Thief steals iPhone and texts the victim trying to trick him into disabling the Find My app،
It's a real shame when your phone is stolen. And when it's the iPhone 15 Pro Max that's been swiped, that's a pretty expensive piece of kit that you'll probably never see again. While this story has nothing to do with AppleCare+, we just wanted to point out that if you have AppleCare+ theft and loss coverage, you are covered for two incidents of loss or theft every 12 months for as long as The Find My application is activated.
Rule number one: If your iPhone is stolen or lost, never turn off the Find My app
The price of AppleCare+ theft and loss coverage for iPhone 15
Pro and
iPhone 15 Pro Max costs $13.49 per month for 24 months or a one-time payment of $269 that will cover two years. Pricing for the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 14 Plus is 24 monthly payments of $12.49 or a one-time payment of $249 that will cover two years. Pricing for the iPhone 15, iPhone 14, and iPhone 13 is 24 monthly payments of $11.49 or a one-time payment of $219 for two years of coverage.
After having their iPhone stolen, the thief sends the victim a text message asking them to deactivate the Find My application. DON'T DO IT !
But we are moving away. A
Reddit Subscriber with the username “Commercial_Big_4378” had its
iPhone 15 Pro Max stolen and the victim received a text message purporting to be from someone who purchased the phone from the thief, or it may be the thief himself claiming to have purchased the device. The text begins by saying (excuse the spelling and grammar errors which are part of the message): “I purchased a
iPhone 15 Pro Max I use. It contains your messages, emails, cards, bank, notes and personal information, even your SIM card number that you transferred. ”
Now access your iPhone, install iOS 17.3 and enable the stolen device protection feature
The text continues with a request for the victim to deactivate the Find My app on the stolen phone. This is the one thing you should never do if your phone is lost or stolen. Once done, the thief can change the Apple ID password, create a new password, reset Face ID, and access the passwords of all your apps. The victim contacted Apple and the device was locked and wiped. The phone is now located somewhere in China but can only be sold to an unsuspecting person in the country.
More sensitive requests, such as disabling the Find My app, changing the Apple ID password, or resetting Face ID or Touch ID, will require a one-hour break so that the owner of the The device can determine if their device has been stolen or lost, and if so, contact Apple to lock the device. Even after the time has passed, Face ID or Touch ID must verify the identity of the device owner.
If you have iOS 17.3 installed, you will need to enable stolen device protection by going to Settings > Face ID and passcode. After entering your password, go to Stolen Device Protection and tap “Turn on protection”. And keep in mind that even if you receive a threatening text message, if your iPhone is stolen, don't disable the Find My app. This could result in your bank account being depleted and credit cards being used for unauthorized purchases.
