NYPD officer acquitted of Apple Store beating in 2021

In this week's Apple Crime Bulletin look, Canadian police investigate iPhone thefts, third-party Apple Store pickup fraud was reported, an iPhone was stolen in a viral video, and more!

A New York City police officer has been acquitted of charges related to a 2021 incident in which he punched a man at an Apple Store in Manhattan.

Accordingly The New York Daily NewsIn a trial, a judge found Officer Salvatore Provenzano not guilty of third-degree assault. In October 2021, the on-duty officer beat a man being escorted out of the Apple Store on West 67th Street for “disturbing customers.”

The officer was suspended without pay and is currently on modified duty.

RCMP are searching for the trio who stole 60 iPhones

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are searching for three people they say stole 60 iPhones from a Manitoba business in March.

Accordingly CBCThe phones were stolen from an unnamed company in that province. A woman distracted the company's employees while her two male accomplices broke into a locked suitcase and took the phones.

The crime is believed to be “related to a number of similar thefts across the Prairies,” the agency told CBC.

According to researchers, fraudsters have abused Apple Store pickup through third parties

A criminal phishing operation in South Korea “abused” Apple's policy of allowing third parties to pick up Apple Store purchases, a researcher claimed at a conference in mid-April.

Accordingly The registryResearcher Gyuyeon Kim of the Financial Security Institute of South Korea claimed at the Black Hat Asia conference on April 18 that she and a fellow researcher “came across a website that phishing victims would see if they fell for a fake link . This website provided a way to pay for goods, giving phishers the opportunity to steal credit card information.”

This fake payment site, Kim said, contained “8,000 stolen credit cards and over five million stolen personal information.”

The police are not wrongly forcing the suspect to unlock his phone, the appeals court rules

In litigation related to a 2021 case in which the California Highway Patrol stopped a man and officers forced his thumb on his phone to unlock it, an appeals court has ruled that such law enforcement actions are permissible.

According to a report by ReasonDuring this search, video evidence of pills and the man's address were discovered. When police searched that address they found hundreds of pills, after which the man was charged and pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

He had appealed, arguing that the search of his phone was not legal.

On April 17, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the search was proper based, among other things, on the man's status as a parolee.

“We find that the forced use of Payne's thumb to unlock his phone (which he had already identified to officers) did not require any cognitive effort, clearly placing it in the same category as a blood draw or fingerprint at booking.” , he wrote. “The law itself simply gave CHP access to a source of potential information.”

The decision does not say whether Payne's phone was an iPhone or not.

iPhone stolen from AT&T store in viral video

In a video The program had almost three million views in the first ten days

A store employee is seen giving chase before quickly giving up. In subsequent messages, the woman in the video says she bought a pair of iPhones and the thief stole both and $100. She also says the theft took place in Bellaire, a suburb of Houston.

Scottish officer accused of stealing iPad from dead man sentenced to surveillance

A police officer in Scotland who admitted stealing an iPad and other items from a recently deceased man has been spared jail.

Accordingly The daily recordThe officer admitted stealing an iPad, a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and another cell phone from a 58-year-old father shortly after the man's death. After admitting the thefts, the officer was sentenced to a community payback order, which entails 18 months supervision and 140 hours of unpaid work.

Two iPhone thefts arrested in Manchester so far

Detectives in the city of Manchester, UK, are investigating a series of iPhone thefts in the city center committed by people on electric bikes.

According to Greater Manchester Police, a 37-year-old woman and a 13-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of robbery and handling stolen goods and iPhone models were seized.

Two convicted of murder over AirPods in 2021

A man and a woman were convicted on April 14 of murdering an Australian teenager, allegedly in retaliation for the theft of AirPods.

Accordingly The Daily MailKayla Dawson and Richard Sione were convicted of the August 2021 murder of 16-year-old Jason Galleghan. Dawson believed Galleghan had taken her AirPods and lured him into an ambush, some of which were recorded and shared.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 8.

Man arrested for stealing iPhone from Dollar General

A 62-year-old Alabama man was arrested for stealing an iPhone 15 Pro Max from someone else at a Dollar General. Accordingly Coosa Valley Newsthe phone was “misplaced by an employee,” but the man did not attempt to return it to the owner.

The man was charged with stealing misplaced items.

Illinois man arrested for stealing iPhone from Uber driver

Police in Rockford, Illinois, have arrested a man for allegedly stealing an Uber driver's iPhone.

Accordingly WTVO, the man argued with the driver about whether or not he should stop at a gas station. When the driver explained that she was ending the ride, he grabbed the woman's iPhone 15 Pro Max and threatened her.

After the entire incident was captured on video, the man was charged with theft, trespassing and robbery.