苹果警告iPhone窃贼已被“追踪”并需归还设备

Apple has warned owners of stolen iPhones that they need to be returned and that local police are tracking them. 

On October 17, protests erupted across France amid demonstrations about issues such as the rising cost of living, the government’s spending cuts, and poor public services. 

These protests spilled out into rioting and looting too, with Team Vitality’s headquarters in Paris being targeted. The esports organization had PC equipment and esports trophies stolen, with Vitality CEO Fabien ‘Neo’ Devide saying that “looting and destruction should never have a place in these fights.”

A number of different stores were also targeted in the protests, including Apple, with social media videos showing looters taking a number of iPhones and other items as well.

Apple sends warning to looters with stolen iPhones

However, Apple has already started cracking down on those, with a new video showing that they’ve sent a warning to phones that were stolen from their store in Lille. 

“Please return the device to Apple Lille. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted,” the message says. 

That video, which was posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Lajoyaaa26, has gotten over 1 million views already, with many social media users chiming in. 

“This is totally deserved,” one said. “You should have thought about it—it’s not free. It’s totally deserved! All that for nothing, actions have consequences,” another added. 

“You have to be really naive. Every device is locked in the store; they’re just unlocked at the moment of sale, the only thing active is the geo-location like on all devices anyway. You know what happens next,” another replied.

Elsewhere, the manager of a Micromania video game store in Nice has gone viral for “bravely” defending his shop from rioters. 

A fundraiser has been set up to help the store manager recoup some of the money from stolen items and damages.