Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
MacBook Pro Updates
Police Arrest 141 New York City Merchants in Stolen iPhone Sting
The New York Post reports that a sting conducted by the New York Police Department last week targeting vendors suspected of selling stolen iPhones resulted in 141 arrests as the city works to cut down the market feeding on such thefts. According to the report, undercover officers approached workers at over 600 locations suspected of participating in sales of stolen iPhones and offered the devices to workers at low prices while stating that they had been stolen from their owners.
Undercover NYPD officers sold the electronics to merchants at more than 600 stores around the five boroughs this week — asking from $50 to $200 for iPhone 4s and iPad 2s — after clearly stating the popular gadgets were stolen, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.iPhones are popular targets for thieves in New York and elsewhere, with an officer in one New York precinct reporting that in some months more than half of the reported robberies involve an iPhone.
The sting — which nabbed clerks and workers at businesses such as supermarkets, barbershops, pawnshops and bodegas — began Tuesday and continued through yesterday.
“That’s our intention, to reduce the places where people who steal these things can go and sell them,” said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly. “If someone is offering you an iPad for way below market value, you have to realize that it’s most likely stolen.”
The popularity of Apple's devices has not only driven an active market in thefts and resales of the stolen property, but also in counterfeiting. Apple has been targeting vendors selling counterfeit Apple products in New York City and elsewhere, seeking to shut down those companies making unauthorized profits on Apple's name with knockoff products.
[ 97 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
97 months ago
Stealing is wrong, but how is this not entrapment.
Cop: I have a stolen iPhone to sell you.
Criminal: That's fine, I'll take it to make money.
97 months ago
Kill the market for stolen phones
It is time to create a law in the U.S. that is common in some (not sure how many) develop countries to eliminate the market for stolen phones. Currently in the US, when a phone is stolen, it is only deactivated and blocked by your carrier. If it were deactivated and blocked by all US carriers, then it would immediately collapse the market for stolen phones as the thief just wouldn't be able to sell for as rich a price. Eliminate the price premium and the thieves will not have as much an incentive to steal phones.
Just think how much money is invested into the law enforcement, reporting, and investigating into stolen phones. If the market for stolen phones can effectively be made unattractive, then all that law enforcement costs drop or can be applied to more important matters for society.
Australia does it pretty effectively and this is save consumers a tremendous amount of money because the number of phones stolen is dropping a staggering rates.
http://www.amta.org.au/pages/amta/The.Mobile.Phone.Industry.Statement
It is time to create a law in the U.S. that is common in some (not sure how many) develop countries to eliminate the market for stolen phones. Currently in the US, when a phone is stolen, it is only deactivated and blocked by your carrier. If it were deactivated and blocked by all US carriers, then it would immediately collapse the market for stolen phones as the thief just wouldn't be able to sell for as rich a price. Eliminate the price premium and the thieves will not have as much an incentive to steal phones.
Just think how much money is invested into the law enforcement, reporting, and investigating into stolen phones. If the market for stolen phones can effectively be made unattractive, then all that law enforcement costs drop or can be applied to more important matters for society.
Australia does it pretty effectively and this is save consumers a tremendous amount of money because the number of phones stolen is dropping a staggering rates.
http://www.amta.org.au/pages/amta/The.Mobile.Phone.Industry.Statement
97 months ago
This is awesome news. It's not just NYC but everywhere. There have been people MURDERED over an iPhone here in Orlando. I hope these people receive the maximum penalty allowed by law.
97 months ago
and why don't carriers blacklist stolen devices? they should be held accountable as well for allowing the cycle to perpetuate even though they have the means to put an end to it - or least put a dent in it.
dt
dt
97 months ago
Good. I know 3 people who were robbed, 2 at gunpoint, because these filthy people wanted their phones. Enough is enough. :mad:
97 months ago
Stealing is wrong, but how is this not entrapment.
If you're a store owner, you have every right to turn down the offer. Tell me. If you were a merchant and some shady dude offered to slip you an iPhone for cash, would you do it?
If you answered no, then congrats, you're an honorable person who won't go to jail for it, *and* you're not supporting an ecosystem of thugs! YAY!
97 months ago
Cop: I have a stolen iPhone to sell you.
Criminal: That's fine, I'll take it to make money.
Exactly. Entrapment is only the forcing of people to commit a crime they would not otherwise commit. This is not a bait and switch.
97 months ago
Stealing is wrong, but how is this not entrapment.
For those arguing it's entrapment, here's the definition from wikipedia:
In criminal law, entrapment is conduct by a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense that the person would otherwise have been unlikely to commit.[1] In many jurisdictions, entrapment is a possible defense against criminal liability. However, there is no entrapment where a person is ready and willing to break the law and the government agents merely provide what appears to be a favorable opportunity for the person to commit the crime.
Essentially, these 'businesses' buy stolen goods regardless of wether the officer would provide it or not. The police in this situation just proved what was already happening and therefore it is LEGAL.
97 months ago
If you're a store owner, you have every right to turn down the offer.
<snip>
I'd say it goes even further:
If you're a store owner, you have an obligation under law to turn down the offer. To accept is to become a willing accessory to the robbery.
97 months ago
I hope
I hope this will prevent someone from stealing my iPhone. I grew up with the notion that if you buy a known stolen item it is the same as if you stole it. :cool:
I hope this will prevent someone from stealing my iPhone. I grew up with the notion that if you buy a known stolen item it is the same as if you stole it. :cool:
[ Read All Comments ]
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Throwboy to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a pillow from the Iconic Pillow Collection, which features plush, pillow versions of classic...
Just days ahead of WWDC 2019, freelance graphic designer Álvaro Pabesio has shared a new iOS 13 concept that envisions many features and changes rumored for the software update, including a...
Google has incorporated food ordering features into its mobile apps, allowing iOS and Android users to order food directly from a range of companies without having to install an additional app or...
Following the release of iOS 12.3 on May 13, Apple has stopped signing iOS 12.2, the previous version of iOS that was available to consumers.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch owners who have...
Apple's latest Apple Pay promotion includes $1 tacos from Taco Bell when using Apple Pay to pay for an order in the Taco Bell app in the United States.
The new offer, which was...
Spansive, a company developing new wireless charging technology, today announced the launch of the Spansive Source, a multi-phone wireless charging accessory that's designed for families.
...
Back in March, Apple launched the new 10.5-inch iPad Air with Touch ID, a headphone jack, A12 Bionic processor, support for the Apple Pencil, and compatibility with the Smart Keyboard. Today, B&H...
A security researcher found a flaw in Instagram's website that caused thousands of users' email addresses and phone numbers to be exposed online for several weeks, it was revealed on...
