Since then, he has unexpectedly received a lot of harassing messages through iMessage. The constant abuse and intimidation made him terrified all day.
On the forum, he posted the latest message and asked for help: What should I do???
"Listen! If I don't remove your number from "Find My," I will harass, destroy and ruin the pathetic, stupid, lowly life of this mindless hillbilly.
Your life will be destroyed. I've done a lot more than TMD stealing a phone before, let's walk around and see if you think your life is important or your phone is important, and if you can realize how serious this is.
I know who you are and where you live, your whole family will be slaughtered
I'm going to fucking beat you up and rape you, you fucking trash.
Waste that wastes air, wastes food.
I'm going to kill you and your family, you'll have to wait and see.
Oh, and what about the police? They can't help you, they'll just TMD record your report.
This phone number is so TMD that it is infuriating.
You'd better remove it now.
I'm angry right now, don't mess with me, if you don't do what I say, negroes (African American pejorative) will come to your house on Friday night and I will kill your whole family. ”
The picture is from reddit@RecklessBrandon, and the copyright belongs to the original author
Since the theft of the mobile phone, the little brother has continued to receive such information, almost every day, and the numbers are different, and he has also received harassing pictures and videos from time to time, which are all about guns, which he has always chosen to ignore.
This letter made it very clear that if it was not removed, someone would go to his house on Friday to kill someone, which really frightened him.
However, after asking for help on the forum, many netizens below comforted him that this was just a bluffing message, and he didn't need to worry too much.
They're not going to do anything, tell them to fuck off
This is fake, I have seen exactly the same threat. Don't unlock it, just be out of luck
This is a copy-pasted threatening letter. If the phone is locked, there is nothing they can do. Just put it in "Lost Mode", delete data remotely via Find My iPhone, and then stop making this phone and you're good to go. It locks the phone and makes it like a brick, which is why they're so angry and desperately want you to unlock it.
A fan asked under this message: If the data is deleted remotely, how can the phone remain locked? Doesn't it delete all IDs and passwords associated with the device?
This fan replied:
First put it in "lost mode" (which locks the phone and becomes brick-like), then erase the data.
Apple still knows that the phone is yours and will provide you with the latest information about the phone, including when to turn it on or off, when to connect to a cellular or WIFI network, etc., but all your data is erased from the device.
NOTE THAT IN ORDER TO CLEAR DATA, THE PHONE MUST BE ACTIVELY CONNECTED TO A CELLULAR OR WIFI NETWORK
If it is not currently connected, it will queue and perform operations as soon as it connects to one of them.
There are also people who asked him to copy and paste the anti-fraud copy to scare him back:
Zhizhao told him not to talk nonsense, return a photo of an old man shirtless, "forgive him can't do anything"
Some netizens also suspected that this was a phishing post, because they had recently seen similar 7 posts.
The little brother said that his story is absolutely true, and he has been bombarded with this information for weeks, but he will never delete his phone from "Find My", and his phone is always in "lost mode", so the thief can't do anything with it.
Finally, I waited for Friday, and the little brother came to the forum to update, and thankfully nothing happened.
Since then, the little brother has never updated the information about the lost iPhone, and it seems that the threatening text messages have temporarily stopped...
Coincidentally, in April last year, a Los Angeles girl's mobile phone was also stolen, and it was also traced to Shenzhen, China.
Like this little brother, the girl continues to receive a lot of spam and phishing attacks, and she is increasingly hesitant to change her name.
The girl posted a few of them, and in a slightly different tone from the crazy threats and insults of the little brother, the scammer calmly and bluntly put forward his own needs: quickly delete your phone from your device, we can reset it, and sell it to the black market at a high price.
I was afraid that the girl would not understand, and I also attached the removal guide intimately:
Under the girl's information, there are also fans who quickly remind her:
Be sure to keep your iPhone on "Find My"! As long as it is in lost mode, it is useless to anyone. Scammers offer to keep your personal information safe (they don't have and can't get it), which won't do you any good, even if the device is never connected to be wiped, it can't be wiped, and certainly can't extract personal information from it.
As for text messages, just ignore them (or click on "Report Spam") to be sent to Apple. As long as you don't reply, there's nothing they can do.
Apple official: The right way to deal with iPhone after loss
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201472
Use Find My to find your lost iPhone or iPad
Using the Find My app or on the iCloud.com/find webpage, you can find your phone on a map. Play a sound if your phone is nearby, and if you can't find it or think it might have been stolen, lock it to protect your information and prevent others from using it.
If you can't find your iPhone or iPad
Please mark it as Lost as soon as possible.
When you mark your iPhone or iPad as lost, you can keep your device and information safe by remotely locking it with your passcode. In order for someone to return it to you as soon as possible, you can set up a custom message with your contact information (that's why scammers can contact him to spam him in the first place). When you mark a device as lost, your Apple Pay on the lost device is also disabled.
If your iPhone or iPad is permanently lost or stolen
- Change your Apple ID password: Sign in to the appleid.apple.com, then choose Sign-in & Security from the sidebar. Choose a password and follow the instructions.
- Remotely erase your iPhone or iPad: Sign in to another device and use Find My to erase your device. Or erase from iCloud.com/find.
- If you have an AppleCare+ plan with theft and loss coverage, you can make a claim for a replacement iPhone. However, don't remove your iPhone from Find My or your Apple ID until your claim is approved.
- Report to local law enforcement. They might ask you for the serial number of your iPhone or iPad, which you can find even if you don't have the device.
- Find the serial number specifically: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204073#help
- If your lost device is an iPhone or a cellular-enabled iPad, report your lost device to your wireless carrier. Ask your carrier to deactivate your account to prevent others from using calls, texts, and data. If your device is bundled with a wireless carrier plan, file a service request.
- Remove a missing iPhone or iPad from your account: Sign in to appleid.apple.com, then choose Devices from the sidebar. Select your device, scroll down, and then select Remove from account.
Have you ever encountered a lost/stolen mobile phone? How did everyone deal with it? Welcome to share your experience in the comment area!