How thieves are unlocking, and profiting from, stolen iPhones
How thieves are unlocking, and profiting from, stolen iPhones
Publish Date: 2026-05-14 10:06:00
Source Domain: appleinsider.com
The theft of smartphones is big business, and new research has shown how iPhone thieves are able to defeat security measures designed to make stolen devices impossible to use.
Apple has built various security features into the iPhone in an attempt to make thieves less likely to target its customers. At the core of those features is the Find My network, the system that makes it possible to locate lost (and stolen) devices.
The Find My network allows iPhone owners to mark their device as stolen, preventing it from being used. Normally, a device marked as lost cannot be used until its rightful owner provides their credentials.
However, cybersecurity researchers at Infoblox have discovered websites and Telegram groups dedicated to these devices. By using social engineering and phishing techniques, even an iPhone marked as stolen by Find My can be unlocked and then sold for profit.
Fake Find My
Whenever someone loses their iPhone or has it stolen, they can use the Find My app to mark it so. They can also add a message to its Lock Screen, urging its return along with a contact number.
Apple’s Find My network can be used against you
According to Infoblox’s report, it’s this contact number that thieves are now using as a phishing vector.
In one example, they detail someone whose iPhone was stolen in Asia. Shortly after the theft, they received a text with a link to ‘applemaps-support[.]live’.
Infoblox says that this lookalike URL is one of over 800,000 that it detects each year. In this case, it opens a website made to look like the real Find My webpage, but it is anything but.
The website displays a PIN entry field, which, if used, would give the thieves access to the iPhone.
If that approach doesn’t work, the thieves have more tools in their arsenal.
‘Find My iPhone Off’
The researchers also discovered dozens of Telegram groups acting as a marketplace for unlocking tools. These tools come in different shapes and sizes, including claiming to…
