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A Yorba Linda man has become the latest victim in a spate of recent identity thefts of expensive laptops in Southern California.
Paul Giles, who was supposed to pick up a 16-inch MacBook Pro, said what’s different about these recent thefts is that the criminals used fake IDs and in some cases didn’t have actual QR codes needed to pick them up. It is said that they are impersonating the actual purchaser by offering the following information. To my daughter last month.
When Giles arrived at the Apple Store at Americana at Brand in Glendale, a manager told her: “Looks like someone picked it up pretending to be you.”
Giles is not making a $5,000 purchase right now. He is at least the fourth Apple customer to report that his computer was stolen by someone who picked up his purchases.
Rick Markowitz of Sherman Oaks said he ordered his Apple laptop online and chose to pick it up at the store to avoid having his $3,600 device stolen.
But when he went to pick up his new computer last week, the store told him it had already been picked up.
“I was told that apparently someone had shown me my ID,” Markowitz said. “I’ve been trying to solve this problem ever since.”
Markowitz said he filed a police report in an attempt to resolve the laptop theft case with the company, but received no response from police.
He insisted there was no evidence of any hacking and said he was confused by the situation.
“[Apple]said, ‘We’re not necessarily saying it was your fault. We’re saying someone had your ID and QR code, but our store policy says that anyone with the ID cannot I’ll give it to anyone,” Markowitz said. “That’s crazy. I haven’t taken any money out of my bank account. I haven’t received any suspicious emails or anything like that.
Giles also said he did not believe he had been hacked.
“You know, one possibility is that this could be some kind of inside job,” Giles said. “If they really did get the QR code, it would probably only be in the email sent to me, but who else could get it?”
According to Jim Stickley, a nationally known cybersecurity expert, anyone can do it.
“It’s a very easy scam,” Stickley said. “All I have to do is access your computer, monitor your email, see what items you purchased and when they will be delivered.”
Stickley believes cybercriminals are getting personal information from people’s computers.
“Everyone has this idea: If my computer is compromised, we’ll know about it, something will pop up on the screen, and my computer will be slow,” Stickley said. said. “But today, it’s almost impossible to know if criminals have broken into your computer.”
He said he wouldn’t be surprised if this type of theft didn’t happen at other locations around the country, let alone the Apple Store.
Once a computer or email is compromised, “criminals can see everything they see,” Stickley says.
“So if you receive an email and it includes a QR code to retrieve your package, the criminal also has that QR code and is beating you to the teeth. “It will be,” Stickley said.
His advice? One thing we often hear from experts is to use unique and different passwords for every account you own.
“Another thing is to try using things like your phone or tablet on your PC,” Stickley says. “Desktop PCs, whether Mac or Windows, are far less secure than mobile phones and tablets.
Giles said neither Apple nor his credit card company have been of any help. He said he is in contact with Glendale police regarding the investigation.
“So we don’t have any money. That’s the problem,” Giles said. “I already bought a new computer and don’t need this computer. I need a refund from Apple.”
NBCLA has contacted Apple daily since Wednesday but has not yet received a response.
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