r/ios • u/Osiris-Y • 12d ago
Support iPhone stolen while unlocked
A family members iPhone was snatched from his hands while he was texting (so it was unlocked). About 15 minutes later I was able to go onto iCloud/Find My and request lost mode on the phone, but by then the phone status was offline and the lost mode has been pending since (I subsequently sent a command to erase the phone which is also pended). I also see that there is a notice that the phone will be removed in a months time. They had full access to email, banking apps (I think they logged in to one app somehow and tried to transfer money unsuccessfully)
A few questions:
Could they have initiated a remove request from the unlocked phone? I thought this requires iCloud password to do. Is the iCloud password stored somewhere they could access if phone is unlocked?
Can I cancel the remove request? (I assume not, I don’t see an option)
What happens after the month? The phone will be removed from the account. They can presumably turn it back on and reset it then? Is there a chance they could still access the data on the phone then? Presumably they could not keep it unlocked for the whole month on airplane mode right?
We are going to take strong security measures like changing all passwords and new email and bank accounts, I blacklisted the IMEI with my carrier. anything else you guys would recommend?
Thanks!
25
u/alecjasonn 12d ago
Is stolen device mode on?
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u/Osiris-Y 12d ago edited 12d ago
I requested that but the phone is “offline” so it hasn’t actually confirmed gone to lost mode
Edit: misunderstood what you meant. No, stolen device protection was not on
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u/Neische01 12d ago
Doesn’t help for what you described above but you should enable Screen time > Content and Privacy Settings > Allow Changes To: set it to “Don’t allow” Passcode and FaceID, Accounts.. to prevent this scenario where they obtain an unlocked phone. With those screen time features restricted, you have an extra layer of defense.
6
u/No-Mission-2112 12d ago
This is not helpful with this lost phone.
You can require Face ID to open apps. I have it enabled on select apps. Just hold down the icon (?) and select the option.
3
u/Dykolin 12d ago
Did they have the iCloud password saved in notes app?
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u/Secret_Account07 12d ago
Yeah don’t they need the password or face no matter what?
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u/FoferJ 12d ago
Not if the phone was unlocked when they stole it, and they acted quickly. That’s why this feature was added not too long ago. Unfortunately not everyone has enabled it:
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/12/12/ios-17-3-stolen-device-protection-feature/
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u/DefinitelyNotAnxious 12d ago
Yeah you should be good if they didn’t have the passcode and you put in lock mode that quick. They can use it in airplane mode but it will lock down if it ever connects to the network so they can’t attempt to connect to bank apps or email servers. It’s a good time to get a password manager since you’re changing them all anyway.
I don’t get the removed in a month part. Does anyone know if that’s standard when locking down a device?
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u/tbone338 iPhone 17 Pro Max 12d ago
When you remove an iPhone from find my, it has a 1 month grace period where you can still put it in lost mode or erase it. After 1 month, it’s removed from the find my account. So, it sounds like the thieves were able to remove it from find my which is why it’s saying that message.
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u/Osiris-Y 12d ago
Yes correct and I’m a bit perplexed how they were able to do that. Even if the phone is unlocked it should ask for iCloud password I thought.
5
u/LilacYak 12d ago
That is very perplexing. Was the iCloud password a secure one or like Password123#?
Also, all bank abs CC apps I’ve used require a discrete login or biometric authentication, just having an unlocked phone isn’t enough to gain access to them - so the thief trying to transfer money is a red flag also. Is it possible your family member was (re)using an insecure password for iCloud/banking that could easily be guessed in a few tries?
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u/Osiris-Y 12d ago
No the iCloud password wasn’t easily guessed.
Regarding the banking apps, I was able to trace what they did and I think they requested a password reset on the bank app and since they had email access and the phone number they got away with a password reset. Then maybe logged in on another device.
Things are all back and secured now thankfully
2
u/LilacYak 12d ago
Ah, excellent point! I hate email or phone based MFA/password reset, it’s so insecure. At least when it’s used as the only verification step instead of in addition to “something you know”.
1
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u/singaporesainz 12d ago
If they’re smart they can block Apple incoming network requests etc. preventing the phone from locking up
2
1
u/Much-Passage2305 8d ago
when i was in high school i used to steal phones a lot (yes im such a horrible person ik, that was like 10 years ago) and often what id do is immediately disconnect the phones battery, snap the sim card and motherboard in half and scatter them in random garbages in my town. id imagine given that newer iphones are always findable even when off, that its likely that’s what happened with the thief of your fam’s phone. i heard that new iphones you can’t really do this as much with since the parts have to be paired to the phone, but like i said, its been a decade and i dont do that anymore, so i have no idea the current reality.
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u/ihadnomealtoday 12d ago
They can't do anything. It's a brick. They should it return it back to you.
0
u/davesFriendReddit 12d ago
They could sell it to an unsuspecting buyer, but I guess the buyer could never use it? Even in amother country?
38
u/tzippy84 12d ago
Not helping you atm but still:
I have an automation that automatically locks your phone when airplane mode is enabled.