Apple retail stores in New York City are being hit by thieves who, dressed as store employees, have hit them for thousands of dollars worth of iPhones. DNAInfo reports that last week, Apple’s SoHo location was hit for 19 iPhones, which the thief removed from the repair room.
Police said the thief “dressed similarly” to store employees — who usually wear blue T-shirts imprinted with an Apple logo — and walked right into an electronics repair room at about 5:30 p.m. on June 1.
The scofflaw grabbed 19 iPhones, worth $16,130 total, and handed them to an accomplice, who put them under his shirt and walked out of the store with them.
This is not the first time a NYC Apple Store has been hit by thieves. In March, the New York Post reported that thieves hit one Upper West Side Apple Store twice in a matter of weeks, using a similar style of trick.
On February 16th, a trio of miscreants, including “a woman disguised as an Apple worker,” snagged eight iPhones while one of them distracted actual store employees. March 22nd saw another gang of three stealing 59 iPhones worth around $44,000 using the same ploy. It isn’t clear at this time if the same threesome was responsible for both robberies.
The Verge says that particular store is used as a training location by Apple, and a source told the Post that nobody would even think twice about seeing an unfamiliar face, as long as they had the requisite Apple retail t-shirt on.
