Malcolm Owen
Thieves are targeting owners of the AirPods Max in New York City, with a number of victims having their premium personal audio accessories stolen off their head.
Starting from January 28, thefts of the AirPods Max began in New York City. Thieves have struck at least 21 times, in each case doing so by simply taking the headphones from a victim's head while they're wearing it in day-to-day life.
The thefts involve a team of four people on two mopeds, riding up to the victims from behind and pulling the headphones before speeding into the distance, reports NY1.
So far, the thefts have occurred across Manhattan, including one incident within Central Park. Most of the incidents have happened in the mid-to-late afternoon.
There have yet to be any arrests over the crime spree. Police have released photographs of the suspects on the mopeds and a video, to try and get more information.
The video shows one of the thieves getting off a moped while holding onto two pairs of AirPods Max, and walking into Washington Square Park.
Anyone who knows details that could help catch the thieves are advised to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Thefts by teams on mopeds isn't a new technique, and it has been seen in other cities across the world where victims carry bags or are seen with premium items in public. With a retail price of $549, the AirPods Max certainly fit into this latter category, and are easy pickings for the thieves.
Owners should be vigilant when using AirPods Max in public, and to stow the headphones away when it is potentially unsafe to use them.
AppleInsider Staff
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
18 Comments
I read an article about Los Angeles in which the LAPD is now recommending people leave their fancy cars and jewelry at home when they go out. This is what our society has descended into? Is lawlessness now the norm? Is this what “defund the police” means? Should we leave our iPhones and AirPods home too?
https://nypost.com/2022/07/19/lapd-warns-against-flashing-jewelry-as-robberies-rise/
So I guess the message is buy an old Datsun beater to use when you go out on the town and wear plastic beads from Walmart, ladies.
Two downstream things since Covid and the Floyd case is a notable drop off in police presence, police intervention and prosecution for many types of crime. This is happening all over the United States and has plainly gotten out of hand in some cities. San Francisco even recalled a DA over his failure to prosecute such crimes.
IMHO wearing over the ear headphones of any kind in NYC is not a very wise thing to do, but citizens should not be expected to tolerate such brazen nonsense. I guess they could buy Samsung stuff and blend in.
Forget the Rolex and iWatch and wear a $20 Timex. We have done that for years when traveling into third world countries. From what we read everyday, the USA is rapidly dropping towards that status, what with all of the "mass" shootings every week or so.
Find my and activation lock for head phones?