New York is one of the cities where smartphone thefts represent a very large part of the total crimes committed each year, 14% of which involve iDevices. Coming to the aid of citizens who might fall into the trap of thieves, the police provides some details about how thieves choose their victims on every occasion. According to the data provided by the authorities: the thieves analyze the people walking around them, choose the victims based on the way they look, approach them and ask them for information about the time, and if they have a watch the operation is stopped, but if they a smartphone from the pocket/bag, then they try to steal it from the victim's hand and run away with it.
The ordeal begins with the thief approaching a pedestrian and asking for the time (apparently you're more likely to be targeted if you don't happen to be wearing a watch). When the potential victim produces their phone from a pocket or bag, the thief gets a moment to decide whether the payoff is worth it. If the victim has a simple flip phone or other not-so-flashy device the thief can resume their search for a big payday, but if the victim pulls out an expensive smartphone, such as the iPhone after which the scam is named, the criminal grabs the devices and flees.
From here on, you all know how things go and what each person has to do to try to recover an iPhone terminal, the recovery rate being quite low in most cases. The good part starting with iOS 7 is that iDevices can be locked using Activation Lock, and in this case the thief remains unable to use or sell the terminal, or to replace it in a Apple Store, but probably methods will be found to remove this security measure. In the meantime, it is advisable to be careful in front of whom you take your smartphone out of your pocket, and wearing a watch on your hand can ensure that you will be overlooked by ill-intentioned people.
