People who have had their iPhone stolen know it happens all too quickly. In less than a minute, they go from having their face buried in their phone, checking text messages or surfing the internet, to having it snatched out of their hands and never seeing it again.
Police officers have been warning residents of a spike in robberies of Apple products, and trying to get the word out that there are things you can do to make sure the person who took the phone is caught.
According to Captain Thomas Pascale, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct, there has been a 22 percent increase in robberies related to Apple products. He made the announcement at the 106th Precinct Community Council meeting earlier this month.
He said that the robberies happen because people are often not paying attention to their surroundings. Pascale reminded people to realize that items like iPhones and iPads are an expensive target for people looking to steal it.
“Just remember that when you’re walking around with these things, you basically got a $600 device in your hand,†Pascale said.
He used that same analogy when referring to younger kids who have the phone and get it stolen as well.
“I don’t think you give a 14-year-old six $100 bills to walk down the street with,†Pascale said.
Deputy Inspector Christopher Tamola, from the 112th Precinct, which covers the neighborhoods of Forest Hills and Rego Park, said that people who report their phone stolen often have trouble describing what the robber looks like.
“You know, the first thing everyone says is ‘I don’t even know how they look like,’†Tamola said at the meeting last week.
Both Pascale and Tamola told residents who have the iPhone to download an application that helps them find the person if your phone is stolen.
The application is called “Find My iPhone,†and it’s available for a free download in the phone’s application store.
Once you download the app, it prompts you to enter the Apple ID and password associated with that phone. After you enter that information, it’ll take you to the name of the phone you gave it when you first bought it.
Click on the name and it will show you the phone’s location. You can view it in three different ways: a map view, a satellite view and a hybrid view, which is the same as a satellite view except it lists the street numbers of where the phone is located. You can also remotely lock or wipe the phone, although if you wipe it, it will prevent you from locating the device.
Tamola and Pascale told residents that they have caught people by using the app and to not turn their phone’s service off should it get stolen.
“It has some very good investigative value there,†Tamola said.
By Luis Gronda
No comments:
Post a Comment