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When a Teaneck, New Jersey man lost his iPhone5 at Port Authority last year, his friend was able to track his missing phone using a “find my iPhone” app. Now more and more people are using applications like this to find their phones before the phone runs out of battery or is reset.

Instead of reporting thefts to police, some victims are taking matters into their own hands and trying to find their devices themselves. The NYPD had a reported 15,973 thefts of Apple products in 2012, however the Bureau of Justice Stastics says that only 52% of burglary victims reported thefts in 2011. The NYPD, however, do not encourage people to try to recover their own property, according to NYPD spokeswoman Det. Cheryl Crispin.

AM New York

iphone  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The NYPD is continuing efforts to prevent iPhone thefts, a major problem in New York City, according to Metro US.  Police Commissioner Ray Kelley and Mayor Michael Bloomberg claim that the overall increase in citywide crime in 2012 was because of Apple product theft. Between January 1 and September 23 of 2012, the NYPD reported 11,446 thefts of Apple products, a 40 percent increase from 2011.

If an item is stolen or lost and is registered  through NYPD Operation I.D., officers are able to return the item to it’s owner. With this program  officers register electronics with a serial number and phone number. They also encourage people to use the “Find my iPhone” application and the PIN lock function.

Although these solutions can help when a phone is lost, the NYPD said that NYers should be alert and keep their valuables relatively hidden at all times.

Metro New York

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When a cellphone is stolen, the NYPD routinely subpoenas phone call records to track down suspects. Call records from stolen cellphones are entered into the Enterprise Case Management System database. Phone numbers in the database are hyperlinked, allowing detectives to cross-reference it with other files. According to The New York Times, police are quietly compiling the data, without a court order, and using it for any investigation.

The subpoenas include calls made by the thief, but also calls by the victim. Records often include calls from the victim’s new cellphone after the stolen number is transferred to a new phone. Police documents indicate thousands of subpoenas are requested each year.

The data is often obtained without the victim’s consent or knowledge. Michael Sussmann, a lawyer representing wireless carriers, said, “If large amounts of victim phone records are being collected and added to a searchable database, it’s very troubling.” Sussmann suggested that police departments could limit subpoenas to the time between a phone was stolen until the victim has transferred the number.

Documents reviewed by the Times indicate subpoenaed phone logs often contain up to two weeks of information.

The New York Times

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The number of stolen Apple devices in the city already surpassed last year’s total by more than 50%, with still four months left in the year. The city’s total grand larcenies — driven by the iPhone and iPad thefts — have risen to more than 25,000 incidents. Apple products account for nearly 17% of these crimes.

Through a process called “jailbreaking” or “unlocking,” rogue techies can clear the device of all current data, preparing them for a lucrative resale. After the “cleanup,” devices are funneled into bodegas throughout the city, sold over the Internet or shipped overseas, sources told the NY Post. Up until 2 weeks ago, thieves could clean up the devices themselves and sell them directly to customers. However AT&T started tracking serial numbers of phones reported stolen and blocking them from being reactivated on the network. Now thieves resort to using phone-repair shops who take the cash but do not report the thefts.

NY Post

New York Police Department at Times Square (Photo credit: mikeleeorg)

In an effort to combat the sharp rise in cell phone theft, the NYPD recently added 240 more transit officers to patrol the subways. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has also approved extra overtime for transit police.

NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Joseph Fox pegged the increase in subway theft to June 2010 when the iPhone 4 was released. According to AM New York, the theft of electronic devices made up nearly half of all crime, with 1,217 thefts in 2011–representing a 39 percent increase over 2010. In January, the percentage rose to 59 percent of all crime.

This year, more than 300 officers have been assigned to work four-hour overtime shifts in subway stations and trains. The NYPD also employs 51 officers—up from 15 last year—who perform decoy operations to nab thieves.

During the first six weeks of 2012, plainclothes and decoy officers have made nine arrests. The NYPD thinks the increased police presence will be a deterrent to theft.

AMNY

The steep increase in the theft of iPhones in NY has caused Senator Chuck Schumer to send a letter to AT&T urging the company to adopt technology that permanently disables phones after they’ve been stolen. Considering that almost half of all property thefts in the city are related to cell phones, Schumer also wants AT&T to bring the NYPD to the table at an upcoming industry meeting to discuss security and fraud considerations.

Right now, when AT&T iPhones are stolen, the SIM card can be disabled. However, a thief can just replace the card and resell the phone. Schumer wants AT&T to adopt a technology that deactivates a stolen phone based on its unique identifier. This technology would make grabbing the phones less profitable for thieves.

Moreover, according to Runnin’ Scared, Schumer’s letter also requested that AT&T invite the NYPD to meet with them to discuss cell phone theft issues at the Global System for Mobile Communications Association’s North America Committee on Security and Fraud, a meeting taking place next week where AT&T is the chair.

Runnin’ Scared

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There has been a resurgence of thefts in New York’s subway system, as according to the New York Daily News, most victims have valuables stolen from them while standing near subway doors by thieves who reach in and grab items just as the doors close.  The NYPD clarified that crime in the subway overall went up about 17%, namely due to a spike in thefts of cell phones, iPods and various electronics.

The police plan to hand out safety pamphlets in subway stations, increase the number of visible cops in crime-prone areas, and also have members of the force who are trained in counter-terrorism be present on trains.

NY Daily News

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According to Boston.com, Jeremy Dieduonne of NY was captured in Lawrence, MA recently for charges that he helped embezzle almost $6 million from Columbia University. Dieduonne is being accused of intercepting electronic payments from Columbia’s medical school that were supposed to be given to the Columbia University Medical Center.  George Castro and Walter Stephens have also been accused of conspiring with Dieduonne with the theft that transferred millions of dollars to their company, IT & Securities Solutions LLC. The three men diverted 56 electronic payments last year from the Columbia University Medical Center into a TD Bank account that was registered to their company.

The district attorney nor Columbia University have been able to explain how the three men actually infiltrated the school’s accounts payable department. A school spokesman did say that the alleged crime was not a case of computer hacking but refused to go into any more detail.

Boston.com

Then he enlisted the help of his 12,000 Twitter followers, who did their own research. One of his followers actually retrieved the laptop from the new user, who apologized. Power was eventually reunited with his laptop. He said he would forget the incident and just move on.

Social Times

Raymond Diaz, chief of the NYPD’s transit bureau, also warned that people sitting or standing near subway doors holding a gadget were more vulnerable to thieves snatching the item and running of the train just before the doors close.

The Wall Street Journal

New York Daily News

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