Apple Store looters faced with iPhone displaying "you are being tracked"

Matti Robinson
3 Jun 2020 12:01

The death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sparked protests around the nation's largest cities against police brutality and racial justice.
Peaceful protests have often turned violent as the sun goes down, and the riots have resulted in both private and public property damage as well as loss of life on the side of the police and protesters.
Perhaps the most often seen image of the riots are police cars on fire and stores being looted. Needless to say that many entrepreneurs and companies have suffered tremendously from looting.
Some companies are, however, better equipped against stealing of their products. One the more targeted brands is Apple but they are also the ones that are prepared for people stealing their very expensive iPhones.

Apple Stores in several cities have been targeted and new iPhone must be one of the most wanted products out there. However, the iPhones are not functional straight off the shelves of your local Apple Store.
As you can see from a picture below posted on Twitter, the powered on iPhone displays a message saying that the device needs to be returned to the store. Not only does the iPhone not work it says that it is being tracked and that the local authorities have been informed.
It's unlikely that the crooks are returning the devices but at least they didn't get away with a working thousand dollar device. One would imagine they are tossed as soon as this happens but some more organized criminal enterprises might use them for parts or sell them in hope for a customer that doesn't check whether it actually works.