[JKCalhoun]

I still can't figure it out.

My daughter had her iPhone stolen in L.A. — she immediately wiped it remotely. The thieves were unable to access it.

I got her a new iPhone pretty fast (the budget one) and she was back in business, back in her iCloud account. (She was one of those that saw her device head to Asia. She got a handful of text messages pleading with her to remove the stolen device from her account but she ignored them.)

[alabastervlog]

Yeah, that's why I'm having to think at it some to figure out what's going on here. Usually I need my iCloud password to do anything related to that account, so I guess they're using some kind of iCloud password reset bypass that relies on the phone having access to necessary reset-related accounts (like email—though, IDK, I don't think I've ever tried to "lost password" reset my iCloud account, so I'm not sure if even that's enough)

[KingInTheFnord]

Some thieves will force you to give up the passcode.

I’ve read a couple stories where someone was held in an alley while an accomplice went to an ATM to withdraw as much cash as they could.

[wmf]

You got lucky with dumb thieves.

[Mystery-Machine]

> she immediately wiped it remotely > She was one of those that saw her device head to Asia

What, the guy just jumped into the Pacific and started swimming?

[JKCalhoun]

She watched its location using Find My on her laptop. It was last pinging her somewhere just north of Hong Kong (in fact it says: "Montery Plaza, 9 Chong Yip St, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China").

[justjonathan]

I believe “She” here refers to the original owner (the victim). Apple offers a feature to remotely wipe your device if lost, and that was what I understood the owner to have done. I’ve done the same thing for a stolen iPhone.