The Apple Scam That Made a Man $43,000 — and Then Got Him Arrested

(Image: Reuters)

Poor Apple. First, tech writers say they are disappointed in the Apple Watch, and now the richest tech giant on the planet is being scammed by 20-somethings from England. 

According to The Daily Mirror, a U.K. man has been charged with fraud after he was caught exploiting a loophole in Apple’s iPhone repair and replacement program — to the tune of $43,000.

Edward Hornsey, 24,  is alleged to have set up a nice little scheme for himself in which he would buy used iPhones online and send them to Apple’s replace or repair service, which would in turn send him brand-new replacement phones.

Hornsey would then sell the replacement phones at a profit, thus getting away with a totally legitimate plan that hurt absolutely no one. Except for, you know, the people whose stolen phones Hornsey purchased online then used in his scam.

This selfie is criminal. (Image: The Daily Mirror)

Yep, it turns out that in addition to abusing a loophole in Apple’s service, Hornsey would purchase stolen iPhones and send them to Apple for new ones.

Honrsey knew the phones were hot because, police say, he checked the phones against the U.K.’s National Mobile Property Register to see whether the devices had been lost or stolen.

Despite that, police say, he sent the phones to Apple, which prosecutors say amounted to Hornsey laundering stolen phones through Apple.

The stolen phones, though, ended up being Hornsey’s downfall, as one of the phones he tried to sell was eventually linked to a burglary.

When all was said and done, Hornsey amassed a small fortune of $43,000. Of course, he was hardly the best fraudster. In fact, he ran his entire enterprise out of his parents’ home and deposited all of his ill-gotten gains into his own bank account.

As the prosecutor in the case pointed out, “If people like you were completely honest, fewer mobile phones would be stolen.”

Here’s the thing, though. Ever since Apple added a “kill switch” to the iPhone in 2013, phone thefts have dropped precipitously. In fact, in London, iPhone thefts have fallen by as much as half, according to Reuters.

Thefts in cities including San Francisco and New York have see similar drop-offs, with the former seeing a 40 percent decrease in stolen iPhones, and the later reporting a 25 percent decrease.

Kill switches work by letting you lock your iPhone from your iCloud account. Once your phone is locked, it can’t be unlocked or reset without your iCloud username and password. Without unlocking the iPhone, it’s practically worthless to thieves.

All of that is to say the scam that Hornsey was running will soon be much more difficult to pull off.