Woman who got locked out of her Apple account minutes after her iPhone was stolen and had $10,000 taken from her bank ac

[JoeM]

I imagine incidents where someone steals both your passcode and phone are small but this sounds horrible.

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-no...10k-2023-2

[NewtonMP2100]

…..somewhat related but in NY a string if robbers that target gay men where a group drugs the men that they meet at gay bars / gay restaurants, then use face recognition on iPhones to gain access to bank accounts on the iPhones and drain the accounts….


….so far 2 men have died from being drugged, they may have been overdosed. Police are saying to disable face recognition on one’s iPhone…..

[Carnos Jax]

JoeM wrote:
I imagine incidents where someone steals both your passcode and phone are small but this sounds horrible.

https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-no...10k-2023-2

Yeah, I heard about this. Can be a nightmare. And I can see how something like this can happen. Apple needs to figure out a way to address it, even if it’s not that common.

[mrbigstuff]

sounds like the Apple drones are just sticking to a script they have to use. yeah, they really need to work on situations like this.

[ka jowct]

I'm paranoid enough to not have bank or other money apps on my phone, but of course, once they got into my email, they would be able to see some info about credit cards, etc.

[d4]

It's pretty easy to be in very close proximity to someone and look over their shoulder to steal a password. An elevator, escalator, standing in line at Starbucks, checkout line at the store, sitting behind someone on a plane or commuting, etc,.. It's extremely easy, and I wasn't even trying.

iPhones are stolen all the time. I'm guessing, it's the stolen 10k that makes this newsworthy. How does one steal 10k from a bank account by just somehow knowing someone's cell phone passcode. Not to victim blame here, but was it a calamity of errors (small and large) on the user's part?

[RAMd®d]

There's been a few articles recently about phones and passcodes stolen, possibly starting with something recent in the WSJ and then picked up and run with by everybody else.

There's phones stolen, and phones stolen with passcodes, and that is a little newer.

Earlier on, it was passcodes stolen at ATMs.

But warnings and information certainly do bear repeating, no matter how blasé someone else might be.

Complacency is a witch, with a capital B.

When it was first rumored that Apple might add Touch ID to Face ID, I thought that a good way to add security by requiring both, keeping passcode use to a passcode to a minimum.

That hasn't happened yet.

I'm wondering how a thief proceeds with an open 'Phone to plundering accounts.

A password is needed for all banking and financial (I assume) accounts.

Were they guessed, were they the same as the passcode, passwords stored on the 'Phone, what?

Venmo may be an exception, as I've read that many people lend their 'Phone to help a stranger who immediately finds their Venmo account and embezzles some money.

With an Apple Watch, she might have been able to lock down the phone.

Even if the thief immediately put it in Airplane mode, it should lock once connected to a network (or cellular?).

Because I'm maskedup and wearing sunglasses in any daytime weather, I often need to use my passcode, so I'm careful as to when to access it.

Being constantly masked up, social distancing is still a thing for me, so I'm wary when someone is close.

What I'd like to see is something similar used by some electronic locks and car security systems — a rotating code.

Every time one passcode is used, it would change by some degree set by the user — add two numbers or a special character, etc.

No, not a hackproof system, but at least buying more than 24hrs for a victim to call their bank, actually get help from Apple, etc.

When someone calls Apple in a panic that their 'Phone was stolen, I'm not sure the first advice should be to use Fine My.

In the time taken to get another device to find the 'Phone (only to discover it's probably in AirPlane mode) the thief is gone, and getting the constabulary to act may be a slow turning wheel.

I've seen articles in the past about someone who's phone was hacked via social engineering, and all the money/bank accounts ended up with new passwords, and the owner had major trouble identifying himself as the actual owner, something an ID thief would try to do.

Security vs convenience, a constant battle.

[JoeM]

RAMd®d wrote:

I'm wondering how a thief proceeds with an open 'Phone to plundering accounts.

There are plenty of people that keep passwords to their accounts in Notes.

[RgrF]

JoeM wrote:
[quote=RAMd®d]

I'm wondering how a thief proceeds with an open 'Phone to plundering accounts.

There are plenty of people that keep passwords to their accounts in Notes.
AFAIK Stickies don't translate to iOS, so guess I'm good there.

[dk62]

I access all my bank accounts from the phone. Travel too much to do it differently. Someone with the phone and the passcode could log into them. Now, transferring money out of the accounts before I can lock down the bank logins from other devices or by calling the banks is another issue. But the risk is there. And two-factor-authentication does not help in this case. Will have to think about this...