it.
My bigger question is if this was common "step 1" to stealing a smartphone. The person was able to display a (cheap) phone and state that their battery was dead. But, if I had my phone die, I couldn't call anyone because I don't know any phone numbers!
I came to the conclusion that future protocol would be to ask if it was an "emergency" and offer to dial 911 for them MYSELF while they waited. Otherwise, no, you're not using my phone.
Grandpa: My Homer is not a communist. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a communist, but he is not a porn star.
In all seriousness, I read this headline initially as a story about phones inspiring ever-increasing amounts of smirky posing.
Much like the submitter whoever would mug me for my phone would be VERY disappointed.
"Well...at least it has Texas Hold 'Em..."
When you wave an expensive item around, you attract attention....
Also it is Apples fault for allowing Stolen iphones to continue to operate. If you were able to go home and log into your apple account and set the phone to "STOLEN" so the phone only shows on the screen "STOLEN PROPERTY, CALL XXX-XXX-XXXX to return it" the street value of them would drop to $0.00
But apple chooses to not let this ability that would be trivial to put in place to exist.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Right on !
The more heads that get cracked, the fewer muggings.
Of course most of the fudge packers who hang out on this site are not
man enough to defend themselves.
My carrier robs me every month _with_ my smartphone. Not that any other carrier wouldn't.
This way if they really are in need, then you're helping them, and if they refuse and start to walk away that's when you might want to mention it to whatever security is around.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
??? This isn't a $2 item we're talking about. Some phones almost qualify for grand theft.
Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
I used to get random schmoes on the street asking to use my phone as I pulled it out to check the time. Now I have a wristwatch and the worst I've gotten is, "Hey buddy, got the time?"
That line, "got the time", is the exact line a mugger used on me once to determine if I had a watch, before he attempted to mug me for it.
I am so glad I don't live in an urban area.
IIRC, CDMA and our form of LTE is not compatible overseas.
That may be so but quite a lot of the iPhones made now have GSM chips in them that work just fine for data and voice overseas - all of the AT&T iPhones ever made, and every iPhone since the iPhone 4 will work overseas with data (even the ones sold to work with CDMA carriers like Verizon).
Not being able to use LTE in some countries is to really that much a roadblock to selling them.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
It sounds like you and your wife think the police are there to serve you. I can assure you this is not the role they fulfill in society.
Seriously. If someone can find me an article where there's a group of white kids who steal a cell phone in Chicago, I will buy them drinks all night
This is one reason I won't put a bank app on my phone.
Just make the casing out of C4 instead of brushed aluminum! Then, like 15 minutes after he steals it, send the code to detonate it! Problem solved!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
that is all
am i missing something?
is the usa and its people this retarded...oh gee that phone was reported stolen track and arrest idiot criminal
ugh
What else are they going to steal?
woot that sounds like a fun movie....can i watch
A disabled(wheelchair bound) guy in my area (Sydney Australia) who came to church this morning had someone take his Iphone off his latch n put on a crappy phone without a sim. At Kingswood station, very sad.
at which point they take your wallet instead
Luckily I've never had my phone stolen. But recently I listed my old iPhone 3G on craigslist and was surprised to have completed the sale within an hour of the posting. People lose their phones all the time, but can't cancel their plans without paying huge fees. If there is this kind of demand, then there is no way that it can possibly be policed.
A friend of me lost his phone that way, so it does happen. (busy station in Amsterdam at 9 am).
I once received such a request. I let him tell me the phone number and the message and I made the actual call. (in the train)
I once made such a request myself (flat battery, on the platform at 6 pm, needed to tell that my train was 2 hours late). Fortunately the other one didn't make a big deal out of lending me his 40 euro feature phone. Composing an sms on a phone with a different UI is tough, though...
I'm fiddling with my phone most of the time when I'm waiting for something in public (often reading slashdot, see signature). I might be an easy target for someone who just sneaks up on me, grabs it, and runs away with it.
Avantslash: low-bandwidth mobile slashdot.
A device that 1) has a data link to the outside world, 2) has a GPS receiver, and 3) has a microphone ought to be far riskier to steal. Something is not right here.
You should be able to log into your phone account from another device and retrieve the location of the phone, Maybe listen in and record calls from your phone, too.
I have Prey running my my phone for this reason. You can also install it on your laptop. There are quite a few interesting stories about people recovering their gear by using the utility. It's totally worth checking out.
If anyone else knows about other similar tools, I'd love to hear about those too.
http://preyproject.com/
Mike
Hah! I haven't seen a payphone in northern California in years. For awhile you could still find them run by companies you'd never heard of. They would charge you outrageous amounts of money to make a call (like $2/minute). Then the government stepped in to limit the charges and the phones went away.
Smaller people have a better VO2 max. If they'd picked you, it would be just for your size - they could outrun and outlast you.
Plus, height and bulk does not equate to an ability to fight. Nor does a black belt in anything, either.
Besides you shiny new smartphone, take with you an old dumb cheap mobile phone. Want to call? Yeah sure, here you have.
I doubt that happens very much at all, to the point that it'd probably be a major news item if it happens.
Why?
1. IMEI numbers are currently hard to guess. They're not simple
2. No gain on the part of a seller to block a phone they just sold - indeed, odds are that the buyer can track them down to demand a refund for a *STOLEN PHONE*
3. It takes work; Most people aren't that nasty
4. If they can get that close to the phone, they might as well steal it
5. Most people wouldn't think to do it. Even divorcing couples.
Especially your specifying 'second-hand' phones. Unless it's stolen I doubt the seller is going to care; wish you luck with your new(to you) phone.
I don't read AC A human right
This is one reason why it's not good that iPhones can be jailbroken.
The thief just jailbreaks it, then buys a rechargeable SIM card.
Works in the US. EU, too. No need to move it across a border.
Even a 10% cost increase will result in a much smaller market for it. Modding a PS or XBox back in the day was fairly easy, only required a 'bit' of soldering, yet I can say that 99% of consoles were never modded*. It was a mostly effective level of protection.
Making unlocking a $600 cell phone require a couple hour's work and $100 of parts and such phones will mostly be safe from normal theft.
*Slashdot crowds may differ.
I don't read AC A human right
And here I was thinking about an Ap:
"If your phone is stolen our app will report it's location to our servers, at which point we'll send the information to one of our thousands of professional hitmen to kill the thief and retrieve your phone."
I'd respond to the other person who replied, but I don't reply to AC's directly:
'Connect to the phone'? This is a difficulty? It's a cell phone! Regular network contact is a matter of course, and we know that back doors exist for the cell carriers, and they bend over for law enforcement(especially if they have a warrant).
I don't read AC A human right
Cell Carriers don't make money off the phones though, they make money off the plans.
Well, at least in the USA.
I don't read AC A human right
Mugger: Your iPhone, Mister!
(Man hands over his non-Apple phone.)
Mugger: What is this shit?
Man: It's a Nokia.
(Mugger shoots man dead.)
Atlanta, GA 1998 and I was walking around outside the hotel in the early afternoon.
Not a bad neighborhood mostly office buildings, hotels and a few restaurants.
A little car pulls up beside me and stops, then from the passenger side a guy opens the window few inches and asks for directions to some place, kind of mumbling. I said sorry I don't where anything is I'm not from around here. (yes, dumb answer, now I know better) and so I keep walking.
I hear the car door open and turn around. There's this young black kid pointing a gun at my chest. Probably a .22 but looking down the barrel it seemed really big, cannon big. His hand was shaking. I couldn't take my eyes off the gun barrel.
He said "give me 'yo flip phone" It was on my belt (yes, dumb, now I know better) and I handed it over... then he wanted my wallet, handed it over. He told me to "turn around" then "get down"
So there I was kneeling on the pavement and I thought he was going execute me so I said "can I say my prayers?" All I was thinking was who is going to take care of my daughters after I die.
He said 'go on an pray you honkey mutha f##ka" and fired.
I think he must have been heading back to the car as he pulled the trigger because it hit me in the foot. I thought "I'm supposed to be dead" and laid down on the pavement. I heard the car peel out and I could see it tear around corner.
The bullet only grazed me and after I just had to use a cane for a few weeks (yup, luckiest man on earth)
This just happened to me the other day. Where I live, there's a (city) bus stop which is also where a lot of people waiting for Greyhound buses wait at times. I'm standing far away from everyone else, and a girl approaches to ask "can I use your cell phone?", to which I replied "No. Sorry" (I don't know why I added "sorry"; as op stated, I'm not going to hand a $450 phone for which I pay a $170/mo bill over to someone I don't know!).
Making it worse/more rude of her; I was obviously using it (browsing/reading) at the time, and she still asked. This used to be an epidemic in that location - stopped for a while - now looks like it's starting again.
Well, there's your problem right there:
There's this young black kid pointing a gun at my chest.
Scratch the "black", though.
Probably a .22 but looking down the barrel it seemed really big, cannon big.
A .22 to the head at short range can be lethal. The bullet gets into your skull and can't get out, and bounces around your brain.
He said 'go on an pray you honkey mutha f##ka" and fired.
A society that permits stuff like that to happen, gets what it deserves. Your vote in local elections is your only weapon against that.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
I have lost two Nokia C7 last year. One I lost on the bus, one in the cinema. Each time I became aware of it ~15 min. later and each time the phone was already switched off.
I'm sure that the guy in the cinema who told me he cleaned the room and found nothing still enjoys my holiday pics.
Oh wait... that might encourage white people to fight for a WHITE ONLY country, and we can't allow that, can we... the banks and big business don't want it. The JEWS don't want it either. Oh wait - the bank and big business are OWNED by Jews.
The majority of the perpetrators are NON-WHITE, everybody knows it, yet hundreds of millions of whites are being FORCED to live with these 'wonderful people', and to watch while they literally outnumber us in our OWN countries.
that don't violate the 2nd Amendment?
Start shooting these criminals and chances are, they'll do the crimes less often.
Simple.
I wonder how long it would last if the muggers started ending up dead. San Fran is a "gun free" zone. So the perps know their victims are probably not packing.
Sure, it's just a cell phone and not worth taking someone's life. But that's not the issue. The issue is that the scum trying to take it from you definitely thinks a cell phone is worth taking YOUR life.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
I encrypt my android phone, have fun with that paperweight if you really want it that bad, not to mention they would also get a cap in their head as soon as they turn their back and scurry away.
Not just simply being bricked by the carrier, but the process should trigger firmware that makes the phone wail loudly at full volume with an annoying siren sound that can't be shut off until either the battery is removed or it dies. Something like that might discourage the less sophisticated theif. It might be surprisingly effective because the user of a stolen phone isn't likely to want something that calls unwanted attention to them out in public.
I think its sad that society has come down to this. So full of fear.
I let strangers make calls on my phone sometimes, and I've asked strangers to make calls on theirs when mine wasn't working. I'd rather live in a society where people aren't afraid to help each other out.
Also, from what I've heard from several people who have been mugged for electronics there hasn't been any asking to use the device in question. One person grabs it and runs or punches the victim in the face, grabs it, and runs. I live in SF so I have heard a number of these unfortunate stories. They mostly seem to target women, especially when its a lone mugger.
Cheers,
Greg
You use the word fear but is that always true? You need to learn understand that yes there might be a fear factor involved at times but there are other things at work.
What you were waiting for a call? What if you were about to do something with your phone? What if you are about to get up and leave?
Further it can easily be more a matter of trust. Do I trust strangers to hold $500 of my cash, hell no. Do you? If you say yes then I'm going to have to call you naive because sure you may get away with some percentage of the time but I'm going to just guess that percentage is not very high.
I think it is sad that you think that everyone walks around in fear of things. Think a bit more about what you said and maybe you might find that you are projecting.
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
This exact scenario has been happening for years (San Francisco, thief waiting for public transit doors to close). Sometimes it doesn't go their way though : http://gawker.com/5087564/san-francisco-man-risks-life-for-iphone
Rule of thumb:
If someone talks to you when you're using public transit, and you don't know them, then you need to walk away.
It's cheaper to say no.
-- This space for lease, low setup fee, inquire within!
In the pre-smartphone era (1970s) the way to behave in zones where you'd get your shit taken was NEVER to display it and to look nastier than the scumbags who might bother you. No visible jewelry or watches (because the only reason to flaunt wealth is to insult those who do not have it and they know this!), walk towards the street side of the sidewalk so you have best vision, be alert, and don't wear earphone because distraction is bullshit.
You also didn't go in hoods which do not belong to you, or you went straight to where you bought drugs then got the fuck out and that only in daylight hours.
Worked for me. Self and buds had a fine time partying, going to concerts where we were sometimes the only White guys there, and not stressing at all. The Rules don't give a fuck what you want to do, but reward logical behaviors and punish others. NYC sometimes had over ONE THOUSAND murders a year. (It's amazingly different now!)
Just be smart and you won't have much problem.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
I don't DISPLAY my phone in such places. There is no need. I'm not an emergency responder.
If they don't have a phone they have serious personal issues. Even my dirt poor friends have pay-as-you-go Walmart dumb phones.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
Disabling stolen phones is NOT in carriers financial interest. I wouldn't be surprised if a double digit percentage of active smartphones have been stolen...
I had a cell phone stolen and the person used it to send a few hundred text in the 12 hours it took them to suspend the account. It was reported to the police who did nothing and when I got my new phone with the old number the thief's girlfriend was still sending texts. I replied and told her the her boyfriend is probably going to jail for swiping my cell phone and that the police had her number expect a visit. of course nothing ever happened even though I was able to figure out who the person was.
This befell my son twice in four years. Both times he was surrounded by four "youths." The first time (around midnight), a passing car foiled the attempt; the second (bright & clear midmorning), they claimed to have a gun and got away clear with his nearly-new iPhone. Both times, he went straight to the cops and the gangs were rounded up shortly thereafter ... but his phone has not been recovered. I'm just glad he's OK.
Since cell phones have both phone numbers and serial numbers Police could treat stolen phones the same way they do stolen guns. The serial number of a stolen gun helps them catch a criminal that almost certainly is much more than just a thief. Same with the phone thief. Catching them not only solves one crime but reduces overall crime under the Broken Windows theory of policing. Reducing the crime rate and not just reacting to 911 calls is what separates a great police force from a mediocre one.
Amazingly I've also seen it used and used it myself (in Finnish though so not exact same line) to, you know, to get the time. And I do mean the time, not the clock ;p
In capitalist USA corporations control the government.
My son was robbed of his phone in California. I left the service on and sure enough, the robber called his friends and family. At the end of my billing cycle I just gave my detailed bill with individual call info to police and they got him in no time.
A few days after I bought my iPhone 4S I was cycling and had the phone attached to the handlebars with rubber bands. Coming down a steep hill the bands snapped and the phone dropped, hit my foot, and was punted some 200 feet into a tree. I spent 20 minutes looking for it then some guy, also on a bike, stopped and asked if I needed help. He handed me his new 4S so I could call mine (no luck) without hesitation. Then he spent another 20 minutes helping me find it. He eventually found it quite some distance away and handed it back. The SIM tray had come out due to the force of the impact but he'd found that too.
Not once did it occur to me that he'd steal my phone, nor to him that I might.
I have never heard of anyone here having their iPhone stolen from them. I have heard of thieves breaking into cars / homes and stealing iPads only to be caught along with all the other loot they've acquired due to the "find my phone" feature of iOS.
Why would anyone steal an iPhone when they are so easy to track?
I'm glad I live in a society where people still happily help strangers.
I used to have a better sig than this, but I got tired of it