How Scammers Are Tricking People Into Unlocking Stolen iPhones
Wondering where your stolen or lost iPhone went? Thanks to Activation Lock and Find My iPhone, Apple locks your devices with your Apple ID. This is forcing thieves to seek ever more inventive ways to make the device usable (and salable) again.
Scammers want you to remove Activation Lock
Simply wiping an iPhone is not enough as the activation lock remains even after a full soft reset of the device. To activate the device after a software reset, the associated Apple ID password must be entered. Otherwise, the rightful owner can remove the device from their account by typing “erase iPhone” followed by “remove from account” using the Find My iPhone feature on iCloud.com.
Removing the iPhone from Find My allows the device to be reactivated with a different Apple ID. A device that isn’t tied to an Apple ID is worth far more than one, so if the rightful owner can be persuaded to remove Activation Lock, thieves can benefit.
Tracking down the rightful owner of a lost or stolen iPhone is not difficult if the device has been placed in Lost Mode. This allows the owner to leave a phone number or other contact method, so whoever finds the phone can return it to its rightful owner.
TIED TOGETHER: What is “Lost Mode” on iPhone, iPad or Mac?
How the scam works
Scammers can send text messages (like this one) to the owners of lost or stolen devices, claiming that the iPhone was found along with all of the personal information on it. It is claimed that photos, contacts, the content of emails and text messages, or even banking and other personal information are at risk.
The goal is to convince the owners that to protect this data, the device needs to be wiped properly and that they need access to the device to do so. They will instruct the owners to remove the device from Find My on iCloud.com to protect the data. In fact, it is highly unlikely that they have access to this data.
Assuming the device has a unique passcode that isn’t easy to guess, there’s a slim chance that that data would be available to anyone in possession of the phone. All the thieves want is for you to remotely remove the device from your Apple ID so they can use it themselves.
If you Not If you secure your device with a unique passcode, thieves will likely send you pictures or screenshots proving they have your device. In this case, you can sign in to iCloud.com with your Apple ID and remotely erase your device (without removing Activation Lock). It’s still a good idea to do this, especially if you have an iCloud backup to restore from.
TIED TOGETHER: How to use a more secure iPhone passcode
Try not to worry about a long-lost iPhone
While an expensive gadget loses stitches, Apple’s security measures are pretty robust. Get in the habit of using a unique six-digit (or higher) passcode, so the worst-case scenario is that thieves leave behind an expensive paperweight. Most importantly, don’t be fooled by people trying to convince you to disable Activation Lock by remotely removing the device from your Apple ID.
On the subject of lost iPhones, here’s what to do if you find someone’s lost device.