Apple Crime Log: MacBook River Toss, $3M Crypto Heist, Real Housewives Theft + More
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It’s that time again! Time for another peek into the Apple Crime Log, where we cover Apple-related crimes. In this edition, a data thief’s MacBook Air goes for a swim, a bad actor uses an iPad to communicate his felonious intent, and a former reality show star gets caught stealing her sister’s iPhone.
Data Thief Sends Their MacBook Air for a Swim
AppleInsider reveals that just before the new year, South Korean technology firm Coupang Corp. announced that it had suffered a data breach and was launching a 1.685 trillion won (~$1.17 billion USD) customer compensation plan. The aim of the fund was to “restore consumer trust.”
According to The Register, the investigation uncovered how a company employee used a stolen security key to access consumer records with a PC and a MacBook Air.
Once the attacker was revealed, the culprit “smashed his MacBook Air, stuffed it in a Coupang canvas bag along with some bricks, and threw it into a river.”
While the MacBook Air went for a swim, investigators soon found the waterlogged MacBook, retrieving its serial number and matching it with the accused hacker’s iCloud account.
Victim Tracks Stolen AirPods, Leading Police to Thief’s Lair
Riverbender reports an Illinois man broke into a house, stealing AirPods and several other items. Luckily the owner of the stolen AirPods used Find My to track his earbuds, leading to his arrest.
The burglary suspect entered the victim’s home in Alton and took multiple items in addition to the AirPods, including checkbooks, a passport, and a car title. The man had a prior conviction for attempted burglary.
The victim tracked the AirPods via the Find My app, which allows users to track lost or stolen items like AirPods, iPhones, and other Apple products and accessories. He then contacted the Alton Police Department, who were able to get a warrant to search the suspect’s apartment, where they found the stolen items and a set of burglary tools.
Despite the suspect’s insistence that he had purchased the goods “on the street,” he has been charged with one count of Class 1 felony residential burglary, a Class 4 felony count of possession of burglary tools, and three counts of theft.
Former Reality Show Star Charged With Stealing Sister’s iPhone
The Herald Sun reports a former cast member on the Australian version of the Real Housewives reality TV franchise was arrested for stealing her sister’s iPhone.
Socialite Venus Behbahani-Clark, who once starred on The Real Housewives of Melbourne, allegedly stole the iPhone from her sister, singer Rebekah Behbahani. The theft is just one small piece of long-standing, wide-ranging feuds among several Australian “celebrities.”
The report states that “it is understood the iPhone was one of five phones and two laptops seized following a raid on her home during a lengthy police probe into how photos of a nude celebrity ended up circulating online.”
Apparently, Behbahani-Clark had already “outed herself as a suspect in the nude photo case.”
She is scheduled to make an appearance in the Melbourne Magistrates Court for the first time in May.
Thief Uses iPad to Communicate in $3m Crypto Heist
Justice finally caught up with a thief who invaded a woman’s home and forced her to hand over $3 million in cryptocurrency assets. The 2022 incident involved a masked man breaking into the home of Yuchen “Cassandra” Shi, where he bound and ziptied her, threatening her at knifepoint. The thief communicated with his hostage by typing commands into an iPad.
The San Francisco Standard reports the bad guy was able to transfer $3 million worth of Shi’s crypto assets, pulling off the first “wrench attack” in San Francisco — a term used when someone steals crypto through intimidation and physical force.
A multi-agency, international investigation that stretched over several years resulted in the arrest of Shi’s personal assistant. The defendant’s lawyer claims the theft victim is a “jilted lover,” while Shi says she never had a romantic relationship with the suspect.
Former UPS Workers Charged in $113,000 Holiday Apple Product Heist
Three former UPS employees have been charged with the theft of Apple products worth $113,000, shortly after Christmas. Kentucky’s WDRB in Louisville reports that Takiyha Jones, Jasmine Kimbrough, and Wael Ayari were arraigned in court Tuesday morning on charges of complicity in organized crime. The group was caught with backpacks containing iPhones, AirPods, charging cables, and other products. A fourth former UPS worker was later arrested. UPS told the news station the individuals have been fired.
