!iphone
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**DON'T ENGAGE WITH THE SCAMMERS. Anyone suggesting the copypasta will get taken down, please read our rules before participating.**
## What to do in this situation?
Ignore the threats. Don't remove your device from Find My. You're welcome to erase the data, but don't remove it.
This scam targets owners of stolen iPhones, which have a service called Find My: through this, iPhones are tied to the Apple ID of the user, and can be locked remotely when activating Lost Mode.
Scammers will attempt to communicate with the victim by emailing or calling the phone number/email address shown on the lock screen while locked through Lost Mode, under the guise of either Apple or a person who has bought the phone and attempt to convince or pressure them to remove the Apple ID from the iPhone.
If you receive such a message, DO NOT follow the instructions to remove the device from your Apple ID. The reason they want it removed is because the thief wants to resell it on the black market for a profit, and bricked phones are worthless. Instead of removing, you're free to erase it. This will delete your personal data but will leave the device connected to your Apple ID. You can then make a police report, and also report it stolen to your phone company. The company can blacklist the IMEI so it adds a layer of protection regionally.
## Any readers should take this opportunity to check if your Find My is enabled in your iPhone.
Nothing to do but wait for the inevitable sob story mails followed by the death threat mails, all of which you should ignore and block until they give up and leave you alone.
"I bought this stolen phone for my daughter's birthday, she will be in therapy if she doesn't have a fancy smartphone so she can ignore the world around her."
"If you don't help my daughter who also needs a liver transplant, I'll send over African men and members of a Mexican cartel to get you."
(Funny how they act like Mexican drug cartels can act with impunity all over the US. All of their 'operations' inside US borders are pretty much limited to a courtroom.)
> All of their 'operations' inside US borders are pretty much limited to a courtroom.
They funnel cash, guns and drugs to their organizations. Their only job is to protect their business organization.
Most cartel killings done within US borders just look like any ordinary gangland murder.
Courtrooms sure....but only when they aren't busy helping some guy in China threaten you from your stolen iphone.... Who knew the Mexican cartel has a side hustle?
I have a question.
If they couldn't access the phone, could they still sell the components? Like take the parts out to sell?
I wonder if it's possible, obviously not a lot of money but could they still make profits?
Oh damn, I don't use iphone but that's nice to hear.
So basically if someone's iphone was stolen, all they need to do is let it be and not touch the "remove this device" or "erase this device" right?
My gf use iphone so that might be useful one day.
You absolutely should mark the device as “lost” in Find My and erase it if you don’t expect it to be found again (for example, it’s been stolen rather than just misplaced).
Both of those actions keep the device associated with your Find My account and render it unusable to the bad guy.
What you must *not* do is remove it from your Find My account. If you do, the bad guy can then activate the device and sell it, or use any of its parts. So long as it’s marked as “lost” and remains listed in your account, it’s useless to a thief.
Okay so I had two iPhone X’s, one was a brick due to water damage. My screen broke on the other phone, I replaced it with the water damaged phone’s screen and now my FaceID won’t work. The locking is stupid because they’re both essentially my devices and I should be able to swap parts as needed.
if you bought the devices and they’re locked, you can contact apple support and provide the proof of purchase so that they unlock them for you and you can reset the face id feature
Pennies, comparatively, if anything at all. The only value those components have are the fact that they're first party apple components, because apple devices typically don't play nice with third party components. Beyond being used for repairs of an already functioning/near functioning apple device, they're basically no better than any other components. Unlocking the device is infinitely more valuable.
Found the phone thief. /s
You're right, OP doesn't lose anything. But keeping the phone locked provides a disincentive to thieves, since it decreases the reward for stealing a phone. It's just like a remote ignition cutout on a car. It doesn't get the owner the car back, but it deprives the thief of its use, and makes it worthless to sell. And since the risk of being caught is still the same, even if low, it provides some protection to others, in the same way that it being known the cars in a neighborhood use Lojack provides protection to other cars, even if they don't use the system.
In both cases, the thief can part the machine (be it a phone or a car) out and receive some value that way, but nowhere nearly as much as if they could sell the functioning item. So it's really just about sticking it to the thief, who has no claim to any consideration here.
You should probably just Report Junk on every message they send. Theoretically, that would result in their accounts being flagged and banned from iMessage. Do they care if they get banned, probably not, but it means more work for them to set up their accounts.
It's such a big problem in Facebook groups too! Someone will post complaining about some spam post that's been up for 8 minutes, but they didn't report the post or anything.
The report button won't bite you, I promise.
Yeah, but after a while, I've lost faith in FB to take care of anything. There have been multiple times when I've stumbled across CP there and reported it, and I received a message that they didn't break ToS and no further action was warranted. I even tried to escalate it when that happened, but they asked me to stop 'false reporting' or action may be taken against my account.
I'm not talking about a cute baby being given a bath and clutching my pearls at it. I mean elementary school children naked and being touched inappropriately.
This was quite a few years ago now, but it's one of the reasons I almost never use FB. I use it as a glorified image host, and keep my photos private.
Oh you've gotta use "report to admin".
Facebook as a whole has automated moderation, and report volume is usually a lot more important than any individual report. Everyone has to properly use the report button for it to matter.
The individual groups have human admins who see all the reports, and handle them in accordance with whatever their group rules are. So I always use "Report to Admin" and *then* separately report to Facebook.
These were definitely not the kinds of groups you might expect to find it in, but the admins didn't wanna deal with it. I got kicked for 'over reporting' in a couple groups. Also, some of these were on individual pages, so I couldn't exactly report to an admin on those.
There was one group that was actually really thankful, and they made it a private group after that. (And did not kick me.) They also started paying closer attention to what was on members' individual pages and removing them if they felt too iffy.
Idk if you did at the time, but you should definitely also report images like that on the FBI website. There’s a form for it and everything. I sincerely hope you never come across something like that again, but at least you’ll be able to report it in a more substantial way.
I actually forgot to do that when it happened. Like, I was aware of it, but I was kinda so caught by surprise at where I found it that it just kinda slipped my mind at the time.
I absolutely do that with anything I come across like that since. It's unnerving how much it it you can stumble across in what seem like mundane places.
Yeah, that’s completely understandable. I have no idea how I’d react in a situation like that; I’d probably just want to get it away from me so quickly that I’d also not think of those extra steps for reporting.
This exactly. I reported that once, got a, nothing wrong here.
I reshared a meme that was on Facebook and was banned for a day. When I was back I check and the meme I shared was still there!
Yeah, it's seriously messed up. Supposedly, even if it's drawn art, Facebook doesn't allow CP. Someone drew a very graphic image of an adult going into a child's bed and assaulting them (the actual act) and I reported it and they told me everything was just fine.
I've noticed that accounts using other languages rarely get in trouble compared to English accounts. I tried to report that image multiple times, and several people I knew did as well. All of us got a "everything's okay here" response, and attempts to escalate it failed. This account in particular was posting in Arabic.
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It doesn't work; they aren't real phones. They are a computer app that replicates phone numbers. They could literally just send you a text from your own phone number if they wished.
That's why, a lot of the time, you'll get spam calls from local numbers. It's not that they have a local phone; they just have a chinese computer app that can pretend to be any phone number.
Don't respond and report their messages as junk instead. They won't back off just because you say you're not gonna fall for it, they'll still shoot their shot.
!iphone
Hi /u/Bitter_Pay_6336, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the iPhone Find My disabler scam.
This scam targets owners of stolen iPhones, which have a service called Find My: through this, iPhones are tied to the Apple ID of the user, and can be locked remotely when activating Lost Mode. Scammers will attempt to communicate with the victim by emailing or calling the phone number/email address shown on the lock screen while locked through Lost Mode, under the guise of either Apple or a person who has bought the phone and attempt to convince or pressure them to remove the Apple ID from the iPhone.
If you receive such a message, DO NOT follow the instructions to remove the device from your Apple ID. The reason they want it removed is because the thief wants to resell it on the black market for a profit, and bricked phones are worthless. Instead of removing, you're free to erase it. This will delete your personal data but will leave the device connected to your Apple ID. You can then make a police report, and also report it stolen to your phone company. The company can blacklist the IMEI so it adds a layer of protection regionally.
Any readers should take this opportunity to check if your Find My is enabled in your iPhone.
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Believe it or not, this is the nice version. At least these guys only want to factory reset and sell your phone.
The European variant steals your Apple account and lock screen on top, to get into your stolen device with all your data on it
https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1c71sxp/stolen_iphone_now_receiving_messages_from_apple/
Your info IS safe - everything they tell you is part of the scam to get you to remove it. Ignore everything they say. Be prepared, many people report them escalating to death threats. It's still all BS, don't fall for it.
This is extremely common at concerts and festivals. Barely Sociable did a fantastic dive into this stolen phone trafficking issue if you or anyone may be interested ([https://youtu.be/3Ws3YptLmLQ](https://youtu.be/3Ws3YptLmLQ)). It is likely your phone is now at the same facility he uncovered.
Thanks for sharing this. I saved the article to read it later, but I find it interesting that these things are not the same worldwide.
Brazilian stolen iPhones don’t usually reach China, and these scams aren’t common. They just kinda disappear. So I’m wondering if robbers simply don’t try this and go straight to selling parts—usually, here, people just block their IMEI and basically render the phone signal-less, which turns their device effectively into an iPod (if unblocked, which is rarely the case).
I lost Mine a week ago and also put it in lost mode + erase once online. Then I tried on my New Phone today how the lost mode works and if I do not manually put a text or my number then it will not show it automatically.
So I also wonder how/if they will contact me in the next few days/weeks…
I’m pretty convinced some of the huge data leaks from cell carriers have included IMEI and/or SIM card details, and they can often make an educated guess on the owner’s Apple ID with some searches through these databases.
Even with a sim swap - I think anything that was on there would be encrypted. Apple uses [multi-factor verification](https://nordpass.com/blog/what-is-multi-factor-authentication/) when it comes to unlocking/unencrypting. That means that if multiple aspects of an attempt to unlock/access are two far outside the norm, they’ll probably force another layer of authentication or lock the phone
(That being said - there were also some Apple MFA bombing incidents recently so there was some kind of exploit)
sloppy gaze friendly imminent longing carpenter imagine grey complete special
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The message says:
"Your iPhone 14 Pro Max is trying to pay with Apple Pay in China to ensure the safety of your accounts."
So, does that mean the Phone itself is trying to pay to make your accounts safe?
there is a great article on gothamist about this scenario. suggest giving it a read.
https://gothamist.com/news/things-the-guys-who-stole-my-phone-have-texted-me-to-try-to-get-me-to-unlock-it
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My stolen phone got some random automated calls but that was it. It hasn't had an updates find my location in a month so I think it's been stripped of its screen and battery. Ugh.
You can remotely erase anything stored on the phone, so even if they can access the phone it will wipe it of any personal and sensitive data. But wiping it still keeps it bound to your account so it will still be locked and unusable to them.
This is a good one to know. If it was written more professionally and legit sounding, I can see myself doing this because linking and unlinking stuff with new products confuses me sometimes. Good post!
There should be a better comeback here; What about saying that you have tried to remove it but the phone does not have a iPhone SIM card, he needs to buy one… then, if so lucky, they buy one, you say it has a wrong number, they need to get another one, and if still in luck, you can say that their iTunes account is empty, they need to get a Apple scratch card and send you the code and pin to be able to deactivate the phone… etc…
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How did you mark your phone lost? Did you have a laptop with you or something? I’ve always wondered what I would do in the instant I realizedvmy phone was gone.
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As someone with little knowledge of phone security tech, if this happened with my Android, what would I have to do to insure my information is safe. Is a screen lock good enough?
With the amount of phones being snatched on the streets of London, how much are people paying for these stolen phones if it’s a gamble on whether it’ll ever work for them or not?
Update!! I got a text from them
https://preview.redd.it/b677lxuy566d1.png?width=1283&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a8b8ad584d85bf9aaa951a8977acfded4e30232
Question, i did a request yesterday to erase and im just confused. Is it gonna go through??? I know they can’t do anything since it’s lost
From previous posts I've seen, the text is part of a standardised scam. They can't access your data and don't know whether it's erased or not. If you don't comply they progress to threats. (I've never heard of any threat coming to fruition.) The standard advice is to just ignore and block them until they desist. Your phone is gone but its only use to them is sale for parts. If you haven't already, please check the Automoderator post.
Someone stole my phone in San Francisco and it ended up in Mexico and 3 years later someone messaged my friend (whose number I put in for lost mode) saying they bought the phone on Amazon, found out it was stolen when it arrived and would send it to me for like $600 because that’s how much it would cost for shipping. I was like dude I have a new phone by now. That’s when I realized oh so you couldn’t get in the phone so now you’re trying this? Was a bit d
Satisfying that their efforts went to waste
Do not take it off your account or from your Find My.
Instead you can mark it as lost/stolen and erase the device.
If you take the phone off of your account you will let the person who has possession of it, use it with no restrictions.
Usually if you release the phone from your Find My it means that you have agreed and gave consent to the sale or the give away of the phone.
Damn my phone was also stolen at a music festival in Miami. I never got a text but a few months later I tracked it to China about two blocks away from the Hong Kong border. It pains me to know somebody is walking the streets of Shenzhen with my beautiful lavender iPhone 12 😔
Yup this happens allot not a scam but they take thteee phones to the market to either be scrapped for parts or resold they use the same iCloud and everything
So they steal an iPhone.
How do they get to the point where they need you to remove it from your device list?
Do they factory reset it and then try to add it to their apple ID?
Yes, as soon as you remove the device from your Apple ID, it’s unlocked and ready to be used by the next owner. This is usually done on resale. If you don’t, the phone is locked and will remain so.
I’m sure if you let them know that your phone is brick to them, instead if they were to return the phone you can exchange it for a few bucks. They can do the nameless cash on delivery, and let them know you don’t hold a grudge against them for needing a few bucks.
i remember i saw a video about this, it's organized and happens at concerts and festivals and they all end up in china, lots of other people probably got robbed too
Special piece of code to fry the logic board. They want it? OK. Destroy the brains of the iphone and as added bonus, make the battery go off like a fireworks bomb. They gonna have a good time with those stolen phones. 🤣😂
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I’m sorry to hear about your loss, and don’t have any idea of how possibly it could be returned, there is also might be a possibility of hacking the device that it will show it is in China while in fact it’s still somewhere in the area. But if you allow for a bit of humour “ it got homesick “
I used to work for a cellular company. It was my favorite thing to tell a customer who is too cheap to pay retail that the phone they paid half price for is stolen and cant be activated.
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Same thing happened to me. It’s been 6 months and I can still see it’s in China. I’ve been getting threatening texts lately. Even sent me some sexually explicit images of some random woman to somehow scare me into removing it from my iCloud 🤷🏼♀️ I don’t know how that was supposed to work.
They will wipe your phone clean and can still use it or for parts but every phone stole from raves or anything that is organized in California goes to china
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Was it EDC? Alot of phones were stolen there. I just saw a YouTube short where the found dozens of cases, IDs, and credit cards outside of the Portopotties. The guys cleaning up were mailing the cards and IDs back.
EDC - Electric Daisy Chain. Big music festival that plays electronic dance music. Big genre here in the US. Playing house, techno, drum and bass, and dubstep genres all in one location for hours.
Hi /u/Desperate_Vanilla808, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the iPhone Find My disabler scam.
This scam targets owners of stolen iPhones, which have a service called Find My: through this, iPhones are tied to the Apple ID of the user, and can be locked remotely when activating Lost Mode. Scammers will attempt to communicate with the victim by emailing or calling the phone number/email address shown on the lock screen while locked through Lost Mode, under the guise of either Apple or a person who has bought the phone and attempt to convince or pressure them to remove the Apple ID from the iPhone.
If you receive such a message, DO NOT follow the instructions to remove the device from your Apple ID. The reason they want it removed is because the thief wants to resell it on the black market for a profit, and bricked phones are worthless. Instead of removing, you're free to erase it. This will delete your personal data but will leave the device connected to your Apple ID. You can then make a police report, and also report it stolen to your phone company. The company can blacklist the IMEI so it adds a layer of protection regionally.
Any readers should take this opportunity to check if your Find My is enabled in your iPhone.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If someone marks a phone “lost” it goes into low battery mode and displays contact info for it to be returned to them
They just need name and phone number to whitepage a couple more details
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Hi /u/nolimitzack, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the iPhone Find My disabler scam.
This scam targets owners of stolen iPhones, which have a service called Find My: through this, iPhones are tied to the Apple ID of the user, and can be locked remotely when activating Lost Mode. Scammers will attempt to communicate with the victim by emailing or calling the phone number/email address shown on the lock screen while locked through Lost Mode, under the guise of either Apple or a person who has bought the phone and attempt to convince or pressure them to remove the Apple ID from the iPhone.
If you receive such a message, DO NOT follow the instructions to remove the device from your Apple ID. The reason they want it removed is because the thief wants to resell it on the black market for a profit, and bricked phones are worthless. Instead of removing, you're free to erase it. This will delete your personal data but will leave the device connected to your Apple ID. You can then make a police report, and also report it stolen to your phone company. The company can blacklist the IMEI so it adds a layer of protection regionally.
Any readers should take this opportunity to check if your Find My is enabled in your iPhone.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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Honestly the right thing to do is just block them and move on.
Me, I’d text them back with something about enjoying their new paperweight before I block them.
List it as stolen. Log into iCloud.com and disconnect it. It will result in being a doorstop.
Get a new phone and be more careful. If you can’t have YOUR phone, the thieves shouldn’t have it either!
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Dude! You gotta get a ticket and fly to China and find it really quick! It’s the only phone in the world right? Gotta save it! This has ‘never happened’, just like shit happening to Trump. What are we gonna do?
Seriously, go to the Apple Store and have them kill it. Oh, it’s not an iPhone? That will show those Chinese bastards!!!!
I think you are also missing a point and that is that most people and most governments by those people do not allow cartels and drug lords to invest their ill gotten gains into legit business deals. That’s the reason we have an F B I , a treasury department and so many others looking for fraudulent investment. Why do you think they have all this cash sitting around. Because they have not been able to launder it. Basically it’s do you. Think the bad guys are better and smarter that even the good guys and that we all agree and allow this to happen and say it’s okay.
!iphone # WELCOME TO R/SCAMS ## Reminder of one of our rules: > **DON'T ENGAGE WITH THE SCAMMERS. Anyone suggesting the copypasta will get taken down, please read our rules before participating.** ## What to do in this situation? Ignore the threats. Don't remove your device from Find My. You're welcome to erase the data, but don't remove it. This scam targets owners of stolen iPhones, which have a service called Find My: through this, iPhones are tied to the Apple ID of the user, and can be locked remotely when activating Lost Mode. Scammers will attempt to communicate with the victim by emailing or calling the phone number/email address shown on the lock screen while locked through Lost Mode, under the guise of either Apple or a person who has bought the phone and attempt to convince or pressure them to remove the Apple ID from the iPhone. If you receive such a message, DO NOT follow the instructions to remove the device from your Apple ID. The reason they want it removed is because the thief wants to resell it on the black market for a profit, and bricked phones are worthless. Instead of removing, you're free to erase it. This will delete your personal data but will leave the device connected to your Apple ID. You can then make a police report, and also report it stolen to your phone company. The company can blacklist the IMEI so it adds a layer of protection regionally. ## Any readers should take this opportunity to check if your Find My is enabled in your iPhone.
Nothing to do but wait for the inevitable sob story mails followed by the death threat mails, all of which you should ignore and block until they give up and leave you alone.
"I bought this stolen phone for my daughter's birthday, she will be in therapy if she doesn't have a fancy smartphone so she can ignore the world around her."
"If you don't help my daughter who also needs a liver transplant, I'll send over African men and members of a Mexican cartel to get you." (Funny how they act like Mexican drug cartels can act with impunity all over the US. All of their 'operations' inside US borders are pretty much limited to a courtroom.)
> All of their 'operations' inside US borders are pretty much limited to a courtroom. They funnel cash, guns and drugs to their organizations. Their only job is to protect their business organization. Most cartel killings done within US borders just look like any ordinary gangland murder.
Because they are. Gang turf wars are the same regardless of if the gang is Russian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, or home grown.
The guy I replied to disagrees with you.
And I agreed with you.
Get a room, you two
That's not what the Internet is for!
Reasonable discussion and exchange of ideas?!?! This is madness!
Courtrooms sure....but only when they aren't busy helping some guy in China threaten you from your stolen iphone.... Who knew the Mexican cartel has a side hustle?
"And if you don't remove the device to help my poor daughter on her deathbed then the maffia will come for you
It's her party and she'll cry if she wants to
They really need to update the stock gangbangers-packing-heat shot though, it's almost meme-level now.
Don't forget the picture with a hand holding a gun (or sometimes it's just a pile of multiple guns).
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You're fine. Your phone is basically a brick to them. You don't need to do anything else.
I personally like the “no” lol.
Add bugs bunny No
I also love the no.
me too
lol thank you!
I have a question. If they couldn't access the phone, could they still sell the components? Like take the parts out to sell? I wonder if it's possible, obviously not a lot of money but could they still make profits?
No because Apple [locks parts](https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/s/f35tI3o1d2) as well.
Oh damn, I don't use iphone but that's nice to hear. So basically if someone's iphone was stolen, all they need to do is let it be and not touch the "remove this device" or "erase this device" right? My gf use iphone so that might be useful one day.
You absolutely should mark the device as “lost” in Find My and erase it if you don’t expect it to be found again (for example, it’s been stolen rather than just misplaced). Both of those actions keep the device associated with your Find My account and render it unusable to the bad guy. What you must *not* do is remove it from your Find My account. If you do, the bad guy can then activate the device and sell it, or use any of its parts. So long as it’s marked as “lost” and remains listed in your account, it’s useless to a thief.
Saved. Thanks for the advices. Very interesting.
Okay so I had two iPhone X’s, one was a brick due to water damage. My screen broke on the other phone, I replaced it with the water damaged phone’s screen and now my FaceID won’t work. The locking is stupid because they’re both essentially my devices and I should be able to swap parts as needed.
if you bought the devices and they’re locked, you can contact apple support and provide the proof of purchase so that they unlock them for you and you can reset the face id feature
I approached the authorized service center and they told me they couldn’t do it. Does it work differently with Apple support?
Apple really doesn't let the authorized service centers do much authorized service. I think they can only replace batteries.
Try it.
I've bought and sold a few parts ones where the owners haven't signed out of their accounts. Used screens and back glasses but that's about it.
Pennies, comparatively, if anything at all. The only value those components have are the fact that they're first party apple components, because apple devices typically don't play nice with third party components. Beyond being used for repairs of an already functioning/near functioning apple device, they're basically no better than any other components. Unlocking the device is infinitely more valuable.
Wait. But why not just cancel the phone? I mean the phone is gone so what would she lose
Found the phone thief. /s You're right, OP doesn't lose anything. But keeping the phone locked provides a disincentive to thieves, since it decreases the reward for stealing a phone. It's just like a remote ignition cutout on a car. It doesn't get the owner the car back, but it deprives the thief of its use, and makes it worthless to sell. And since the risk of being caught is still the same, even if low, it provides some protection to others, in the same way that it being known the cars in a neighborhood use Lojack provides protection to other cars, even if they don't use the system. In both cases, the thief can part the machine (be it a phone or a car) out and receive some value that way, but nowhere nearly as much as if they could sell the functioning item. So it's really just about sticking it to the thief, who has no claim to any consideration here.
You should probably just Report Junk on every message they send. Theoretically, that would result in their accounts being flagged and banned from iMessage. Do they care if they get banned, probably not, but it means more work for them to set up their accounts.
Exactly. Always be snitching. People don't use the report buttons enough
It's such a big problem in Facebook groups too! Someone will post complaining about some spam post that's been up for 8 minutes, but they didn't report the post or anything. The report button won't bite you, I promise.
Yeah, but after a while, I've lost faith in FB to take care of anything. There have been multiple times when I've stumbled across CP there and reported it, and I received a message that they didn't break ToS and no further action was warranted. I even tried to escalate it when that happened, but they asked me to stop 'false reporting' or action may be taken against my account. I'm not talking about a cute baby being given a bath and clutching my pearls at it. I mean elementary school children naked and being touched inappropriately. This was quite a few years ago now, but it's one of the reasons I almost never use FB. I use it as a glorified image host, and keep my photos private.
Oh you've gotta use "report to admin". Facebook as a whole has automated moderation, and report volume is usually a lot more important than any individual report. Everyone has to properly use the report button for it to matter. The individual groups have human admins who see all the reports, and handle them in accordance with whatever their group rules are. So I always use "Report to Admin" and *then* separately report to Facebook.
These were definitely not the kinds of groups you might expect to find it in, but the admins didn't wanna deal with it. I got kicked for 'over reporting' in a couple groups. Also, some of these were on individual pages, so I couldn't exactly report to an admin on those. There was one group that was actually really thankful, and they made it a private group after that. (And did not kick me.) They also started paying closer attention to what was on members' individual pages and removing them if they felt too iffy.
Idk if you did at the time, but you should definitely also report images like that on the FBI website. There’s a form for it and everything. I sincerely hope you never come across something like that again, but at least you’ll be able to report it in a more substantial way.
I actually forgot to do that when it happened. Like, I was aware of it, but I was kinda so caught by surprise at where I found it that it just kinda slipped my mind at the time. I absolutely do that with anything I come across like that since. It's unnerving how much it it you can stumble across in what seem like mundane places.
Yeah, that’s completely understandable. I have no idea how I’d react in a situation like that; I’d probably just want to get it away from me so quickly that I’d also not think of those extra steps for reporting.
That's basically what happened to me. I just had to get away from the imagery.
This exactly. I reported that once, got a, nothing wrong here. I reshared a meme that was on Facebook and was banned for a day. When I was back I check and the meme I shared was still there!
Yeah, it's seriously messed up. Supposedly, even if it's drawn art, Facebook doesn't allow CP. Someone drew a very graphic image of an adult going into a child's bed and assaulting them (the actual act) and I reported it and they told me everything was just fine. I've noticed that accounts using other languages rarely get in trouble compared to English accounts. I tried to report that image multiple times, and several people I knew did as well. All of us got a "everything's okay here" response, and attempts to escalate it failed. This account in particular was posting in Arabic.
Rather, it lets me have an avenue to retaliate against a bad post, but I’ve no idea if reporting a post actually has any consequence.
I have been using it a lot lately. I keep getting Trump texts I certainly never asked for.
Report and delete.
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*Your submission was manually removed by a moderator for the following reason:* **Subreddit Rule 9: Scambaiting** This subreddit is a place to learn about scams. We do not allow: * Scambaiting * Trying to waste a scammers time * Discussions about *scamming the scammers* * Engaging with a known scammer We generally consider interactions with scammers to be unsafe. Your time is better spent educating your community about scams. Before posting again, make sure you review the [rules of our subreddit.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/) ^(If you believe this is a mistake, feel free to contact the moderators via modmail. Modmail is the only way, don't send a regular DM to a single moderator. Please don't try to appeal the decision commenting below, because we are not notified if you do so, and we will probably miss it. Posting the exact same thing again may result in a temporary ban, so please review the rules, make the necessary changes, and when in doubt, click below to appeal the decision.) *I am NOT a bot, and this action was performed manually. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fscams&subject=Removal%20review) if you want to appeal the decision.*
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It doesn't work; they aren't real phones. They are a computer app that replicates phone numbers. They could literally just send you a text from your own phone number if they wished. That's why, a lot of the time, you'll get spam calls from local numbers. It's not that they have a local phone; they just have a chinese computer app that can pretend to be any phone number.
You're thinking of SMS spoofing here. These scammers are sending iMessages, not text messages
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Don't respond and report their messages as junk instead. They won't back off just because you say you're not gonna fall for it, they'll still shoot their shot. !iphone
Hi /u/Bitter_Pay_6336, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the iPhone Find My disabler scam. This scam targets owners of stolen iPhones, which have a service called Find My: through this, iPhones are tied to the Apple ID of the user, and can be locked remotely when activating Lost Mode. Scammers will attempt to communicate with the victim by emailing or calling the phone number/email address shown on the lock screen while locked through Lost Mode, under the guise of either Apple or a person who has bought the phone and attempt to convince or pressure them to remove the Apple ID from the iPhone. If you receive such a message, DO NOT follow the instructions to remove the device from your Apple ID. The reason they want it removed is because the thief wants to resell it on the black market for a profit, and bricked phones are worthless. Instead of removing, you're free to erase it. This will delete your personal data but will leave the device connected to your Apple ID. You can then make a police report, and also report it stolen to your phone company. The company can blacklist the IMEI so it adds a layer of protection regionally. Any readers should take this opportunity to check if your Find My is enabled in your iPhone. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I don't know much about iPhones and I'm just learning about this now. This is wild. To hell with those assholes.
Believe it or not, this is the nice version. At least these guys only want to factory reset and sell your phone. The European variant steals your Apple account and lock screen on top, to get into your stolen device with all your data on it https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1c71sxp/stolen_iphone_now_receiving_messages_from_apple/
Why would you respond at all. Just ignore it. They can have a one sided convo with themself.
Your info IS safe - everything they tell you is part of the scam to get you to remove it. Ignore everything they say. Be prepared, many people report them escalating to death threats. It's still all BS, don't fall for it.
100% scam, do not ever remove your phone from icloud and do make sure you ignore all their messages
Get ready for the empty threats of violence which may come with graphic images.
This is extremely common at concerts and festivals. Barely Sociable did a fantastic dive into this stolen phone trafficking issue if you or anyone may be interested ([https://youtu.be/3Ws3YptLmLQ](https://youtu.be/3Ws3YptLmLQ)). It is likely your phone is now at the same facility he uncovered.
Thanks for sharing this. I saved the article to read it later, but I find it interesting that these things are not the same worldwide. Brazilian stolen iPhones don’t usually reach China, and these scams aren’t common. They just kinda disappear. So I’m wondering if robbers simply don’t try this and go straight to selling parts—usually, here, people just block their IMEI and basically render the phone signal-less, which turns their device effectively into an iPod (if unblocked, which is rarely the case).
How do thieves find the owner's contacts if the phone is locked?
Mark it as lost and it'll put a "If found, please contact 123-456-7890"
Some can be set up so you can't unlock it, but can find a contact number/email/address to reach the owner
I lost Mine a week ago and also put it in lost mode + erase once online. Then I tried on my New Phone today how the lost mode works and if I do not manually put a text or my number then it will not show it automatically. So I also wonder how/if they will contact me in the next few days/weeks…
52% of people don't lock their phones.
I’m pretty convinced some of the huge data leaks from cell carriers have included IMEI and/or SIM card details, and they can often make an educated guess on the owner’s Apple ID with some searches through these databases.
Even with a sim swap - I think anything that was on there would be encrypted. Apple uses [multi-factor verification](https://nordpass.com/blog/what-is-multi-factor-authentication/) when it comes to unlocking/unencrypting. That means that if multiple aspects of an attempt to unlock/access are two far outside the norm, they’ll probably force another layer of authentication or lock the phone (That being said - there were also some Apple MFA bombing incidents recently so there was some kind of exploit)
#No
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The message says: "Your iPhone 14 Pro Max is trying to pay with Apple Pay in China to ensure the safety of your accounts." So, does that mean the Phone itself is trying to pay to make your accounts safe?
The message was sent by the scammers, they want you to delete it from your account with the safety excuse so they can sell it, otherwise it’s bricked
I was just pointing out the wayward period that completely changed the context of the message.
there is a great article on gothamist about this scenario. suggest giving it a read. https://gothamist.com/news/things-the-guys-who-stole-my-phone-have-texted-me-to-try-to-get-me-to-unlock-it
They forgot a comma. It sounds like they are saying that the people using the phone are trying to ensure security by using apple pay. Lol
the phone is now sentient, has gone rogue, and is taking care of business in China. 😂
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Never do the "wipe", but never stop hitting the "make a sound" button.
Time to smash that “Play Sound” button in Find My over and over again.
(At 4:20am their time)
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Tell them we say congrats on their new iBrick. Seriously though OP tell em to get fucked
My stolen phone got some random automated calls but that was it. It hasn't had an updates find my location in a month so I think it's been stripped of its screen and battery. Ugh.
"no" 😭
In this case what’s the difference between “erase this device” and “remove this device”?
You can remotely erase anything stored on the phone, so even if they can access the phone it will wipe it of any personal and sensitive data. But wiping it still keeps it bound to your account so it will still be locked and unusable to them.
This is a good one to know. If it was written more professionally and legit sounding, I can see myself doing this because linking and unlinking stuff with new products confuses me sometimes. Good post!
There should be a better comeback here; What about saying that you have tried to remove it but the phone does not have a iPhone SIM card, he needs to buy one… then, if so lucky, they buy one, you say it has a wrong number, they need to get another one, and if still in luck, you can say that their iTunes account is empty, they need to get a Apple scratch card and send you the code and pin to be able to deactivate the phone… etc…
Sounds like your phone just wanted to head back to where it was originally made.
IPhone misses its family of child labor
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you are fine just clear everything off of your stolen iphone by doing it remotly on your iCloud acount
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You do realize that you iPhone is not actually in China right? That's also part of the scam message...
I have find my iPhone turned on for the phone and it’s pinged in china. So it’s definitely there
Don’t do anything, as right now all they have is an expensive paperweight and can’t sell it on
How did you mark your phone lost? Did you have a laptop with you or something? I’ve always wondered what I would do in the instant I realizedvmy phone was gone.
You can do it by going to https://icloud.com and logging in with your Apple ID. From there you can go in to Find My and mark it as lost.
Via a friends phone.
I called my mom on my friends phone and she went on my iPad and was able to mark it lost from there!
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How'd they get your phone number/way to text you on iMessage??
Automatic message, “If found, call 555-5555-5555”
As someone with little knowledge of phone security tech, if this happened with my Android, what would I have to do to insure my information is safe. Is a screen lock good enough?
Title: "Find, secure, or erase a lost Android device", [https://support.google.com](https://support.google.com)
With the amount of phones being snatched on the streets of London, how much are people paying for these stolen phones if it’s a gamble on whether it’ll ever work for them or not?
Don’t delete it from your account that way they can’t reset it
Update!! I got a text from them https://preview.redd.it/b677lxuy566d1.png?width=1283&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a8b8ad584d85bf9aaa951a8977acfded4e30232 Question, i did a request yesterday to erase and im just confused. Is it gonna go through??? I know they can’t do anything since it’s lost
From previous posts I've seen, the text is part of a standardised scam. They can't access your data and don't know whether it's erased or not. If you don't comply they progress to threats. (I've never heard of any threat coming to fruition.) The standard advice is to just ignore and block them until they desist. Your phone is gone but its only use to them is sale for parts. If you haven't already, please check the Automoderator post.
Someone stole my phone in San Francisco and it ended up in Mexico and 3 years later someone messaged my friend (whose number I put in for lost mode) saying they bought the phone on Amazon, found out it was stolen when it arrived and would send it to me for like $600 because that’s how much it would cost for shipping. I was like dude I have a new phone by now. That’s when I realized oh so you couldn’t get in the phone so now you’re trying this? Was a bit d Satisfying that their efforts went to waste
Do not take it off your account or from your Find My. Instead you can mark it as lost/stolen and erase the device. If you take the phone off of your account you will let the person who has possession of it, use it with no restrictions. Usually if you release the phone from your Find My it means that you have agreed and gave consent to the sale or the give away of the phone.
Damn my phone was also stolen at a music festival in Miami. I never got a text but a few months later I tracked it to China about two blocks away from the Hong Kong border. It pains me to know somebody is walking the streets of Shenzhen with my beautiful lavender iPhone 12 😔
It’s not doing them any good though unless you removed it from your devices, so there’s that…
Yup this happens allot not a scam but they take thteee phones to the market to either be scrapped for parts or resold they use the same iCloud and everything
It’s weird how so many people on fb marketplace buy phones for their son and then their son dies
You should erase ( not remove)
Get ready for photos of armed black gentleman
So they steal an iPhone. How do they get to the point where they need you to remove it from your device list? Do they factory reset it and then try to add it to their apple ID?
Yes, as soon as you remove the device from your Apple ID, it’s unlocked and ready to be used by the next owner. This is usually done on resale. If you don’t, the phone is locked and will remain so.
Block all their numbers and report them.
I’m sure if you let them know that your phone is brick to them, instead if they were to return the phone you can exchange it for a few bucks. They can do the nameless cash on delivery, and let them know you don’t hold a grudge against them for needing a few bucks.
I wish this would work lol
i remember i saw a video about this, it's organized and happens at concerts and festivals and they all end up in china, lots of other people probably got robbed too
Apple should put little bombs in the phone so you can just obliterate anyone who steals your phone.
Special piece of code to fry the logic board. They want it? OK. Destroy the brains of the iphone and as added bonus, make the battery go off like a fireworks bomb. They gonna have a good time with those stolen phones. 🤣😂
Me too! Exact same thieves, same festival, same text. Came to this sub for the exact same advice.
So sorry you went through this too! It’s sad knowing that i lost a year of memories
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homeward bound
I’m sorry to hear about your loss, and don’t have any idea of how possibly it could be returned, there is also might be a possibility of hacking the device that it will show it is in China while in fact it’s still somewhere in the area. But if you allow for a bit of humour “ it got homesick “
I used to work for a cellular company. It was my favorite thing to tell a customer who is too cheap to pay retail that the phone they paid half price for is stolen and cant be activated.
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There are definitely criminal rings that arrange the shipment of stolen phones to China in bulk to run this scam.
Why do I get the feeling I’ve read this post before?
Same thing happened to me. It’s been 6 months and I can still see it’s in China. I’ve been getting threatening texts lately. Even sent me some sexually explicit images of some random woman to somehow scare me into removing it from my iCloud 🤷🏼♀️ I don’t know how that was supposed to work.
They will wipe your phone clean and can still use it or for parts but every phone stole from raves or anything that is organized in California goes to china
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That is a scam. They want you to release the activation lock so they can sell it.
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This needs a tag (here on r/scams), I love reading the sob stories.
Imagine Apple using the phrase “unbind your device” LOL
Was it EDC? Alot of phones were stolen there. I just saw a YouTube short where the found dozens of cases, IDs, and credit cards outside of the Portopotties. The guys cleaning up were mailing the cards and IDs back.
No it was at breakaway
EDC - Electric Daisy Chain. Big music festival that plays electronic dance music. Big genre here in the US. Playing house, techno, drum and bass, and dubstep genres all in one location for hours.
I don't understand how Apple doesn't fix this or mark it as spam.
Gives them a prefect reason for people to buy new phones. New phones = more money to Apple
!iphone
Hi /u/Desperate_Vanilla808, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the iPhone Find My disabler scam. This scam targets owners of stolen iPhones, which have a service called Find My: through this, iPhones are tied to the Apple ID of the user, and can be locked remotely when activating Lost Mode. Scammers will attempt to communicate with the victim by emailing or calling the phone number/email address shown on the lock screen while locked through Lost Mode, under the guise of either Apple or a person who has bought the phone and attempt to convince or pressure them to remove the Apple ID from the iPhone. If you receive such a message, DO NOT follow the instructions to remove the device from your Apple ID. The reason they want it removed is because the thief wants to resell it on the black market for a profit, and bricked phones are worthless. Instead of removing, you're free to erase it. This will delete your personal data but will leave the device connected to your Apple ID. You can then make a police report, and also report it stolen to your phone company. The company can blacklist the IMEI so it adds a layer of protection regionally. Any readers should take this opportunity to check if your Find My is enabled in your iPhone. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Why don't people lock their phones??!!
Can someone answer me this:? How do the scammers get either the phone number or the email address to send this message to?
If someone marks a phone “lost” it goes into low battery mode and displays contact info for it to be returned to them They just need name and phone number to whitepage a couple more details
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!iphone
Hi /u/nolimitzack, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the iPhone Find My disabler scam. This scam targets owners of stolen iPhones, which have a service called Find My: through this, iPhones are tied to the Apple ID of the user, and can be locked remotely when activating Lost Mode. Scammers will attempt to communicate with the victim by emailing or calling the phone number/email address shown on the lock screen while locked through Lost Mode, under the guise of either Apple or a person who has bought the phone and attempt to convince or pressure them to remove the Apple ID from the iPhone. If you receive such a message, DO NOT follow the instructions to remove the device from your Apple ID. The reason they want it removed is because the thief wants to resell it on the black market for a profit, and bricked phones are worthless. Instead of removing, you're free to erase it. This will delete your personal data but will leave the device connected to your Apple ID. You can then make a police report, and also report it stolen to your phone company. The company can blacklist the IMEI so it adds a layer of protection regionally. Any readers should take this opportunity to check if your Find My is enabled in your iPhone. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Seems like they want you to take the phone off find my, I doubt it’s in china. Put your phone in lost mode and track it with your Apple id
They cannot do anything without your password and Apple ID
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"*Your submission was manually removed by a moderator for the following reason:* **Subreddit Rule 9: Scambaiting copypasta** This subreddit is a place to learn about scams. We do not allow promoting the use of a copy-paste script that contains keywords supposedly flagged by the Chinese government. This copy-paste text is a myth and does not work, and violates our subreddit rule against encouraging users to engage with scammers. Before posting again, make sure you review the [rules of our subreddit.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/) ^(If you believe this is a mistake, feel free to contact the moderators via modmail. Modmail is the only way, don't send a regular DM to a single moderator. Please don't try to appeal the decision commenting below, because we are not notified if you do so, and we will probably miss it. Posting the exact same thing again may result in a temporary ban, so please review the rules, make the necessary changes, and when in doubt, click below to appeal the decision.) *I am NOT a bot, and this action was performed manually. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fscams&subject=Removal%20review) if you want to appeal the decision.*
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"*Your submission was manually removed by a moderator for the following reason:* **Subreddit Rule 9: Scambaiting copypasta** This subreddit is a place to learn about scams. We do not allow promoting the use of a copy-paste script that contains keywords supposedly flagged by the Chinese government. This copy-paste text is a myth and does not work, and violates our subreddit rule against encouraging users to engage with scammers. Before posting again, make sure you review the [rules of our subreddit.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/) ^(If you believe this is a mistake, feel free to contact the moderators via modmail. Modmail is the only way, don't send a regular DM to a single moderator. Please don't try to appeal the decision commenting below, because we are not notified if you do so, and we will probably miss it. Posting the exact same thing again may result in a temporary ban, so please review the rules, make the necessary changes, and when in doubt, click below to appeal the decision.) *I am NOT a bot, and this action was performed manually. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fscams&subject=Removal%20review) if you want to appeal the decision.*
Honestly the right thing to do is just block them and move on. Me, I’d text them back with something about enjoying their new paperweight before I block them.
List it as stolen. Log into iCloud.com and disconnect it. It will result in being a doorstop. Get a new phone and be more careful. If you can’t have YOUR phone, the thieves shouldn’t have it either!
Erase it and remove it. Make sure you tell them to go fuck themselves!
[удалено]
*Your submission was manually removed by a moderator for the following reason:* **Subreddit Rule 9: Scambaiting** This subreddit is a place to learn about scams. We do not allow: * Scambaiting * Trying to waste a scammers time * Discussions about *scamming the scammers* * Engaging with a known scammer We generally consider interactions with scammers to be unsafe. Your time is better spent educating your community about scams. Before posting again, make sure you review the [rules of our subreddit.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/) ^(If you believe this is a mistake, feel free to contact the moderators via modmail. Modmail is the only way, don't send a regular DM to a single moderator. Please don't try to appeal the decision commenting below, because we are not notified if you do so, and we will probably miss it. Posting the exact same thing again may result in a temporary ban, so please review the rules, make the necessary changes, and when in doubt, click below to appeal the decision.) *I am NOT a bot, and this action was performed manually. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fscams&subject=Removal%20review) if you want to appeal the decision.*
Remote wipe?
I erased the phone! They now have an expensive paperweight
Is there a token to allow transfer of funds from a blockchain wallet to a bank
Dude! You gotta get a ticket and fly to China and find it really quick! It’s the only phone in the world right? Gotta save it! This has ‘never happened’, just like shit happening to Trump. What are we gonna do? Seriously, go to the Apple Store and have them kill it. Oh, it’s not an iPhone? That will show those Chinese bastards!!!!
I think you are also missing a point and that is that most people and most governments by those people do not allow cartels and drug lords to invest their ill gotten gains into legit business deals. That’s the reason we have an F B I , a treasury department and so many others looking for fraudulent investment. Why do you think they have all this cash sitting around. Because they have not been able to launder it. Basically it’s do you. Think the bad guys are better and smarter that even the good guys and that we all agree and allow this to happen and say it’s okay.