Thread

My phone detects going on a run as “someone snatching my phone and running off”

75 points · 135 comments · luu

Waterluvian · 1786041461 · focus · HN ↗
Is "snatching a phone and running off" a common enough problem in some regions that this is worth having? Or is this a feature chasing after fears of the bogeyman, leading to concrete inconveniences like this?
1. hbn · 1786041524 · focus · HN ↗
  > Is "snatching a phone and running off" a common enough problem in some regions that this is worth having?
  Yes absolutely
  <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/phone-london-snatch-9.7204104" rel="nofollow">https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/phone-london-snatch-9.7204104
  1. throwaway27448 · 1786041887 · focus · HN ↗
    Why bother stealing iPhones? Is it just for the scrap/recycle->repair value?
    mapmeld · 1786042551 · focus · HN ↗
    There's also a scam where they contact the owner from abroad, offering to return it, claiming they're an innocent trying to activate a used phone they spent their last dollar on, or threatening the original user into unlocking it. They will say that they're hackers, connected to criminals in your home city, using your name and recent photos to say that they're going to expose your text messages. Anything to get an unlock.

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