A man in the United States, serving a 94-month prison sentence for stealing hundreds of iPhones, has revealed his secret to the criminal trade and how to protect oneself from such thefts. In an interview with the Wall Street JournalAaron Johnson, who was arrested in Minnesota last year, revealed how he made about $300,000 just by stealing iPhones and manipulating their financial apps. Surprisingly, his approach seemed more than innocent to witnesses, as the convicted thief said his victims often voluntarily handed over their smartphones to him.
Speaking to the publication, the 26-year-old revealed that he would attack bars and clubs by mainly targeting university men as women were more alert to suspicious behaviour. Students were easy targets because “they're already drunk and they don't know what's really going on,” he said.
Johnson often talked to his victims, sometimes offering drugs, sometimes claiming to be a rapper who wanted to add them to Snapchat. The victim then handed over his iPhone, expecting him to punch in his phone number and give it right back. “I say, 'Hey, your phone is locked. What's the passcode?' They say '2-3-4-5-6' or something like that. And then I just remember,” Johnson explained.
Once inside, the 26-year-old changed the Apple ID password “faster than you could say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” He would also disable tracking features like Find My iPhone and add his own biometric data to FaceID.
The latter was “the key to everything”, as it provided access to passwords within iCloud Keychain. And after quickly bypassing a device's security protocols, Johnson said he would go straight to banking and cryptocurrency apps, while also searching notes and photos for sensitive information like Social Security numbers. Then overnight he would empty those bank accounts and end up going to stores to buy stuff with Apple Pay.
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The 26-year-old revealed that on a good weekend he would unload 30 iPhones and iPads and make $20,000. “I was in a hurry with large quantities at once,” he told the outlet. “I just got too carried away,” he said.
According to WJ, police stated that Johnson and his colleagues stole $300,000. However, he revealed that the figure is much higher, between $1 million and $2 million in total.
Notably, all of this was done before Apple released its stolen device protection in iOS 17.3. This feature intentionally causes a one-hour delay before changes to passwords and Face or Touch IDs are reflected when a phone or other product is operating in an unknown location.
Speaking to the publication, Johnson advised people not to share passcodes. As to why he would reveal his tricks, he said: “I'm already in jail”. “I just feel like I have to try to be on the other side of things and help people,” he added.