# ...Aaaand thieves suck. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173 "2012-02-17T19:31:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/1 "2012-02-17T19:31:44Z")
Last Sunday, I gave my wife an iPad 2 for her birthday. She’s been wanting one for a while now, mostly for reading textbooks. Today she called me in tears- she was eating lunch at the Subway just around the corner from her office, reading a book… and a guy ran in, grabbed the iPad, and then ran out. She didn’t even get a good look at the guy. She talked to the cops, and while she did that I remote-locked it. It’s not 3G, so we had to wait 'til the jerk tried to log into a wifi, which he did about thirty minutes later. I know the rough location where he tried to log in, but nothing specific. I doubt we’ll get it back. She’s heartbroken, so I imagine we’ll get her a replacement. Insurance will only pay for about half of it, after the deductible… but at least we won’t have to pay full price for a new one. She’s pretty shaken by the entire thing, so I imagine tonight will not be fun. I was just thinking the other day that we’ve actually been quite lucky as far as crime goes, so I’m glad it was just a quick grab-and-dash. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/2 "2012-02-17T19:44:39Z")
Damn. I teach in a pretty tough neighborhod and I always read from my I-Pad during lunch. I am very conscious about not leaving it unattended for even a few seconds, but I never thought someone would be brazen enough to walk right up to me and try to snatch it. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/3 "2012-02-17T20:09:30Z")
Geez, that’s awful. ☹ When it comes to displaying very popular high-tech gear in public, I just remember the case where a [man lost part of his finger](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36667769/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/man-loses-part-finger-ipad-theft/#.Tz6zA5V5mSM) when a thief attacked him for his iPad -he’d just bought it and was carrying that distinctive box in the Apple Store bag, and the handles of it were wrapped or tied around his fingers. The thief just kept yanking until he got the bag. :eek: But considering how many reports of muggings I’ve seen around here lately, you don’t even have to be displaying anything to be mugged. Some people just suck. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/4 "2012-02-17T20:19:40Z")
Something similar happened to a friend of a friend. Except, instead having her iPad stolen while reading it at a sandwich shop, she had it stolen when she took it out to blog about the police crackdown on the Occupy Oakland movement. While she was standing in the middle of the crackdown. She was absolutely floored that, in the middle of a riot, someone would steal her expensive consumer electronics. Poor girl has the survival skills of a retarded lemming. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/5 "2012-02-17T20:50:22Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > She was absolutely floored that, in the middle of a riot, someone would steal her expensive consumer electronics. Poor girl has the survival skills of a retarded lemming. See? See? America is going into the shitter. Why I remember when riots were fun family affairs that you would bring your children and puppies to to get some ice cream and balloons. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/6 "2012-02-17T20:59:19Z")
Thieves are the lowest of the low. Seriously, I rank them with rapists and murderers. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/7 "2012-02-17T21:05:21Z")
> [@Frostillicus](#): > > Damn. I teach in a pretty tough neighborhod and I always read from my I-Pad during lunch. I am very conscious about not leaving it unattended for even a few seconds, but I never thought someone would be brazen enough to walk right up to me and try to snatch it. Yeah, most thieves take the stealth approach. The OP’s story is of an astonishingly bold thief. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/8 "2012-02-17T21:20:50Z")
Bummer. What about security cameras? Any chance the theft was caught on film? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/9 "2012-02-17T21:38:02Z")
Too bad they don’t have an app that you could access remotely, which takes a nice, clear photo of the idiot’s face using the front camera when it detects activity on the tablet. Odds are still slim you’d get your device back, but at least it would give police something to use. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/10 "2012-02-17T21:41:19Z")
Hmm. Guess I should’ve searched before I posted that, because apparently there ARE apps that do just that, but it looks like you need a jailbroken device to use them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/11 "2012-02-17T21:44:39Z")
Hope you had any important stuff on iCloud. Pictures, or files or whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/12 "2012-02-17T22:13:14Z")
Was thinking about this the other day. On the one hand its got to be kind of a crummy time to be a mugger or pickpocket, since people carry less and less cash around with them as debit cards and the like become the norm. On the other hand, we also carry around portable electronics worth several hundred dollars, so I guess they can make up the difference in latops and smartphones. But its got to be kind of a pain in the butt for a mugger to try and cash out a used Ipad or whatever, as compared to just getting a wallet full of bills. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/13 "2012-02-17T22:35:51Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Too bad they don’t have an app that you could access remotely, which takes a nice, clear photo of the idiot’s face using the front camera when it detects activity on the tablet. Or remotely detonatable explosives. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/14 "2012-02-17T22:37:43Z")
I hate to be the “coulda been worse” guy, because I know how much this kind of thing can piss you off. What happened truly does suck. But at least the cocksucker didn’t physically hurt your wife. Open some good wine (or whatever you enjoy) tonight, toast to each other’s health and enjoy the new iPad you’re about to get. I’m sorry you’re out a few bucks, but I’m glad you’re only out a few bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/15 "2012-02-17T23:53:18Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Open some good wine (or whatever you enjoy) tonight, toast to each other’s health and enjoy the new iPad you’re about to get. I’m sorry you’re out a few bucks, but I’m glad you’re only out a few bucks. Amen to that. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/16 "2012-02-18T05:17:20Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I hate to be the “coulda been worse” guy, because I know how much this kind of thing can piss you off. What happened truly does suck. But at least the cocksucker didn’t physically hurt your wife. > > Open some good wine (or whatever you enjoy) tonight, toast to each other’s health and enjoy the new iPad you’re about to get. I’m sorry you’re out a few bucks, but I’m glad you’re only out a few bucks. > [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > Amen to that. Seconded. On a related note, I wouldn’t be terribly opposed to a “chop off the hand” type of punishment for theft, in _ **this** _ country. Albeit, with some modifications to the way it’s currently imposed/implemented. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/17 "2012-02-18T05:26:32Z")
I am so happy that your wife is OK. I hope that next time the thief tries this that he’ll slip on some garbage and faceplant on a flagpole. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/18 "2012-02-18T05:36:55Z")
Ugh what an asshole. I know the odds are slim but I hope they catch the bastard – not that anything will actually be done to him. Glad your wife is ok, too 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/19 "2012-02-18T05:40:58Z")
Or an EMP chip that can brick the pad remotely - scorched earth and all that rot. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/20 "2012-02-18T12:32:52Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I hate to be the “coulda been worse” guy, because I know how much this kind of thing can piss you off. What happened truly does suck. But at least the cocksucker didn’t physically hurt your wife. > > Open some good wine (or whatever you enjoy) tonight, toast to each other’s health and enjoy the new iPad you’re about to get. I’m sorry you’re out a few bucks, but I’m glad you’re only out a few bucks. Oh, yeah. We went out for dinner and a movie last night to take her mind off of it, and we agreed that it could’ve been much worse- this was in downtown _Baltimore_, after all. We’ve been together for over twenty years, and this is the first crime we’ve experienced, so we’ve both gotten off lucky. After that one attempted login, we haven’t seen any further attempts. I imagine at this point it’s either smashed or in a dumpster… or the thief is techsavvy enough to reset it from a locked screen (I imagine it’s somehow possible). Anyway, we’re going to get insurance to cover it, so my wife’ll get a new one- maybe in time for the iPad3 to be announced, if we’re lucky. I doubt she’ll take it to work with her anymore, though… kind of defeating the purpose of the thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173.md?page=2)