A young man stole a lot of money in the USA. He used various tricks and scammed almost half a million euros. Now he reveals how he went about it to protect future victims.
A man in the United States, who is serving a 94-month prison sentence for stealing hundreds of iPhones, has revealed his criminal secret and explained how to protect oneself from such thefts.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (Paywall), he explained how he allegedly earned around 300,000 euros solely through the theft of iPhones and manipulating the installed financial apps. Supposedly, it was even much more money.
Perpetrator has phone handed over to change passwords
How did the thief proceed? In a conversation with the online magazine, he explained that he primarily targeted young men: because they are usually significantly more inattentive than women. They were also an easy target because “they are already drunk and do not know what is really going on.”
- The perpetrator approached his victims, offered them various items, or explained that he was a rapper and wanted to take a photo with them.
- The victims then handed him their iPhone and expected him to type in his phone number and immediately give it back to them.
- He then claimed that the phone had locked itself, and the victims willingly told him the passcode.
He then used that information to change the password for the Apple ID, disabled tracking features like “Find My iPhone,” and added his own biometric data to FaceID.
What happened next? Thanks to FaceID, he could easily access banking and crypto apps and search for sensitive information like social security numbers. He then allegedly drained bank accounts overnight and shopped with Apple Pay in the following days. In this way, he got easy “earned” money.
In the conversation with the Wall Street Journal, he explained that he wanted to reveal his criminal tricks also because he wanted to help future victims of such acts protect themselves.
I am already in prison. I just feel that I should try to stand on the other side of things and help people.
What is his most important tip for the future? This is probably not surprising, but the 26-year-old explains that under no circumstances should you share your passwords. No matter the timing. Because that would open the door wide for any perpetrator. Or as Fortnite warns in every second loading screen: “Passwords are like toothbrushes – you don’t share them!”
By the way, you can find tips and hints for strong passwords directly on MeinMMO:
Apple changes protection policies on devices
What has changed since then? With the update to iOS 17.3, Apple introduced a feature to protect stolen devices. This feature intentionally causes a one-hour delay before changes to passwords and Face or Touch IDs can be made when a phone or another device is used in an unknown location.
If your iPhone is taken from you, thieves will not be able to change important passwords and IDs at least for a short period of time.
However, your passcode is still important: Despite the new features, Apple Pay can still be used with your passcode to make payments – despite the new security mechanisms.
