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Apple Knows Who Stole Your iPod
By Cruz Medina | Published Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006
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One Monday morning last month, I found that my car, parked on Third Avenue in Hillcrest, had been broken into and my $400 video iPod was gone. After filing a police incident report, I called 800-MY-APPLE to report the theft. An Apple service representative named David took my serial number and opened a case, but then he told me, "There's nothing really that this will do."
I decided to research stolen iPods online. I found J. Alain Ferry's website, StoleniPods.com. On it, Ferry suggests that there is something Apple could do. "Apple maintains records of stolen iPod serial numbers," the website reads. "Apple's iTunes software records the serial number of the last connected iPod. Apple sells songs to people that enter their billing information into the iTunes software. So why isn't Apple doing anything to prevent the sale of songs to the person with YOUR stolen iPod?"
A recent graduate of Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Ferry started the site in May after losing an iPod. He'd been traveling from Detroit to Boston when an iPod he'd borrowed was stolen from his laptop-computer bag. Ferry had also called Apple and been disappointed. "I guess I assumed Apple would help," he said.
Ferry had hoped that Apple would refuse iTunes service to his stolen iPod. He knew that Apple tracked iPods because, he says, "iTunes recommends songs through the serial numbers of the last iPod connected" to a computer.
Doing business with customers possessing stolen iPods is illegal, Ferry thinks. "It's aiding and abetting in a crime." He points out that cell phone companies are responsive to customers whose phones are stolen, deactivating the phones so they can't be used.
Apple maintains that it won't service an iPod that it knows has been stolen. But to know that the iPod has been stolen, the service rep would have to run the serial number, and that isn't routinely done.
Ted Hekman, an IT developer for a Los Angeles-based online ad revenue company, suggests another step Apple could take. "Because iTunes has an e-mail address and credit card information," Hekman says, "Apple could use that information to track people down who use stolen iPods -- or even charge them."
Furthermore, asserts Hekman, "Apple could go so far as to mess up an iPod internally, making it useless." But he admits that "a savvy computer person could bypass even that; you can reload a hard drive to make it work again."
Apple could track stolen iPods, but it doesn't want to, says Nate Glucksman, an Apple employee at San Diego State University's bookstore. "They don't monitor iPods," he believes, "because it would be a lot of hassle for them." When asked what he would do if his iPod were stolen, Glucksman said he would report the missing iPod and "I'd buy another one. If the reported stolen one were recovered, it'd make a good present."
An anti-Big Brother attitude runs through the technological community. On the Forum section of AppleInsider.com, a site devoted to Apple news and sales, the majority of members were against the idea of Apple's tracking iPod use. A member-user named "Ebby" had the idea of checking iPods and iTunes accounts against a list of stolen iPods but later argued, "It is when you store information on a user, tie it to an account, or can gather other information by the frequency of iPod use...that's when my problems arise." Ebby concluded, "The level of stuff they have to do to start cracking down would scare me, and I wouldn't get involved."
Apple's profits have been closely linked to the sales of iPods and songs. In October 2005, BBC News reported, "Apple has quadrupled its quarterly profits, thanks to global sales of more than 6.5 million of its iPod music players over the past three months." And in January 2006, according to the Washington Post, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs said in his opening speech at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco, "We've sold over 42 million iPods." He also said that the iTunes Music Store had sold 850 million copies of songs. The New York Times reported in January that "Apple music sales now account for 59 percent of the company's total sales."
Ferry hopes that Apple's decision not to track stolen iPods doesn't have to do with the fact that the more iPods that are stolen, the more iTunes users buy songs and the more victims buy replacement iPods. "I hope it's not about the bottom line," he says. "I have a lot of respect for Steve Jobs.
"By May, something like 50 million iPods were sold," continues Ferry. "I think Apple should take a little money and create a unit of prevention for iPod theft. Apple needs to step up to the plate and create a program. It's business negligence, not doing anything when they could."
In the past, when music executives pressured Steve Jobs to charge more than 99 cents for iTunes songs, Jobs acted as an advocate for customers and called music executives "greedy." According to a September BBC News article, "Mr. Jobs vowed to resist such pressure, after revealing that music firms were pushing for higher prices on Apple's iTunes Internet music store."
Ferry says he's had an "overwhelming response" to StoleniPods.com, receiving "well over a thousand e-mails" from people who filled out his mailing-list form. "Only one said, 'Stop whining.' Some are crazy. They say, 'My iPod is my life' or 'I'm lost without my iPod.' "
Ferry isn't sure what he'll do with all the names, addresses, and phone numbers he's accumulated. "I want to start some kind of program or petition and create exposure through the website," he says. But if Apple can't find an innovative way to assist victims of stolen iPods, Ferry says he may take legal action. "I'm considering the possibility of talking to those people who e-mailed me about a class-action lawsuit."
The police officer who took my incident report had no advice on how I could get my iPod back. He recommended theft prevention and offered a tip. When you put your iPod out of sight in your car, put the charger out of sight too.
Nate Glucksman, the SDSU Apple employee, suggested marking iPods with DataDots -- laser-encoded dots the size of a grain of sand with a PIN that is registered in the national DataDot law enforcement database. For this to be helpful, the police would have to recover the iPod and read the DataDot.
When Karen Todd of Maryland gave her husband an iPod, she marked it in a more conspicuous way, according to a story in the Washington Post. She inscribed it with a line from his favorite song. Last year, after her house was broken into and the iPod stolen, she found the inscribed iPod on eBay. (After clicking on "see seller's other items," she also found her laptop computer.)
In Nottingham, England, Adrian Smith had an easier time. The manager of a store that carries Apple products, Smith recovered his stolen iPod when the thief, needing cables, brought the iPod into the store. As Smith told Macworld, "I immediately recognized it...and when I plugged the iPod into the Macintosh it came up as 'Adrian's iPod' straight away."
What are you on? Drugs? Why SHOULD Apple care if your iPod is stolen? Even in the article the guy "borrowed" an iPod from a friend. Should that be bricked if he plugs it in to a computer?
An iTunes account and an iPod are two different things. Even if someone copies your music back from your stolen iPod to a computer, they will still need to authorize the machine to play the music - and they won't have your password.
If your car is stolen does the manufacturer hobble it so the thief can't put gas in it?
If you're too stupid to have your iPod stolen you don't deserve one.
By blackrabbit 6:32 p.m., Jun 25, 2008 > Report it
Sounds like blackrabbit is the kind of person who might steal your ipod.
I agree that it is unfortunate that apple doesn't step up and help out in this matter. I had my purse stolen, and through no fault of my own, now no longer have my new $500 ipod touch. It kills me that there is nothing I can do about it and some thief has probably wiped my music, and is listening to his songs on my expensive ipod. I can cancel my credit cards and get just about everything else replaced somewhat easily, but the ipod unfortunately, I can't afford to replace.
By eliemartin 6:44 a.m., Jul 29, 2008 > Report it
actually car companies do make it so your cars don't work after their stolen ever heard of onstar (GM)vehicles report your car stolen and it shuts down
By thevinny 8:05 p.m., Sep 17, 2008 > Report it
YOU left YOUR iPod in YOUR car and it was stolen and you want to blame Apple? Are you serious?
Blackrabbit is right — iTunes and iPods are two totally different things. This argument has been around for ages — back when the Walkman was popular people would complain that theirs was stolen and who is stopping the crooks from buying audio cassettes? What about someone stealing Sony Discmans? Does FYE stop people and ask for proof–of–purchase before selling CDs?
Apple doesn't need to look after your iPod. If you say you spent 400$ on it, you'd think you'd take care of it.
By brucemlloyd 4:28 p.m., Nov 18, 2008 > Report it
i just have to say that even if it was negligence that got your ipod stolen, in a car or bag or whatever, the SAME WAY a phone gets stolen, the phone company does something about it. i mean, they could probably trace phone calls & find out who has it, but they just disable it. apple could do something small, not have to recover every stolen ipod, but refuse to sell songs to that serial number. i still think those who have the power to do something have the responsibility to do something.
By emsayshey 8:57 p.m., Nov 18, 2008 > Report it
First off I just would like to state that Apple is not responsible in any way for lost or stolen Apple products. Even if you have the AppleCare Protection Plan, which is the extended warranty for Apple products, it does not cover lost, stolen or accidental damage. If you want to know more about this you can visit http://www.apple.com/legal/applecare/app... for more details on the AppleCare coverage as well as the current hardware warranty that comes with the computer. Apple also currently does not have a system setup for flagging stolen apple products at all which is clearly stated in article HT2526: "How to report a lost or stolen Apple product". This article can be found in the Apple KnowledgeBase at http://www.apple.com/support. With all that being said, the Apple ID has no part or play in your Apple products. Yes it has your history with Apple on purchases you have made but it does not track them. You also don't need to have a Apple product to create an Apple ID. The Apple ID is what is used to purchase songs on iTunes, products on the Apple Store Online, or Apple Photo Services. What you are asking for is to limit access to the iTunes Store to only people with either an Apple computer or a iPod which would cause Apple to lose millions of dollars of revenue from none Apple users that just want to download some music or movies or whatever. If you review articles HT2204 iTunes Store: "About Apple ID" and HT2731: "How to setup an iTunes account", you will notice that not once does it state you have to have a Apple product to create these accounts. So the Apple ID and the iPod serial number are not tied together in anyway shape or form. The Apple Store does sell a product that is only available for portable computers, which is Lojack. This can be found at the following link http://store.apple.com/us/product/TS294L....
By kimyoufox 11:20 p.m., Nov 23, 2008 > Report it
After my nephew and my brother both had their ipod's stolen. Which, yes I admit was careless on their parts, as I told my 10 year old nephew, owning a high priced item such as an Ipod, PSP or any of these other expensive gadgets that kids are always asking for, requires a certain level of responsibility on the owners part. You have to take precautions, such as not leaving it in the car, or laying around in a house where many people are coming and going, such as during a party or at someone else's home. However, some of you people act as if, people who have their ipod stolen, were just asking for it and deserve to have it stolen for their irresponsibility. Thieves are everywhere, just waiting for the opportunity to snag your favorite gadgets, I don't think that is the fault of every gadget owner.. It's just that kind of world where some jerks are always on the make, and you never know who they are, they might be a friend or a friend of a friend who thinks that since you have such expensive toys, you can afford to replace them. Since I had to replace my nephews ipod, I can attest that he did not have the money for a new one, neither did I but what can I say, I'm a sucker for a crying kid.
Anyway, after this happened, I researched online and found a couple of options to protect Ipod and Iphone users from having their items stolen or to possible recover them if they are. The new Iphones and the Ipod touches are eligible for a free app called Gadget Track, it's approved by apple and available on the apple app's site or at http://www.gadgettrak.com/products/iphon...
It is a high tech tracking program which uses the gps in your phone or ipod touch to not only show you where your ipod is but may use the theif's own computer to track him down and even take a picture of him from his computer if a webcam is available. Cool, huh? There are also options, less inventive and high tech but useful nonetheless for regular ipod owners, Gadget Track also offers software that will track your device once it's plugged into an USB port and this works for any USB device that you need to track. You can then provide this info to the police to recover your item, or get your baseball bat and go take care of it the old fashioned way.. Also, you can order stickers from the company that you put on your gadgets to notify all who may be thinking of stealing them that the item is trackable, which may be the best preventive measure of all. Unless of course the theif just plans to sell the item to someone else right away, in which case you may be tracking a completely innocent individual who just unknowingly bought a stolen ipod.
By Booknose 9:20 a.m., Jan 9, 2009 > Report it
I do not and never hope to understand the "blame the victim" mentality. I am a teacher and my Ipod was stolen from my classroom, where I was using it to play language audio examples for my students. One could argue that I should have kept it in my pocket every moment it wasn't being used, but that's not the point- it's the one who stole it who's guilty! According to one argument I just read, I don't even deserve to own an Ipod! How dare you, you ignorant, self-righteous a--h---? According to your argument, nothing I own should ever be left unattended, even in a locked car, apartment or house, under the assumption that, if I am not looking after it directly at all times, I deserve to have it stolen. What a sad commentary on our so-called culture.
I don't believe that anyone writing has claimed that Apple is somehow responsible for the theft of Apple merchandise. The point is simply that the technology already exists, with no major effort on Apple's part, to create a database for people to report stolen Ipods. When the stolen Ipod is used to access Itunes or is registered to another computer, Apple could very easily match the serial number with known stolen ones and provide that information back to the rightful owner. It would then be up to that person to go about reporting, prosecuting or whatever they want to do with the information. No hassle for Apple whatsoever and no one's privacy would be compromised because it would apply only to units that are known to be stolen.
This is technological child's play to Apple and would be a huge benefit to ipod owners and a deterrent to theft. That simple. The fact that they don't already do this is a disappointment to me and diminishes my opinion of a company that has, up to now, had my utmost respect.
By asobass 6:53 a.m., Feb 15, 2009 > Report it
blackrabit is an idiot they can track your car down he talks way to much stuff
By tstrudge 12:39 p.m., Feb 25, 2009 > Report it
I assume with the same mentality that every gas station should make you enter your VIN# to make sure it’s truly yours before you fill up with gas. We should also make the cable companies track a signal from every TV to make sure none of those were stolen either. Phone companies and CC companies care about stole devices/cards because it directly costs them money. A stolen Ipod does not cost Apple money. ( I will assume those who stole an ipod, have no means of buying their own.) Its not Apples job to track your stuff, it’s yours. It sucks its stolen, its sucks people would steal, get over it.
By ipodgeek 9:45 a.m., Feb 26, 2009 > Report it
I signed into this just so I could tell BlackRabbit that you are a jerk. Just because someone steals from you, doesn't make you undeserved of having or owning something. What an incredibly stupid thing to say. It's the thieves that should be undeserved, it's the thieves that should be stopped dead in their tracks. It's not a victim's fault that they were stolen from! As far as I'm concerned, NO, it's not Apple's responsibility. However, if they were smart they would offer protection to an individual in case of theft for a nominal fee, say at the time of purchase. They do have the ability to track if a thief is stupid enough to use the IPOD and purchase more songs online. Perhaps their ability to track the IPOD is even greater than we know, they just don't want to. So, in light of the fact that it would cost them money to provide such a service, perhaps they could create jobs and charge fees for it. In any event, I sure hope no one ever steals from you. I wouldn't want you to know what it feels like.
By SoulShadow 10:44 a.m., Jul 18, 2009 > Report it
SoulShadow, you are an awesome individual for that last sentence.
What it comes down to is this:
Apple could flag serial numbers for their products as stolen. If the stolen iPod comes into the store then they take it. This could cause a security problem (which costs money).
Also, stolen iPods are USED. And if the person that loses the iPod/ has it stolen can afford to replace it, the are REPLACED. Thereby generating a second purchase (money) and further purchases of songs by TWO people - effectively doubling iTunes revenue.
long story short: MONEY.
Also, Tiffany's has serial numbers on their products. If the product is brought back to the store and was marked stolen, they take it from the individual. Also, I haven't verified this, but I had a friend that actually had three items returned from pawn shops to him. He said a tiffany rep found them there and checked the serial numbers and saw they were flagged as stolen. I would think this is a HUGE reason to buy from Tiffanys.
I do think some people are to blame and ignorant... but it doesn't change the fact that the other party is immoral and stealing a product/ not returning it. I have half a mind not to purchase an iPod because it generates this type of issue: it's a desireable product that generates theft, and is promoted by apples policy.
By SHLD2005 7:30 a.m., Oct 7, 2009 > Report it
Who buys an I- for a 10 year old? O_o
By PistolPete 8:58 a.m., Oct 7, 2009 > Report it
Sorry. I don't know why that didn't show up. I meant ipod.
By PistolPete 9 a.m., Oct 7, 2009 > Report it
No you didn't. You meant iPod.
By russl 10:49 a.m., Oct 7, 2009 > Report it
Yeah. ipod.... :-D
By PistolPete 11:01 a.m., Oct 7, 2009 > Report it
iPod theft is such a problem.
My company created a site to report a stolen iPod or any other piece of stolen property.
The website is http://www.stolen-property.com/
We hope it will allow victims to recover hundreds of stolen iPods.
By stolen_ipod 11:35 p.m., Oct 24, 2009 > Report it
Who buys an I- for a 10 year old? O_o
By PistolPete
====================
The same parents who buy cell phones for their 8 year old, 3rd graders.
Think Im kidding? Virtually ALL school districts today-including K-6 elementary districts, have cell phone policies.
Unreal.
By SurfPuppy619 8:56 a.m., Oct 25, 2009 > Report it