Great article. Very amusing, which is clearly the sentiment the author approached this with. Off-topic but why would a website meant for adults censor the word "fuck" in a text?
Great article. Very amusing, which is clearly the sentiment the author approached this with.
Off-topic but why would a website meant for adults censor the word "fuck" in a text?
I also love engaging with scammers and just wasting time. However I loved that a lot of these messages were along the lines of: Yeah your phone was stolen but not by us. Please unlock it so we can...
I also love engaging with scammers and just wasting time.
However I loved that a lot of these messages were along the lines of:
Yeah your phone was stolen but not by us. Please unlock it so we can recycle it. And not like: yeah your phone was stolen, pay me the price I paid and shipping and I’ll get it back to you
Yes, this line was my favorite: I just imagined the thief showing up to their door with a cartoonish fake moustache which constantly peels off from their face and a piece of cardboard with "iphone...
Yes, this line was my favorite:
Your old iPhone 14 Pro is recycled by us, we are just recycling merchants, we are not the ones who steal your phone
I just imagined the thief showing up to their door with a cartoonish fake moustache which constantly peels off from their face and a piece of cardboard with "iphone recycling" written on it with a sharpie, trying to say this line with a fake deep voice thinking that no one will recognize them
I am not an American and this might be a naive question, but the owner knew where the phone was... why didn't they tell the police where the phone was and have them get it for him? In the...
I am not an American and this might be a naive question, but the owner knew where the phone was...
I spent the rest of the night anxiously refreshing the Find My app, watching my phone move around Manhattan before it finally stopped at Rockefeller Center.
why didn't they tell the police where the phone was and have them get it for him? In the beginning, the phone was still pretty close - how exact is the location in that iPhone finding app? Probably not exact enough to find it in a crowded place, I guess. If I remember correctly, the Android app can do stuff like sounding an alarm remotely - can iPhone do that?
Maybe there is some law preventing this in the US. Or maybe iPhones are considered so cheap in the US that is is not worth it.
The job of police isn't to enforce laws(that's the courts job), or to protect people(this has been made explicit in the supreme court), it's to protect the property and rights of property and...
The job of police isn't to enforce laws(that's the courts job), or to protect people(this has been made explicit in the supreme court), it's to protect the property and rights of property and business owners(aka capitalists). "Protect and Serve" is just propaganda.
Yeah, I have plenty of feelings about police, but there are some local police departments that absolutely would assist. Large cities are not known for that being the case and the person I'm...
Yeah, I have plenty of feelings about police, but there are some local police departments that absolutely would assist. Large cities are not known for that being the case and the person I'm responding to isn't American, so I was providing the simplest answer
The author of this article likely isn't wealthy enough for her property to matter. You have to be doing pretty well for the police to actually protect or retrieve your property. They'll gladly...
The author of this article likely isn't wealthy enough for her property to matter. You have to be doing pretty well for the police to actually protect or retrieve your property. They'll gladly take a report, though.
To be fair, many large American police departments are regularly rocked by scandals and struggle to retain high-quality workers in a hostile work environment riddled with discrimination and biased...
To be fair, many large American police departments are regularly rocked by scandals and struggle to retain high-quality workers in a hostile work environment riddled with discrimination and biased treatment both with regards to the public and their own workforce. It's hard to ensure decent public services in such an environment.
My understanding is the NYPD is very busy working with the military to protect the subways by standing around platforms looking for fare jumpers and also checks notes arresting protestors. But...
My understanding is the NYPD is very busy working with the military to protect the subways by standing around platforms looking for fare jumpers and also checks notes arresting protestors.
But there are departments that would help, everything I know about the NYPD suggests they're not useful for this.
My friend's phone was stolen in a mugging on the L in Chicago and he went to the nearest police station and showed them the GPS location of the phone using that feature and they just shrugged and...
My friend's phone was stolen in a mugging on the L in Chicago and he went to the nearest police station and showed them the GPS location of the phone using that feature and they just shrugged and said okay file a report.
He never heard back from anyone and never got his phone back.
Yeah.. you have a lot more optimism in our police than I do. Cause I'd just assume if you told the police they'd shrug their shoulders and do nothing about it (enough stories of that happening as is).
Yeah.. you have a lot more optimism in our police than I do. Cause I'd just assume if you told the police they'd shrug their shoulders and do nothing about it (enough stories of that happening as is).
I'm out of the loop with all of the latest phone technology. Is there a feature yet where the owner of a phone can have a command issued to a phone to basically brick it until they get it back? If...
I'm out of the loop with all of the latest phone technology.
Is there a feature yet where the owner of a phone can have a command issued to a phone to basically brick it until they get it back?
If not, that should be a feature request somewhere!
Yeah, iPhones once set up with an Apple ID and a passcode, cannot be unlocked without that passcode or that Apple ID. Factory resetting erases everything, but the phone will still request for the...
Yeah, iPhones once set up with an Apple ID and a passcode, cannot be unlocked without that passcode or that Apple ID. Factory resetting erases everything, but the phone will still request for the Apple ID to verify you're the original owner. And via the Find My app, you can remotely lock and factory reset the phone, while still keeping the Apple ID on it - basically turning it into a brick for anyone else besides you.
Android has similar features, I recall that you can make it also request a Google account after a factory reset, but in the past you could bypass it with a PC and an USB cable. Hopefully it improved since then.
I understand that they’d have access to your phone number, but why would they have access to texts, emails, and photos? Was the author’s phone not encrypted? Maybe they run an exploit on the phone...
As you can see, most of the phones she tried didn’t have passcodes but were still linked to iCloud accounts, which meant she (or anyone buying the phones) still had access to all of the original owners’ texts, emails and photos.
I understand that they’d have access to your phone number, but why would they have access to texts, emails, and photos? Was the author’s phone not encrypted? Maybe they run an exploit on the phone and get unlimited tries at the passcode?
The author is talking about the YouTuber's experience here. You can set up your phone without a passcode if you really want (and it isn't a company phone managed by an MDM), but you will be warned...
The author is talking about the YouTuber's experience here.
You can set up your phone without a passcode if you really want (and it isn't a company phone managed by an MDM), but you will be warned many times. People still do it.
I'm one of those people who doesn't use a passcode. I'm forgetful and even if it's a significant number for me, I might still forget in a moment of fibro fog and brick my own phone.
I'm one of those people who doesn't use a passcode. I'm forgetful and even if it's a significant number for me, I might still forget in a moment of fibro fog and brick my own phone.
Great article. Very amusing, which is clearly the sentiment the author approached this with.
Off-topic but why would a website meant for adults censor the word "fuck" in a text?
I haven't seen hear swear in the text so it may be a personal conviction.
She missed one though.
I also love engaging with scammers and just wasting time.
However I loved that a lot of these messages were along the lines of:
Yeah your phone was stolen but not by us. Please unlock it so we can recycle it. And not like: yeah your phone was stolen, pay me the price I paid and shipping and I’ll get it back to you
Yes, this line was my favorite:
I just imagined the thief showing up to their door with a cartoonish fake moustache which constantly peels off from their face and a piece of cardboard with "iphone recycling" written on it with a sharpie, trying to say this line with a fake deep voice thinking that no one will recognize them
There's something very circle-of-life, hakuna matata and all, about the phone ending up back in China where it was probably made in the first place.
I am not an American and this might be a naive question, but the owner knew where the phone was...
why didn't they tell the police where the phone was and have them get it for him? In the beginning, the phone was still pretty close - how exact is the location in that iPhone finding app? Probably not exact enough to find it in a crowded place, I guess. If I remember correctly, the Android app can do stuff like sounding an alarm remotely - can iPhone do that?
Maybe there is some law preventing this in the US. Or maybe iPhones are considered so cheap in the US that is is not worth it.
BTW, here is a fun story (in Czech, please use Google Translate or something) about an interesting lost phone pursuit: https://www.minar.cz/clanky/jak-najit-ukradeny-mobil/
Many police departments are not that helpful. The NYPD and many other big city PDs are often "too busy" to assist in basic property crime.
The job of police isn't to enforce laws(that's the courts job), or to protect people(this has been made explicit in the supreme court), it's to protect the property and rights of property and business owners(aka capitalists). "Protect and Serve" is just propaganda.
Yeah, I have plenty of feelings about police, but there are some local police departments that absolutely would assist. Large cities are not known for that being the case and the person I'm responding to isn't American, so I was providing the simplest answer
This is all true, but theft of an iPhone is property crime. So they're failing even at their job at this point.
The author of this article likely isn't wealthy enough for her property to matter. You have to be doing pretty well for the police to actually protect or retrieve your property. They'll gladly take a report, though.
Its only petty theft. It's not destruction of property or a business or disruption of commerce.
To be fair, many large American police departments are regularly rocked by scandals and struggle to retain high-quality workers in a hostile work environment riddled with discrimination and biased treatment both with regards to the public and their own workforce. It's hard to ensure decent public services in such an environment.
My understanding is the NYPD is very busy working with the military to protect the subways by standing around platforms looking for fare jumpers and also checks notes arresting protestors.
But there are departments that would help, everything I know about the NYPD suggests they're not useful for this.
My friend's phone was stolen in a mugging on the L in Chicago and he went to the nearest police station and showed them the GPS location of the phone using that feature and they just shrugged and said okay file a report.
He never heard back from anyone and never got his phone back.
Yeah.. you have a lot more optimism in our police than I do. Cause I'd just assume if you told the police they'd shrug their shoulders and do nothing about it (enough stories of that happening as is).
I'm out of the loop with all of the latest phone technology.
Is there a feature yet where the owner of a phone can have a command issued to a phone to basically brick it until they get it back?
If not, that should be a feature request somewhere!
Yeah, iPhones once set up with an Apple ID and a passcode, cannot be unlocked without that passcode or that Apple ID. Factory resetting erases everything, but the phone will still request for the Apple ID to verify you're the original owner. And via the Find My app, you can remotely lock and factory reset the phone, while still keeping the Apple ID on it - basically turning it into a brick for anyone else besides you.
Android has similar features, I recall that you can make it also request a Google account after a factory reset, but in the past you could bypass it with a PC and an USB cable. Hopefully it improved since then.
Interesting!
I understand that they’d have access to your phone number, but why would they have access to texts, emails, and photos? Was the author’s phone not encrypted? Maybe they run an exploit on the phone and get unlimited tries at the passcode?
The author is talking about the YouTuber's experience here.
You can set up your phone without a passcode if you really want (and it isn't a company phone managed by an MDM), but you will be warned many times. People still do it.
I'm one of those people who doesn't use a passcode. I'm forgetful and even if it's a significant number for me, I might still forget in a moment of fibro fog and brick my own phone.