Man Recovers Stolen iPhone With Oldest Internet Trick in the Book

[Knight Rider]

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413887,00.asp

A Brooklyn man reportedly recovered his stolen iPhone using an online trick as old as Usenet—pretending to be an attractive woman and seducing the thief.

Nadav Nirenberg, a trombone player with a New York punk band, left his phone in a cab on New Year's Eve, according to the New York Post, which detailed the 27-year-old's story on Friday.

The next day, Nirenberg began receiving email alerts from hookup site OKCupid saying the iPhone was being used to send messages to women using the website. More like "OKStupid," am I right?

At any rate, when he discovered that he could access all of the thief's activity on the website, the Brooklynite and a pal devised a clever way to get the man to meet up with them and hopefully return the Apple device.

As the Post tells it, Nirenberg created a fake profile on OKCupid with a randomly downloaded image of an attractive, busty woman and the name "Jennifer Gonzalez." He began messaging the iPhone thief with flirty messages that eventually suggested they meet for a "date" at Nirenberg's apartment, where the musician planned to position himself outside to surprise his adversary.

"I used lots of winks and smiley faces so I would seem like a girl," Nirenberg told the Post.

The upshot—on New Year's Day, "the bandit knocked on [Nirenberg's] door at around 7 p.m. holding a bottle of wine. He was clean-shaven and smelled like cologne," according to the newspaper.

Out of online tricks, Nirenberg went IRL in a hurry, sneaking up behind the thief with a hammer in hand and demanding his phone back. The thief complied, according to the Post, and even traded the wine for $20 in an encounter that lasted all of 20 seconds.

Nirenberg told the paper he wouldn't be pressing charges and was just happy to have his phone back.

 

[Transient]

Nadav Nirenberg, a trombone player with a New York punk band...

Awesome!

 

[-b]

Is there a way that if you lose your cell phone that you can call which
will just lock or stop all services on the phone......
I know you can just stop service but this would be in the cell where
the owner can call his or her cell with a special code and the cell
will erase of lock or turn off . This would help Identity thief ....Just a thought..
It would be a good app to develop.....

 

[papasmerf]

Is there a way that if you lose your cell phone that you can call which
will just lock or stop all services on the phone......
I know you can just stop service but this would be in the cell where
the owner can call his or her cell with a special code and the cell
will erase of lock or turn off . This would help Identity thief ....Just a thought..
It would be a good app to develop.....

a self destruct code would be better.
call it, dial a code and it goes up in flames.

 

[RAWD]

Is there a way that if you lose your cell phone that you can call which
will just lock or stop all services on the phone......
I know you can just stop service but this would be in the cell where
the owner can call his or her cell with a special code and the cell
will erase of lock or turn off . This would help Identity thief ....Just a thought..
It would be a good app to develop.....

Yes, both apple and bb (and android, I'm sure) have apps that allow you to locate a lost handheld and do a remote security wipe.

find my iPhone comes installed on iOS 6 but you have to turn it on.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/find-my-iphone/id376101648?mt=8

Blackberry Protect does the same and is also free

https://ca.blackberry.com/apps/blackberry-apps/protect.html

 

[-b]

That is good....or another app that starts to make sounds like a car that has
security.....You will ear BEEP, BEEP....Or This cell is stolen, take pics of the
person using it.....but is to be loud........

 

[Guido]

Yes, both apple and bb (and android, I'm sure) have apps that allow you to locate a lost handheld and do a remote security wipe.

find my iPhone comes installed on iOS 6 but you have to turn it on.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/find-my-iphone/id376101648?mt=8

Blackberry Protect does the same and is also free

https://ca.blackberry.com/apps/blackberry-apps/protect.html

Do the Androids have a similar app?

 

[Art Mann]

There's also the iPhone app that takes a photo of the thief trying to turn on the phone and then uploads the pic to the owner.

Do you know this woman?

Bet she regrets the international publicity she's received since stealing an iPhone.

READ FULL STORY HERE

 

[Prick]

There's also the iPhone app that takes a photo of the thief trying to turn on the phone and then uploads the pic to the owner.

Do you know this woman?

Bet she regrets the international publicity she's received since stealing an iPhone.

READ FULL STORY HERE

LOL I remember that story. She is a bright one ain't she :biggrin2:

 

[-b]

LOL I remember that story. She is a bright one ain't she :biggrin2:

Lucky it was not a nude shot....:biggrin2:

 

[IFUSEEKAMY]

Do the Androids have a similar app?

I use Lookout on my Android.

https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/top-security-tools-for-smartphones/

 

[Robintheboywonder]

There's also the iPhone app that takes a photo of the thief trying to turn on the phone and then uploads the pic to the owner.

Do you know this woman?

Bet she regrets the international publicity she's received since stealing an iPhone.

READ FULL STORY HERE

Years ago I jumped into a cab and found a blackberry in the back seat. I turned it on to find the owners info. Luckily it wasn't password protected. I found Mom in the contact list and called her to find the owner, her son. That pic app would have shot my pic and I would have been accused of being a thief. Robin behind bars is not a good thing!:NoNoNo:

 

[Jerkthis]

I use Lookout on my Android.

https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/top-security-tools-for-smartphones/

Do you use the free version or the Premium one?

 

[papasmerf]

Do you use the free version or the Premium one?

just checked her phone

the free version

Amy want to buy a phone???:LMAO:

 

[IFUSEEKAMY]

Um papa is correct.

 

[papasmerf]

Um papa is correct.

I hate to say the obvious Amy, but free is worth every penny you pay

 

[tboy]

One thing I'd like to clarify about the story: the phone wasn't stolen, it was lost. That's a mighty big difference. So accosting the person who found it with a hammer could lead to some pretty hefty criminal charges being laid...against the guy with the hammer.

For the life of me, I can't understand how people continually lose their phones. I've had a cellphone since they were the big brick type and have NEVER lost one.

Further to the story: did the owner attempt to contact the person who found it to get it back? If they didn't then this story is pure BS. Now is it the duty of the person who found it to attempt to return it to the owner? I dunno about that, it's a good subject for debate. Now who is to say the guy who found it didn't try and contact the owner? Maybe he didn't scroll through the contact list, maybe the contact list didn't have a lot of people on it?

I dunno, to simply "set up" to trap the person who found it is more than a little underhanded if you ask me......I mean, if the phone is that important to you, hang ON to the fucking thing!!!

 

[Knight Rider]

One thing I'd like to clarify about the story: the phone wasn't stolen, it was lost. That's a mighty big difference. So accosting the person who found it with a hammer could lead to some pretty hefty criminal charges being laid...against the guy with the hammer.

For the life of me, I can't understand how people continually lose their phones. I've had a cellphone since they were the big brick type and have NEVER lost one.

Further to the story: did the owner attempt to contact the person who found it to get it back? If they didn't then this story is pure BS. Now is it the duty of the person who found it to attempt to return it to the owner? I dunno about that, it's a good subject for debate. Now who is to say the guy who found it didn't try and contact the owner? Maybe he didn't scroll through the contact list, maybe the contact list didn't have a lot of people on it?

I dunno, to simply "set up" to trap the person who found it is more than a little underhanded if you ask me......I mean, if the phone is that important to you, hang ON to the fucking thing!!!

tboy, I would agree with you, but the person who "found" it was obviously using it for his own purposes. I mean he could have turned it over to the Taxi company's "lost and found" or even to one of the phone carriers offices or apple stores instead of using it's email and data plan, which he did not pay for, to contact hook-up sites. In my opinion, he assumed ownership of it instead of trying to find the owner which is as good as stealing it.