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Filmmaker Installed Security Software On a Decoy Phone To Spy On Smartphone Thieves (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader writes from a report via The Verge: Dutch film student Anthony van der Meer had the unfortunate pleasure of having his phone stolen while having lunch in Amsterdam. Unsatisfied with the response from the Amsterdam police, who register an average of 300 stolen phones per week, Meer decided to find out what kind of person steals a phone. He downloaded DIY security software on a decoy Android phone, intentionally got the phone stolen, and was able to spy on his thief for weeks. He recorded the ups and downs of his covert investigation and turned it into a 22-minute documentary called Find My Phone. Meer preloaded the decoy device with an anti-theft application called Cerberus, which allows the owner of the device to access any file on the phone remotely, as well as discretely activate the phone's camera and microphone. Meer and his friends were able to navigate the technicalities of surveilling the thief with relative ease. They even snapped a close-up of the guy's face. The hard part, it turns out, was getting the preloaded phone stolen in the first place. It took Meer four days to get his device pilfered in a city with high rates of theft because concerned citizens kept coming to his rescue.
"van der Meer had the unfortunate pleasure of having his phone stolen while having launch in Amsterdam."
You really got to watch out for that... Having Launch. That's what sent Bob Denver into space.
You find it odd that an Egyptian speaks Arabic and calls home every few days
As I siad, no. Actually that part is pretty normal, UNTIL....
then takes his phone to a phone shop
Then the phone is sold off every two weeks, and a new one obtained illegally... meanwhile he does nothing all day. Where is his income from? Have you ever lived in Amsterdam? I have, it's damn expensive. Also I don't swap out phones every two weeks. Have you never even seen a single episode of Breaking Bad? Nothing seems at all off about the way this guy lives his life and treats his phones? OK then, I look forward to your self-introspection covering for you if we see that guy in the news someday.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I had to laugh when the thief consulted an imam who told him that Allah would give him what he wanted if he prayed every hour for 24 hours. But the thief didn't notice Allah had already given him a smartphone without praying! Those mysterious ways are really universal. Take another person's possessions and thy will receive. Fool another person, and you will receive tithes.
Bert
You made that up. Stop lying.
Nobody forced the little shit to steal it.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
The word you're looking for is entrapment. However that requires a policeman to actively encourage the criminal to commit the act.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
An alternative would be to actually watch the film, where you'll learn that he regularly topped up the phone (and did watch porn).
He lives in Amsterdam. He doesn't have to have income - he gets social security!
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
I'm not sure how phone theft is still happening. At least iPhones, not sure about Android. But if you put a password on your phone then report it stolen, I thought it was useless at that point? Could never be reactivated by another person. Is that not the case?