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Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
WASHINGTON - Police in D.C. and Virginia are announcing a major bust as they crack down on suspects who are stealing iPhones and other electronics right out of the hands of people who are riding Metro.
Apple iPhones can be sold for over $100 each and that is what officials say was happening at kiosks at Pentagon City and Potomac Mills malls.
Authorities arrested three people for buying and selling stolen iPhones and MacBooks at those kiosks. In one undercover sting, officials arrested one of the men after he allegedly paid $16,000 for 28 iPhones and 14 MacBooks.
“They were actually employees that were working on a regular basis during normal shopping hours,” said Lt. Gregory Hanna of Metro Transit Police.
Officials said with newer iPhones, the GPS tracking technology inside actually helped lead them to those conducting this illegal operation.
“When customers assisted us with their GPS tracking devices that were on the iPhones, we were able to track those phones to the Pentagon City mall,” said Hanna.
Three men, Farid Ahmad and Naeem Ahmad, both of Woodbridge, Va., and Ahmer Aslam, of Dumfries, Va., have been indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Officials say the investigation into stolen Apple products is still ongoing.
Metro says it has been making progress when it comes to the snatch robberies. In the first quarter of this year, they had 101 crimes reported. There were 174 crimes reported during the same quarter in 2010.
Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/mall-kiosk-employees-charged-for-trafficking-stolen-iphones-other-apple-products-080511#ixzz1UFTAiFVM
I would be sweating if I had one of those hot phones.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2011 07:50AM by dika-dika.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Pentagon City Mall Kiosk Employees Charged For Trafficking Stolen iPhones, Other Apple Products. Your Stolen Phone on the Metro
Posted by:
dika-dika
()
Date: August 06, 2011 07:49AM
Mall Kiosk Employees Charged For Trafficking Stolen iPhones, Other Apple Products: MyFoxDC.com
WASHINGTON - Police in D.C. and Virginia are announcing a major bust as they crack down on suspects who are stealing iPhones and other electronics right out of the hands of people who are riding Metro.
Apple iPhones can be sold for over $100 each and that is what officials say was happening at kiosks at Pentagon City and Potomac Mills malls.
Authorities arrested three people for buying and selling stolen iPhones and MacBooks at those kiosks. In one undercover sting, officials arrested one of the men after he allegedly paid $16,000 for 28 iPhones and 14 MacBooks.
“They were actually employees that were working on a regular basis during normal shopping hours,” said Lt. Gregory Hanna of Metro Transit Police.
Officials said with newer iPhones, the GPS tracking technology inside actually helped lead them to those conducting this illegal operation.
“When customers assisted us with their GPS tracking devices that were on the iPhones, we were able to track those phones to the Pentagon City mall,” said Hanna.
Three men, Farid Ahmad and Naeem Ahmad, both of Woodbridge, Va., and Ahmer Aslam, of Dumfries, Va., have been indicted by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Officials say the investigation into stolen Apple products is still ongoing.
Metro says it has been making progress when it comes to the snatch robberies. In the first quarter of this year, they had 101 crimes reported. There were 174 crimes reported during the same quarter in 2010.
Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/mall-kiosk-employees-charged-for-trafficking-stolen-iphones-other-apple-products-080511#ixzz1UFTAiFVM
I would be sweating if I had one of those hot phones.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/06/2011 07:50AM by dika-dika.
Re: Pentagon City Mall Kiosk Employees Charged For Trafficking Stolen iPhones, Other Apple Products. Your Stolen Phone on the Metro
Posted by:
wnrsm
()
Date: August 06, 2011 02:15PM
I thought all phones had some kind of burned-in IMEI or whatever serial number (MAC address, for you network types) that could be blacklisted if stolen. While I'm sure that the smarter criminals would somehow overwrite that number, it would be much harder for the typical shitheads to get the phones activated with any carrier.
It must be harder than it looks or there is no incentive for the carriers to provide this service.
It must be harder than it looks or there is no incentive for the carriers to provide this service.