Yes, we’ve all read the iPhone theft/loss stories where the owner happily retrieves their lost phone, but I couldn’t resist posting this story about a thief who is not only ignorant about technology but also extremely unlucky.
Horatio Toure is a thief who doesn’t know about technology. If he did, he wouldn’t have tried to steal an iPhone, because he would know that the chances of the user being able to locate their phone using Find My iPhone are pretty high.
Still, throwing caution and intelligence to the wind, Toure jumped on his bicycle, rode up to a woman in the South of Market neighborhood in San Francisco and snatched her iPhone right out of her hand.
What Toure didn’t know was that the woman was part of a demonstration for GPS software. To track the location of phones in real time. For the police and the military.
Of course the woman, Jordan Sturm hurried back to the office and notified her superiors and the police, who promptly arrested Toure and booked him for grand theft and possession of stolen goods.
Look thieves, stealing gadgets has become too risky. Every device you can buy these days does a million things and includes phone, camera and GPS capability, so until they add GPS to dollar bills, stick to stealing the paper stuff, okay?
I suppose, but then not many people use Find My iPhone (at least, no-one i know), as it’s almost cheaper to buy a new phone… And thats if does get stolen.
I am so glad the thief was apprehended. With the popularity of mobile devices something everyone has to remember is they need to have a plan for if/when their mobile is stolen. That is one thing I like about the upcoming Windows 7 phone, you will be able to erase remotely so at the very least you can’t get your ID stolen from the contents of your phone.
I once envisioned that each of our personal items can have some tiny object inserted into it which could help us track its whereabouts. Imagine being able to track stuff like rings, keys, and sunglasses. We simply log into some system which quickly shows us their location on a map. The Find My iPhone should definitely be a free service though…
I recommend everyone keep a lock on their smart phone. Android gives you a “pattern lock” – which allows you to swipe your fingers in a certain pattern to unlock the phone.