Flights to Apple devices in New York were so bad that the New York Police Department has established a dedicated team to recover stolen iDevices, the New York Post reported today.
The team is working with Apple to get identification numbers - known as the international mobile station Equipment Identity numbers - for devices to help track stolen goods.
The number of thefts of such devices in the city surged last year, according to a report by the New York Police Department. The Department found that flights iPhone and iPad have increased by 40 percent over a period of eight months. In September, 11,447 cases were reported.
The figures for "Apple Picking" will continue to increase as smartphones and tablets become ubiquitous for most day to day activities. Use applications on phones and tablets to check for new updates , weather, and so on, are common in the teeming cities like New York and elsewhere.
A Wall Street Journal chronicles his own experience with an iPad theft in the subway that left him with a broken jaw. In tech-savvy San Francisco flight that iPhone has led to a police chase on foot gunfire. Consumers should take precautions in case they lose their phones on the black market, where phones can reach hundreds of dollars. Secure your phone with a good password and register for services such as Apple's Find My iPhone can offer peace of mind.
Thieves target those who are concerned about their phones, opting to enter the devices hands of the owners, and screw. If you do end up the victim, police said he better not try to stop the criminals. Here is the public announcement of the NYPD alert people to common situations flight iDevice:
