Stolen iPhone miraculously found over 2000 miles away after thief made crucial rookie error
The phone was stolen, but turned up months later after the thief made a rookie error, much to the owner's relief
An iPhone owner was able to recover their phone after it was stolen, discovering that it was more than 2,000 miles away.
Our phones are so central to our lives now that the thought of losing them is enough to fill anyone with dread.
If you are unlucky enough to have your device stolen then there may still be a tiny chance to get it back, as one person found.
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Despite thinking their iPhone was gone for good, they were miraculously able to track it down.
The only problem was that it was located on the other side of the country.
Taking to Reddit, the user (wavy_will) explained they bought the iPhone 13 Pro Max from a colleague for $100 - and if you're wondering why it was so cheap it was because it had a broken back and needed to be repaired.
After Apple reportedly quoted them $499 for the repairs, they decided to send it to an eBay merchant in Woodhaven instead.
But the device was stolen before the reaching the merchant as its 'mailbox was broken into'.
It appeared that the phone was gone for good until the owner turned on the 'Find My' feature, only to discover that it was in a repair shop in Brooklyn, some 2,000 miles away.
The user wrote: “The location showed that it was at a ‘fix it’ shop in Brooklyn, NY, but I found out that the shop was not reliable and often sold stolen phones.
"I tried filing a police report over the phone, but the Brooklyn PD was not helpful and said I couldn’t file a report over the phone."
The owner then decided to call the repair shop and explained their situation.
They added: “I informed them that the phone was stolen, and they agreed to hold it for me.
"They asked if I still wanted to go ahead with the repair, which would cost $100.
"I said yes and asked one of my friends in Brooklyn, who works at Apple, to mention my name to get it."
That's quite a bit of luck!
If your phone is stolen you should freeze any bank accounts which you can access on it and change the passwords on every account you access through the device.
You should also contact your service provider and ask them to lock the SIM card.
If you have an iPhone, Apple can also remotely lock your device if you log into your iCloud account and report it stolen.
UNILAD has reached out to the NYPD for comment.
Kit Roberts