“I’ve seen a couple of pieces recently on what appear to be increasingly frequent snatch-and-grab robberies of display devices from Apple Stores,” Ben Lovejoy writes for 9to5Mac. “One thing stood out for me: neither author appeared aware of the security measures Apple takes to render stolen display devices useless. And if tech writers don’t know about them, it’s guaranteed that thieves don’t either.”
“The thieves are going to be rather disappointed when they try to sell the devices, because they won’t work,” Lovejoy writes. “Once the device goes out of range of the store Wi-Fi, it is automatically bricked. There’s something quite satisfying about the idea of these thieves thinking they’ve just snagged tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment only to discover that what they actually have is a pile of junk. Or, at best, something they have to break for parts – an expertise they are unlikely to possess. But it would be far better to prevent the thefts in the first place.”
“I’d like to see Apple make efforts to publicize the fact that it has these protections in place, and there’s absolutely no point in stealing display devices,” Lovejoy writes. “That would soon see an end to this type of robbery.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yup. Proetct your employees, customers, and copious retail store glass from idiots, Apple. Let the world know that stealing display devices is a fruitless endeavor!
As we wrote back in October 2016 about Apple retail stores removing security tethers: “So, this’ll be great as soon as thieves understand that there’s no point in stealing devices from Apple retail locations. Until then, expect a bit more e-waste in trash bins around Apple locations.”
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All of the products they grabbed have been bricked by Apple, rendering them inoperative. As usual, these criminals are stupid. Efficient e-waste generators? Yes. Criminal geniuses? No. – MacDailyNews, December 9, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Why Apple retail locations can remove security tethers from their demo devices – October 17, 2016
Apple retail locations removing security tethers from iPhone display units – October 14, 2016