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Apple Warns Potential Looters It Can Track Stolen Devices With Warning Message

Apple Warns Potential Looters It Can Track Stolen Devices With Warning Message

The company is taking action to protect its staff and stop further damage to its stores

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

Apple has warned looters that it is tracking stolen devices as some of the firm's US stores are targeted by looters.

Apple has closed some shops in areas affected by riots over the death of George Floyd - which have raged for over a week, in a bid to protect staff. Most had only recently reopened after closing because of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The eerie message - the first time Apple has revealed its tracking function - reads: "This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted."

Anyone illegally taking phones from Apple stores quickly discovered they were loaded with special security software when the message came up.

A picture posted on social media shows one phone telling the person who has it: "Please return to Apple Walnut Street."

The picture that has been posted on social media.
Twitter

According to the New York Post, stores were targeted and attacked in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Washington.

The company was beginning to reopen over 100 of their stores across the United States following the closure due to the coronavirus.

An Apple store in Los Angeles.
Shutterstock

The looting follows the death of George Floyd after former police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes. Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook deemed the incident 'senseless' in a memo to employees over the weekend where he addressed the role Apple will play in trying to make the world a better place.

FOX Business shared the full memo that was sent, which said: "To stand together, we must stand up for one another, and recognize the fear, hurt, and outrage rightly provoked by the senseless killing of George Floyd and a much longer history of racism.

"That painful past is still present today - not only in the form of violence, but in the everyday experience of deeply rooted discrimination.

"We see it in our criminal justice system, in the disproportionate toll of disease on Black and Brown communities, in the inequalities in neighborhood services and the educations our children receive."

Apple's CEO Tim Cook.
PA

He went on to add: "I have heard from so many of you that you feel afraid - afraid in your communities, afraid in your daily lives, and, most cruelly of all, afraid in your own skin. We can have no society worth celebrating unless we can guarantee freedom from fear for every person who gives this country their love, labor and life.

"At Apple, our mission has and always will be to create technology that empowers people to change the world for the better. We've always drawn strength from our diversity, welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores around the world, and strived to build an Apple that is inclusive of everyone.

"But together, we must do more. Today, Apple is making donations to a number of groups, including the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit committed to challenging racial injustice, ending mass incarceration, and protecting the human rights of the most vulnerable people in American society."

He concluded the memo: "With every breath we take, we must commit to being that change, and to creating a better, more just world for everyone."

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: News, US News, Apple