26-year-old iPhone thief REVEALS how he stole Apple smartphones, looted $300,000

By Team Asianet Newsable  |  First Published Dec 24, 2023, 2:33 PM IST

Johnson, 26, tricked people in Minneapolis bars to get their phone codes, then robbed their bank apps for about $300,000. The story unfolds how the thief, Aaron Johnson, meticulously planned his heists. He capitalized on the gap in Apple’s security system before the introduction of the new Stolen Device Protection feature in iOS 17.3.


An iPhone thief recently confessed how he saw the passcodes of owners and then stole their phones and robbed their banks.The Wall Street Journal investigated how a guy named Aaron Johnson stole iPhones while he was in a Minnesota jail. Johnson, 26, obtained phone codes from patrons at Minneapolis bars by deceiving them, and he then stole almost $300,000 from their bank apps.

To prevent this, Apple is now providing a mechanism called Stolen Device Protection, but consumers have to activate it. For it to function, it needs a strong code and your face or fingerprint. Locking down applications and removing personal content from notes and pictures are two safe practices.

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Johnson would attend dimly lit pubs, according to WSJ, and would specifically target college-age males who appeared to be less watchful and more drunk. He thought it was less likely that they would notice or object to his trying to take their phones.

Johnson used a variety of strategies to win his targets over. He would approach them pretending to be friendly, frequently giving drugs or posing as a rapper trying to make friends on apps like Snapchat. His intention was to create a fictitious sense of trust and fraternity.

Usually with the excuse of updating his contact information, Johnson would seek to briefly borrow the victims' phones after striking up a discussion and earning their confidence. He would ask straight for the passcode when given the phone. Frequently, victims would blithely divulge their passcodes, believing it to be a harmless transaction.

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Johnson memorized or recorded the passcodes given to him by victims. He was able to quickly gain access to the phones and the private information they contained thanks to this vital knowledge. He altered the Apple ID password there, making the 'Find My iPhone' function unusable. This made it impossible for victims to remotely trace or wipe their stolen devices.

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