My iPhone was stolen and I’m receiving spam/threats, is my information safe?

shrebhan wrote:

I had my phone stolen in SF in Jan, and I started getting messages saying, theyll hack into my phone and steal my data and only yesterday I received a horrible threat with the video of a gun and some really disturbing words but im not sure even if i remove my device will everything get erased for sure or if they might still have access to some content, i haven’t removed it but its not great getting these horrific texts

DO NOT remove your device from your account. Their threats are scary, but they aren't going to come after you. They're pretty much guaranteed to be outside the country. But if you remove your device, you unlock the phone for them, which is what they want you to do. I know its difficult, but IGNORE them. Don't respond to them at all. They'll go away when the realize you won't do what they want.

I received this same message and then I received one about how the phone was for his daughter. Each text came with screenshots/videos on how to remove my iPhone from my iCloud.

Then this morning I got a really threatening text message, threatening me and my family and saying that I had until Thursday. They send a video with a weapon in it and a video showing how they hack into iPhones. Not really sure what to do from here.

Yep same exact message was copied and pasted to me I checked the location and it’s in china in the same place as everyone else lol. I called AT&T and blacklisted the phone. Today they sent the really scary threating message & videos, which I now see is the same thing they copy and paste to everyone.

my iPhone was stolen back in February during Mardi Gras and it showed up in China a few days ago. I am now getting spam calls and texts, just like the ones you all have described (starting with Yo!). I got nervous but have changed my apple ID pass and other things, but will just ignore it as you all have mentioned.

I received exactly the same message yesterday starting with Yo!! from area code +63! My phone was stollen in Barcelona almost 1 year ago. I saw it on FindMy phone app in China a month later, it was there for a few days and vanished (mark as lost is pending, tried the erase as well also pending). Today I am getting more messages (area code +44) insisting that I disconnect my stolen phone from FindMy phone app or else I will get a huge bill because the phone was jailbroken in China and my apple ID is still bound to the phone. But wait for this: they claim they are working with US phone carriers and Amazon in the business of 2nd hand mobile phones, they are not the ones who steal them, they are doing me a favor to erase my information before they sell the phone! To erase it I need to REMOVE it from FindMy phone, and in case I don't know how to they send a picture :-) It is scary when you initially get those messages, but you see the desperation progress, from friendly to increase of aggressiveness in the language, I guess I am getting a message with some guns in it soon based on what've read in this forum. Unreal! I am putting all that information here because it was so nice to see that the same messages were replicated to everyone with a stollen phone and not particularly dedicated to me.

Why are you telling us instead of going to the police. There was a death threat in there. That’s a felony.

The police were contacted. Unfortunately there's not much police or Apple can do.

Yes that’s exactly what I just said. This person has contacted the police. They were trying to see if this has happened to anyone else.

@AnyaPLA I have had that exact text word for word, was this in London? That’s where my phone was stolen from