Found A Great Deal On A Looted iPhone? Don't Buy It, It Won't Work

The old adage of "if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies to most things in life, and that works on Apple Inc.'s AAPL iPhones as well. If you're getting a great deal on a looted iPhone, just stay away from it.

What Happened: An Apple store in Philadelphia was looted overnight, with thieves taking away iPhones and other Apple products from the store.

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These thieves likely do not know that Apple tracks these devices and remotely disables them so no one can use them. Apple has long used digital anti-theft measures in its stores, making it impossible for buyers of looted/stolen iPhones and other Apple devices to use them.

Videos have been circulating on X (formerly Twitter), showing thieves looting an Apple Store and running away with Apple devices.

It's quite likely that these thieves could try to make a profit on these devices by selling them to unsuspecting users by offering them a deep discount.

Why It Matters: If someone offers you such a discount, we recommend you make sure that the device is legitimate and the seller hasn't stolen it.

Apple makes it extremely easy to identify whether a device has been stolen.

This is the following message that is shown on stolen or looted iPhones and other Apple devices.

"This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted."

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The only option thieves have is to either sell the looted iPhones to buyers who haven't seen the device in person yet or to sell it for parts.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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