Police Uncover Modus Operandi of Stolen Phone Receivers Posing as Apple Representatives to Hack iCloud

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Kebayoran Baru Metro Police Sector has uncovered the modus operandi of stolen phone receivers who disguise themselves as Apple representatives to obtain victims’ iCloud accounts and passwords. “If the password or iCloud cannot be unlocked, they usually contact the victim by pretending to be from Apple,” said the Criminal Investigation Unit Head of Kebayoran Baru Metro Police Sector, AKP Andre JR Simamora, during a press conference at the Kebayoran Baru Police Sector, Jakarta, on Friday. Andre explained that this modus is employed when the stolen iPhone cannot be unlocked by the perpetrators. They then ask the victim to provide their email address, iCloud username, and password so that the device can be unlocked again. “So that the victim hands over their email address, iCloud username, and password, allowing them to bypass or hack the iCloud later, after which they can resell the phone,” he stated. According to Andre, if the iPhone is successfully unlocked, the device is sold intact for greater profit. However, if it cannot be unlocked, the phone is dismantled and sold in parts as spare parts. “If there are also brand-new but damaged ones, they usually sell only the spare parts,” he said. In uncovering this case, the police arrested three receiver suspects with initials MR, MAA, and J in an apartment in the East Bekasi area. Kebayoran Baru Metro Police Sector Chief AKBP Nugrahadi Kusuma stated that they seized 225 stolen mobile phones consisting of 183 iPhones and 42 Androids. He mentioned that the case disclosure began with reports of lost phones in the Blok M area and surroundings in April 2024. For their actions, the perpetrators are ensnared by the criminal offence of malicious assistance or receiving in theft cases, as stipulated in Article 592 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 476 of the Criminal Code, with a threat of six years’ imprisonment.