Thief Chews Through Anti-Theft Cable After iPhone 14 Plus Sticker Shock

CCTV of iPhone 14 theft
(Image credit: SCMP)

A woman from southeastern China has been arrested for stealing an Apple iPhone 14 Plus. This might have been one of many iDevice thefts on any given day, but the thief's modus operandi has made this case go viral on Chinese social media. Surprisingly, the iPhone thief managed to purloin the device and make her getaway after chewing through the demo device's anti-theft cable with her teeth.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that a woman from Fujian province, surnamed Qiu, entered the phone store and began her visit as any normal person might. She wandered around the store, looking at various items, pausing with most interest by the smartphone section.

It is claimed the woman innocently scrolled through the iPhone display when anyone passed by, but later, security camera footage revealed that when the coast was clear, she would set about gnawing at the anti-theft cable. Not long after Qiu left the shop, the staff noticed the unattached cable and missing smartphone. The store workers called the police, and Qiu was apprehended 30 minutes later.

(Image credit: SCMP)

Interestingly, the newspaper report also shared the thief's side of the sorry story. Qiu apparently explained to police that she went to the store intending to purchase a new device, after losing her phone. However, the iPhone 14 Plus sticker price of 7,000 yuan (US$960) apparently left her exasperated, so she decided to steal the store's demo sample.

Electronic devices and components can be really expensive. However, most people will make do with cheaper options or save a little longer to get what they want. Also, chewing through an anti-theft cable might not be without its costs. Most such cables we have seen are reinforced with metal wire filaments, which would surely damage human teeth to chew - resulting in sizable dentistry bills.

Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

  • InvalidError
    Guess China hasn't stolen the secrets of tamper-evident anti-theft cables tied into an alarm system. Damage the cable or pull too hard on the sensor glued on the back of the phone to attach the cable and the alarm goes off.
    Reply
  • brandonjclark
    With teeth like that, just make sure he\she never gives a friendly present downstairs.
    Reply
  • Findecanor
    InvalidError said:
    Guess China hasn't stolen the secrets of tamper-evident anti-theft cables tied into an alarm system. Damage the cable or pull too hard on the sensor glued on the back of the phone to attach the cable and the alarm goes off.
    The problem with some of these anti-theft systems is that they go off too easily, and therefore multiple times a day.
    At the end of the day, store clerks get tired of the system "crying wolf", and stop responding.

    Anyway. This story points at the problem with today's technology: people are too dependent on them: not just for daily tasks but also emotionally ... thus leading to incidents like this.
    If she hadn't been so desperate, you'd think she could have left and come back with a side-cutter.
    Reply
  • newtechldtech
    in the meanwhile rich people who buy an iPhone every year dont pay their taxes .. and benefit from the taxes while others who pay dont , for most of the taxes are spent in the infrastructure of wealthy neighbors more . The poor people who live faraway from trains and services due to the higher rent , dont get anything from the total tax , because almost noting is expensive to maintain where they live.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Lets not go off on a totally irrelevant, offtopic, political crapfest.
    OK?
    Reply
  • Friesiansam
    brandonjclark said:
    With teeth like that, just make sure he\she never gives a friendly present downstairs.
    Time for that stainless steel condom...
    Reply
  • atomicWAR
    Yeah it appears they need to investigate their security practices if someone only needed their teeth to free the phone. smh
    Reply
  • Sippincider
    atomicWAR said:
    Yeah it appears they need to investigate their security practices if someone only needed their teeth to free the phone. smh

    That cable just needs to convey "Don't even think about it".

    I would expect there are other systems in place if a thief wants to proceed anyway.
    Reply
  • neojack
    impressive feat to be able to find her 30 mins later.
    impressive and frightening, she probably was retraced with surveillance AI tied to the cameras in the store and in the streets, finding her name, adress, etc.
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    Qiu apparently explained to police that she went to the store intending to purchase a new device, after losing her phone. However, the iPhone 14 Plus sticker price of 7,000 yuan (US$960) apparently left her exasperated, so she decided to steal the store's demo sample.

    If only there were a cheaper phone with the same A15 SoC yet cost half as much. Maybe they could call it an "SE".
    Reply