The FBI collects location data as evidence for the investigation of the Capitol attack, an arrest over a viral iPhone video, an armed robbery at a Boost Mobile store and more in this week’s Apple Crime Blotter.
The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at news from the crime world related to Apple.
Participants in the Capitol uprising can be picked up from iPhone and smartphone data
When hundreds of people invaded the U.S. Capitol during the counting of electoral votes in 2020, one thing was very remarkable: many of them were holding iPhones.
In the days following the attack on the capital on January 8, it became clear that iPhones would play an important role in the arrests and possible lawsuits of some participants. Many of those who participated in the insurrection not only fired and transmitted images, but were seen on the cameras of photos and videos taken by others, sometimes in the act of committing crimes.
These phones were emitting location data and law enforcement agencies were also using facial recognition technology, including the controversial Clearview AI app, which Apple banned in February 2020.
The FBI, for The Verge, collected more than 100,000 pieces of digital evidence related to the attack on the Capitol, and more than 170 cases were opened by January 12. At least one criminal complaint for a person accused in connection with the attack specifically referred to an iPhone search, location data appeared.
Meanwhile, several members of Congress reported that computers were stolen from their offices. Representative Jim Clyburn, a member of the Democratic leadership in the House, was originally reported for having his iPad stolen during the insurrection, although it was later determined that an employee had moved it, reports CNN.
Woman who accused a teenager of stealing her iPhone in a viral video is arrested
The woman who appeared in a viral video in December in which she accused a black teenager of stealing her iPhone at a hotel in New York – and then appeared to assault him – was arrested. According CBS News, the 22-year-old woman was arrested in her home state of California and faces several charges, including attempted theft, attempted theft, endangering a child’s well-being and attempted assault.
New Apple patent seems to show security method for Apple Store tables
The pandemic has led to a significant decline in reports of stolen Apple Store thefts, but Apple appears to be thinking about how to deal with this problem in a post-coronavirus world. Patently Apple noted that Apple had filed for a patent in early 2020 for a technology called “Product Display System”. Listing George Yang as the main inventor, the app describes the new system as “a product display system for displaying and protecting a retail product.”
Police search for two defendants in fraudulent purchase at New Jersey’s Apple Store
A man and woman are wanted in northern New Jersey on suspicion that they stole someone’s identity, ordered an iPhone online and bought it at the Apple Store in Bridgewater, NJ. Touch the breeze, the two people were seen in security images near the store.
82 iPads stolen from Ontario schools are recovered
More than 80 iPads that have been stolen from public schools in Brampton, Ontario, have now been recovered. CTV News reports that there were several night raids on schools over the course of several months, when iPads and MacBooks were taken away.
A 17-year-old from Brampton was charged with connection to the thefts.
The FBI used smartphone data to track Ghislaine Maxwell
The July arrests of sex trafficking accused and Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in New Hampshire were made possible by the FBI by tracking Maxwell’s cell phone data. The Daily Beast writes Maxwell “opened a mobile account with the name ‘G Max’ and used it to communicate with people close to her.
It is not known whether it was Maxwell’s iPhone that ended up being tracked, although it was reported, after his arrest, that Maxwell had an iPhone and an iPad with her during her unknown life. In addition, the FBI had “found a cell phone wrapped in aluminum foil among her belongings.”
14 iPhones stolen in Boost Mobile armed robbery
A Pennsylvania man was arrested in December and charged with six crimes after he was accused of stealing a Boost Mobile store of 14 iPhones at gunpoint. According Northcentralpa.com, the same man was also accused of robbing a Family Dollar store.
The $ 100,000 jewelry theft included an Apple Watch
A South Carolina man reported that more than $ 100,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from his home, with a silver Apple Watch among the items taken.
The Times and Democrat reports that in addition to the Apple Watch, items taken included “a tiger’s eye ring, a black diamond bracelet, a sapphire bracelet on the ankle, a sapphire bracelet, a sapphire ring, a cognac diamond ring, a black diamond ring, a large black tag and chain for dogs, a gold diamond, a 4-carat pink diamond ring, a gold Rolex watch with a black dial. ”
Meanwhile, another man who lived in the same residence reported the theft of “$ 150 in dollar bills he kept in a jar”.
Amazon employees in India accused of stealing iPhones
Two employees at an Amazon warehouse in Gurugram, India, were arrested for the alleged theft of 38 iPhones. According India.com, thefts occurred when security checks at the facility were suspended due to the coronavirus.