Thieves locked me out of my Apple ID account

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Level 1

10 points

Thieves locked me out of my Apple ID account

I was mugged and the thieves forced me to unlock my iPhone. They then went ahead and changed the Apple ID password and set up Recovery Key (I did not have this enabled before). Without the device, password, or Recovery Key, Apple Support is suggesting that I have no way to reset the Apple ID or even block access to the thieves.

Is there no means of identity validation I can provide (government proof of identification, proof of purchase, old backups tied to that Apple ID, etc.) here? It seems insane that not only did I lose access to all my data and accounts, but that Apple is allowing the thieves to operate as me as they seek to drain my bank accounts and maintain access to all my Apple data.

Any advice here would be much appreciated--this is a nightmare situation and I can't bear to think I've lost my entire digital identity to these thieves.

iPhone XR

Posted on Aug 8, 2021 11:22 AM

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Answer 1

Red_Panda_52 Author

Level 1

10 points

Aug 8, 2021 11:29 AM in response to muguy

Unfortunately nothing in that link provides a means of me getting the Apple ID back. They have already changed the password, so I don't have the ability to take any of the steps described in that article.

What I need is Apple to allow me to prove that the Apple ID rightfully is mine (which is obviously the case as it is my email, I have 10+ years of using it, etc.), and then resetting the password so I can regain control.

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Answer 2

Red_Panda_52 Author

Level 1

10 points

Aug 8, 2021 11:46 AM in response to muguy

Unbelievable that the most valuable company of all time is unable to protect its users against malicious actors in this way. It is trivial to confirm that the account is rightfully mine. Surely with a police report and the established history of backups, content, etc. one should be able to regain access.

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