How Stolen iPhones Travel From Western Streets to Chinese Markets

The Feiyang Times is an unassuming operation successful Shenzhen's Huaqiangbei district, but it has earned the nickname "the stolen iPhone building" successful Apple assemblage forums. According to a Financial Times probe (paywalled), the gathering has go a large hub successful a planetary web trafficking stolen iPhones.


When London tech entrepreneur Sam Amrani had his iPhone 15 Pro snatched by 2 men connected electrical bicycles, helium tracked its travel via Find My to a repair store successful London, past to Hong Kong, earlier it yet settled successful Huaqiangbei. "It was precise quick, precise organised and benignant of targeted," Amrani told the FT.

Law enforcement successful London estimates telephone theft represents a £50 cardinal ($63.5 million) yearly transgression industry, with akin rises reported successful Paris and New York.

The 4th level of the Feiyang gathering specializes successful selling second-hand iPhones from Western countries. Many are morganatic trade-ins, but traders admit that adjacent remotely locked devices person their "market price."

Hong Kong serves arsenic the captious intermediary successful this proviso chain, according to the report. Specifically, an concern gathering astatine 1 Hung To Road successful Kwun Tong houses hundreds of wholesalers openly advertizing phones labeled "iCloud locked" done assorted messaging platforms.

"The [passcode-locked] ones were astir apt stolen oregon snatched successful the U.S. They are sold to Hong Kong and past connected to different countries including the Middle East," explained 1 Shenzhen-based seller visiting Hong Kong.

What makes Huaqiangbei invaluable to thieves is its specialized marketplace that tin find buyers for each iPhone constituent – from screens and circuit boards to chips. Even erstwhile devices can't beryllium unlocked, they're profitable erstwhile stripped for parts.

Many theft victims person messages from individuals successful Shenzhen (when enactment into Lost Mode, a interaction fig for anybody uncovering the iPhone tin beryllium added) either cajoling oregon threatening them to region their devices from Find My iPhone, which would substantially summation the device's resale value.

According to the report, the transgression web thrives connected Hong Kong's presumption arsenic a escaped commercialized larboard with nary import taxes, allowing traders to determination stolen devices into mainland China portion avoiding electronics tariffs.

The Hong Kong constabulary told FT that it "will instrumentality due actions wherever indispensable according to existent circumstances and successful accordance with the law."
This article, "How Stolen iPhones Travel From Western Streets to Chinese Markets" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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