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Cops Looking For This iPhone Thief Who Took Self-Portrait With Anti-Theft App
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 6, 2011
Modified Oct 6, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 6, 2011
Modified Oct 6, 2011
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Police say they are looking for this iPhone thief who took a photograph of himself. The theft occurred on Monday night, when a 31-year-old woman was walking in Ozone Park around 8 p.m.: According to the Daily News, "A man bumped into her, snatched her black iPhone from her pocket and ran away, cops said. But when he later tried unsuccessfully to unlock the phone, it automatically took a picture of him and emailed it to her, thanks to an application called iGotYa."
A police source tells the News that if iPhone theft victims keep their cellphone service, "There are a lot of ways we can track these people down. We can get a subpoena to track the phone." Apparently one destination of hot iPhones is "the Dominican Republic, where they can sell for $1500, the source said."
The police say the suspect is "in his 20’s, 5-foot-8 with an earring in his left ear." In other crime+technology news, a cellphone thief in Georgia posted his self-portrait on a victim's Facebook page. And for a vintage crime+technology story, check out the classic "Stolen Sidekick" saga of 2006.
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App
crime
iphone
nypd
self portrait
technology
theft
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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