Robberies at Apple Stores are nothing new, but the latest Apple Store robbery was different. At an Apple Store in Fresno, CA thieves robbed $27,000 worth of merchandise in less than thirty seconds. In December of last year, an Apple Store in San Francisco was robbed in just twelve seconds.
Apple Store robbery in less than thirty seconds
The police are still investigating the Apple Store robbery, and have now released the footage of the crime to get help from the public. What’s interesting to note is that at the time of the robbery, there were several customers inside the store, which is located in the middle of the always busy Fashion Fair Mall. This Apple Store robbery took place last weekend.
As per the surveillance footage, the robbery was carried out by four individuals, who are seen entering the store and quickly picking up MacBooks, iPods, iPhones, and iPads. Though they were not violent, the crooks were seen pushing people out of the way to reach the devices. “It was a sort of takeover-style theft,” Fresno Police Lt. Rob Beckwith told local CBS affiliate KGPE.
Initially, the police believed that the thieves were armed, but later realized that they never used any weapons. No one was injured during the incident, and the store remained open, notes the Fresno Bee.
The police is offering a cash reward to anyone who comes up with any information that leads to the arrest of the thieves. It is believed that the latest robbery may be connected to another Apple Store robbery which was carried out weeks back in the coastal city of San Luis Obispo, CA.
Any information about the Fresno store incident can be shared with the Fresno Police Department at (559) 621-7000 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-STOP (7867). As per a Facebook post from the Fresno Police Department, one can even share the information anonymously, and will “receive a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.”
Display items are of no use
Though the thieves got away with $27,000 worth of merchandise, they will be disappointed to know that the display items won’t be of any use to them as they become dead outside the range of the Apple Store’s wifi.
“Apple [display] products [have] an inbuilt security system that will cause an alarm to go off in the product and disable the [it] once it leaves the store’s wifi. You will be unable to use the product; it will be dead, worth nothing,” according to former Apple employee Amy Wilks.
Wilks even says that Apple’s policy doesn’t encourage employees from intervening with the theft. The latest footage does show the same where employees remain calm and come into action only after the criminals have left the store. The security people may try to stop the robbers while they are in the store, but won’t chase them after they have left the store.
Such a policy keeps the employees and customers safe during such incidents. Apple instead relies on the tech to ensure that the devices robbed are rendered useless. “Most people end up bringing back the product they’ve stolen because the alarm is so annoying, when this happens we employees don’t say anything simply thank you and goodbye,” Wilks says.
Apple products equally popular among thieves
While many buyers shy away from Apple products because of their pricing, they are popular among thieves for the same reason. Earlier this month, five hooded thieves robbed over $19,000 worth of iPhones from a New York Apple Store. Then earlier this year, Apple products worth more than $100,000 were stolen from a Best Buy. Last year in November, crooks stole 313 iPhone X (worth $370,000) from a UPS truck.
Apple Store’s open environment and the fact that all the products are on display (protected only by a thin cable) act as an invitation for thieves. In April of last year, there were reports of a walk-in robbery at the Apple Store in Kansas City. About two years back, there was a high-profile Apple Store robbery in New York, where the thieves identified themselves as Genius Bar personnel.
Apple never reveals the theft numbers, so it can’t be said with surety if thefts have increased over time. As always, there has been no comments from Apple over the latest robbery.
