An iPhone Thief stole up to $2 Million By Watching People Type Their Passcodes

Convicted thief Aaron Johnson explains his method of stealing people's iPhones and passcodes in this Business Insider article. He currently sits in prison after successfully stealing up to $2 million in total from unsuspecting victims. Johnson would steal iPhones and access their contents by watching people type their passcodes. He would target drunk college-age men in bars, chat them up, and ask for their phone and passcode. Then he would either leave with the phone or pass it to his accomplice.

Johnson and his crew would use the stolen iPhones to drain money from the victim's bank accounts, crypto wallets, and Venmo. They would also use Apple Pay to shop in stores.

The article points out that the iPhone's security features, such as Face ID, iCloud keychain, and password manager, are all dependent on the passcode, which is the weakest link. If someone knows the passcode, they can bypass all the other protections and access everything on the phone.

Apple is rolling out a new feature to combat this vulnerability called "stolen device protection" in an upcoming update to iOS 17. This feature will make it harder to change the AppleID or Face ID password without a biometric scan or a one-hour delay. Get the full details by reading the article.