What do you do when a thief steals your iPhone, credit cards and all your cash? If you're like one victim in Pittsburgh you will fire up your MobileMe account and use "find my iPhone" to locate your stolen property.A victim, who has not been named, was reportedly robbed at gun point by three individuals who demanded his iPhone and wallet. After running from the scene and contacting police the victim used his MobileMe account to locate his iPhone.
The suspects were found at a near by Wal-Mart trying to purchase goods with the stolen credit cards. "Police said they will charge Bryant Rather, 22, of West Mifflin, Brent Ray Potter, 22, of Swissvale, and Myron Knox, Jr., 22, of Homewood, with two counts each of access device fraud, conspiracy, receiving stolen property and possessing instruments of crime. Mr. Rather and Mr. Potter will also be charged with robbery."
If it were not for the iPhone's GPS and the MobileMe feature of "find my iPhone", the victim may not have seen his iPhone or wallet again. While GPS location services have been around for sometime this story shows that they are effective in returning lost or stolen property.
IMO, this was just posted because it is a iPhone.
so? its still an interesting story.. grow up maan..
IMO, you are just jealous much.
A piece of technology has now been used to catch thieves... and this piece of technology happens to be a cell phone! Who would of ever thought?
http://happywaffle.livejournal.com/5890.html
How many more times does it have to happen before it's not news anymore?
New = not old
How many more times does it have to happen before it's not news anymore?
New = not old
I have read that story before, it was posted on the forums back at the time of launch, possible 4-5 days after it was stolen. I remember they tracked the guy through a laptop to a bus shelter.
I have (and had) phones way better than the iPhone so this isnt about being jealous.
I just stated my opinion. Everyone on their period or something?
I just stated my opinion. Everyone on their period or something?
Don't try to pass this off like we're the ones being overly sensitive, lol. You post flame-bait and don't expect to be flamed?
I just stated my opinion. Everyone on their period or something?
Don't try to pass this off like we're the ones being overly sensitive, lol. You post flame-bait and don't expect to be flamed?
Its not flamebait. It is my opinion. Dont like it? Dont respond. Simple as that.
I just stated my opinion. Everyone on their period or something?
Well, why don't you post an interesting story about your phone, maybe it will make the front page.
Of course, one has to question why you don't actually mention what your fantastic phones actually were/are?
News = current events
Samsung etc... etc...
Just typical hype over iphone..
Interesting, was that an attempt at sarcasm?
2 ppl got robed by stupid thief's world wide so far... well whoopie doo
I wouldn't be surprised if Apple decides to make commercials about this now.
Your iPhone is more likely to get stolen - but don't worry you'll find it again!
Yeah, I have joked about that. If someone wants to steal my car I should also offer the iPhone to the thief "Come on, take my iPhone too! It's really state of the art" hehehe
LOL...the mobile me is useful in iphone but alsoo in that car...nice
enter a password to get into MobileMe settings at least
or reset the phone to factory settings perhaps?
Here's the steps:
1. Steal an iPhone
2. Turn off it
3. Go Home.
4. After one hour remove/change the sim card, turn on the phone, disable the GPS & rest factory settings.
5. Restart the phone.
6. Insert sim card & turn it on.
7. Enjoy.
are you sure they don't know?
How is this news? Something got used for what it is meant to be used for... wow!
"and in other news... New iPhone gets used to make calls using "Call". If it were not for the iPhone's amazing GSM network compatibility and "call" feature, the user may never have been able to make a phone call. While GSM networks have been used to make calls for quite sometime with other phones, this story shows that the iPhone has produced an amazing feat by doing what it is supposed to do."
Who cares that someone used an application on their iPhone and it did what it said it would?
Stop posting crap like this and calling it "news". If someone did this with any another phone, I can bet that it wouldn't be here. I admit, it's great that the victim was able to do this, but really, come on...
There are some product offerings for those, but they don't appear to be a solid as MobileMe or they just haven't marketed them enough to get them in the consumers mind.
Personally, I really like the feature but I would rather pay for it when it's needed rather then pay for a full year of service. Knowing my luck, the phone would be stolen 2 days after my 1 year of coverage expired.
There are some product offerings for those, but they don't appear to be a solid as MobileMe or they just haven't marketed them enough to get them in the consumers mind.
Personally, I really like the feature but I would rather pay for it when it's needed rather then pay for a full year of service. Knowing my luck, the phone would be stolen 2 days after my 1 year of coverage expired.
What are you talking a bout? The Google/Android phones DO have an app to DL that does this...a FREE app. Laptops have had this for a while as well. Nothing new here and you dont see recovered laptops hitting the news like the recovered iPhone.
Might be nothing new to you, but others might be interested (I'm in that group). Care to share the names of some of these apps and services?
Others (again, me as well) might be curious as to how they work, what they cost and how successful someone has been trying to use them.
There are some product offerings for those, but they don't appear to be a solid as MobileMe or they just haven't marketed them enough to get them in the consumers mind.
Personally, I really like the feature but I would rather pay for it when it's needed rather then pay for a full year of service. Knowing my luck, the phone would be stolen 2 days after my 1 year of coverage expired.
What are you talking a bout? The Google/Android phones DO have an app to DL that does this...a FREE app. Laptops have had this for a while as well. Nothing new here and you dont see recovered laptops hitting the news like the recovered iPhone.
Yes, you did in the beginning. There were loads of stories, and information about what software to install on your computer, so you can track them down via IP/ISP, and take photos of the thiefs. Selective memory? Or just enjoy having a whinge?
How is this news? Something got used for what it is meant to be used for... wow!
"and in other news... New iPhone gets used to make calls using "Call". If it were not for the iPhone's amazing GSM network compatibility and "call" feature, the user may never have been able to make a phone call. While GSM networks have been used to make calls for quite sometime with other phones, this story shows that the iPhone has produced an amazing feat by doing what it is supposed to do."
Who cares that someone used an application on their iPhone and it did what it said it would?
Stop posting crap like this and calling it "news". If someone did this with any another phone, I can bet that it wouldn't be here. I admit, it's great that the victim was able to do this, but really, come on...
Who cares, did you complain when the news posted for weeks about Michael Jacksons death? I hope so, because I could give a rats ass about him dying, it didn't affect me and yet they play it over and over again.
On another note, can you locate the iPhone without mobileme? I'm curious, I know that the technology exists on GPS phones but I don't really know how it works.... which is a good thing because if somebody stole my phone... they could hope I don't know how to track it!!!!
LMAO. You're comparing the king of pop dying to someone finding their iPhone. That's so funny. I can't believe how ignorant you are.
Oh... by the way, the term is actually "I COULDN'T give a rats ass", because, well, if you COULD give a rats ass, that would be kinda weird...
Ah, you must either be a ravnes or browns fan then
No biggie but 'near by' is one word, correctly it is 'nearby'.
Android has a program that does this...and its free. They have a few option actually..diff apps you can Dl.
The iPhone feature was just added recently for FREE.......
I couldn't say it's free given the service is subscription based. You're still paying for it regardless of whether it was there previously or not.
It is too funny to wake up in the morning and see this story. I just had a very similar situation 2 weeks ago when I left my 32GB iPhone at a convenience store. I realized my phone was gone 4 hours later. I searched my house and car aggressively and called it a few times knowing it had a full charge. When the phone began going straight to voicemail after the 5th phone call, I realized someone had it and turned it off. It wasn't until an hour later than I remembered the location service it had and attempted to use it at the me.com site, but the site said it could not be located because it was turned off. I called AT&T and they said that they could not give me the location of the phone due to legal restrictions and it would cost me $800 to get another, and I was only 2 months into my contract. I went to bed that night very p!ss'd off at myself.
I woke up the next day and tried one more time at the me.com site and what do you know…..I perfect satellite map with the location of my phone in a house not too far from where I live. I printed the proof I had from the me.com site….knocked on the door around 9AM on a beautiful Sunday morning and a mother with 3 eggs in her hand answered……I apologized for bothering her and presented my case and proof to her….SHE freaked….took my number and said she would call me….1 minute later on the way to the car and the dad came out and told me his nephew had found a phone and he would get it to me later….
I got my phone later than night and gave him the $30 I had in my pocket as a thank you and paying for my own irresponsibility….
I tried to find insurance for it the next day, but I can't seem to find a provider…looks like homeowners and renters insurance is the only way….
It is too funny to wake up in the morning and see this story. I just had a very similar situation 2 weeks ago when I left my 32GB iPhone at a convenience store. I realized my phone was gone 4 hours later. I searched my house and car aggressively and called it a few times knowing it had a full charge. When the phone began going straight to voicemail after the 5th phone call, I realized someone had it and turned it off. It wasn't until an hour later than I remembered the location service it had and attempted to use it at the me.com site, but the site said it could not be located because it was turned off. I called AT&T and they said that they could not give me the location of the phone due to legal restrictions and it would cost me $800 to get another, and I was only 2 months into my contract. I went to bed that night very p!ss'd off at myself.
I woke up the next day and tried one more time at the me.com site and what do you know?..I perfect satellite map with the location of my phone in a house not too far from where I live. I printed the proof I had from the me.com site?.knocked on the door around 9AM on a beautiful Sunday morning and a mother with 3 eggs in her hand answered??I apologized for bothering her and presented my case and proof to her?.SHE freaked?.took my number and said she would call me?.1 minute later on the way to the car and the dad came out and told me his nephew had found a phone and he would get it to me later?.
I got my phone later than night and gave him the $30 I had in my pocket as a thank you and paying for my own irresponsibility?.
I tried to find insurance for it the next day, but I can't seem to find a provider?looks like homeowners and renters insurance is the only way?.
Im glad it turned out ok but he deserved to keep it; Losing a expensive device like that is only your fault.
I hope that everyone that reads your post will take a minute to realize why we pay so much for insurance and why we need services that can track our electronics, cars and hell, even our own body's now.....
I am trying to raise my 3 children to know that "No, they DON'T deserve to keep it". People make mistakes, people lose things that have value to them. They will be taught to do the right thing and leave the item alone and maybe the owner can come back and find it, or give it to the store owner or hold on to it and wait for it to ring....then give it back......Doing this isn't that old of a tradition in our civil society. There was a day when we didn't need to insure everything we own because people would do the right thing.
I hope that one day you lose something of very high importance to you.....And I hope that you are able to get it back from someone who knows that "They didn't deserve to keep it", and I hope this comment you made today comes back to you and you reflect on it and know that maybe its "you" that got it wrong.....
For now, I hope my children are never exposed to a person that thinks like you.....
Last edited by Intel008 on 31 Aug 2009 - 18:01
:3
I hope that everyone that reads your post will take a minute to realize why we pay so much for insurance and why we need services that can track our electronics, cars and hell, even our own body's now.....
I am trying to raise my 3 children to know that "No, they DON'T deserve to keep it". People make mistakes, people lose things that have value to them. They will be taught to do the right thing and leave the item alone and maybe the owner can come back and find it, or give it to the store owner or hold on to it and wait for it to ring....then give it back......Doing this isn't that old of a tradition in our civil society. There was a day when we didn't need to insure everything we own because people would do the right thing.
I hope that one day you lose something of very high importance to you.....And I hope that you are able to get it back from someone who knows that "They didn't deserve to keep it", and I hope this comment you made today comes back to you and you reflect on it and know that maybe its "you" that got it wrong.....
For now, I hope my children are never exposed to a person that thinks like you.....
Dont get emotional. It is the truth. You lose something of value, emotional or economical, you deserve to lose it for not taking better care of it.
Ive lost some things of value to me but I admit that it is my fault. I dont say "I made a mistake". Imagine if you have a pool, you are in the yard with your kids, you are reading your newspaper and one of your kids gets stuck in the bottom of the pool and dies.
I guess you will say "I made a mistake" as well....
Yeah, finder keepers and all that. Well, if you are 10yo, anyway. That would fit in with a lot of these posts here at Neowin.
I guess you will say "I made a mistake" as well....
I lol'd right there
Ive lost some things of value to me but I admit that it is my fault. I dont say "I made a mistake". Imagine if you have a pool, you are in the yard with your kids, you are reading your newspaper and one of your kids gets stuck in the bottom of the pool and dies.
I guess you will say "I made a mistake" as well....
Funny thing is there is no truth to what you have said. You don't deserve to keep property that does not belong to you period ! Your moral compass is so f'ed up I am not even going to bother discussing this any further with you.
Whereismyphone
GPSTracker
SmartPhoneTracker
etc. etc. are used to find lost/missing WinMo phones?
Seriously, there are fewer iPhones out there than there are WM phones, RIM phones, or Symbian phones, yet websites for some reason or another find it necessary to hyperbolize and sensationalize its significance and features rather than its lack thereof more often than not.
I am a MacBook Pro owner and therefor I had a MobileMe account. I received an email from my Mobile Me service letting me know of this feature and therefore I used it and it paid off....And they didn't charge me for it either...The MobileMe is $99 per year service, but its not for the iPhone, it for online storage, websites, and other media driven content. Apple decided to add the iPhone service to it.
I am sure these other apps you speak of are great apps, but unless you know of them, or hear of them, or wake up one random day and decide you want to search for an app that does this......You most likely will never know of them.
Whereismyphone
GPSTracker
SmartPhoneTracker
etc. etc. are used to find lost/missing WinMo phones?
Seriously, there are fewer iPhones out there than there are WM phones, RIM phones, or Symbian phones, yet websites for some reason or another find it necessary to hyperbolize and sensationalize its significance and features rather than its lack thereof more often than not.
i think it is because if someone does lose their winmo phone, the are to bust partying and rejoicing, to actually use one of these services. Then, when they sober up, they head of to the iphone store, and open a new chapter in there lives, one filled with joy, happiness and eternal glow of having a device that is pleasant to use.
Or maybe noone has written a story about getting there winmo back yet? Why don't you go and lost yours, see how it turns out.
Whereismyphone
GPSTracker
SmartPhoneTracker
etc. etc. are used to find lost/missing WinMo phones?
Seriously, there are fewer iPhones out there than there are WM phones, RIM phones, or Symbian phones, yet websites for some reason or another find it necessary to hyperbolize and sensationalize its significance and features rather than its lack thereof more often than not.
i think it is because if someone does lose their winmo phone, the are to bust partying and rejoicing, to actually use one of these services. Then, when they sober up, they head of to the iphone store, and open a new chapter in there lives, one filled with joy, happiness and eternal glow of having a device that is pleasant to use.
Or maybe noone has written a story about getting there winmo back yet? Why don't you go and lost yours, see how it turns out.
Continued... there newly purchased plastic toy later explodes in there jeans pocket, catching fire to the fabric causing permanent damage and dis-figuration to there leg, traumatising them for life. They later contact Apple, only to be told they are only entitled to a refund once they have signed and returned a confidentiality agreement. The joy, happiness and eternal glow they once felt is replaced with that of a sense of reality and perspective. The end.
Last edited by TSO on 01 Sep 2009 - 14:40
I am a MacBook Pro owner and therefor I had a MobileMe account. I received an email from my Mobile Me service letting me know of this feature and therefore I used it and it paid off....And they didn't charge me for it either...The MobileMe is $99 per year service, but its not for the iPhone, it for online storage, websites, and other media driven content. Apple decided to add the iPhone service to it.
I am sure these other apps you speak of are great apps, but unless you know of them, or hear of them, or wake up one random day and decide you want to search for an app that does this......You most likely will never know of them.
I am a MacBook Pro owner and therefor I had a MobileMe account. I received an email from my Mobile Me service letting me know of this feature and therefore I used it and it paid off....And they didn't charge me for it either...The MobileMe is $99 per year service, but its not for the iPhone, it for online storage, websites, and other media driven content. Apple decided to add the iPhone service to it.
I am sure these other apps you speak of are great apps, but unless you know of them, or hear of them, or wake up one random day and decide you want to search for an app that does this......You most likely will never know of them.
You have posted this how many times?
Or are you surprised that normal people outside of neowin actually know what an iPhone is?
I literally was away from the table for less than 30 seconds, when I returned my iPhone had disappeared with out a trace.
With the iPhone serial number I reported it stolen here:
http://www.stolen-property.com/report-stolen-iPhone.php
It's reassuring to know that my stolen iPhone's serial number is permanently reported stolen on this website.
Hopefully this helps anyone else dealing with iPhone theft.
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