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

Assuming that you enabled a passcode on your phone, your data is safe. There is no way that anyone could guess your passcode in less than 10 tries.

The messages that you are seeing are trying to scare you and trick you into tapping on a link to provide the bad guys with your log on credentials so they can get into your phone. Do not respond or tap on any links in a message like this.

You might also receive a message from "Apple" or "Apple Support" that claims that your phone has been found. This message is trying to do the same thing. Apple will never send a message like this, so you know that this is a scam.

Also, do not remove the phone from your list of devices. If you do this, you give the bad guys open access to your phone.

It may not help, but I would contact the police regarding the threats.

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.

Do NOT let these heaps of human excrement scare you. They are horrible excuses for living beings, but they cannot do anything to you.

Don't remove the phone from your list of devices as Bob recommends and ABSOLUTELY contact the authorities over those horrible messages they're sending you.

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.

I got the same message. I'm realizing this is a batch message and photo they send to everyone. When I saved their screenshot on my phone, I pressed info button to see that it was taken about a year ago, meaning they pull up this photo and send to multiple people

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

Re: “… but how does one get his [my son’s] phone number? Is there a way to get the phone number off the stolen phone? … “

The criminals likely used your son’s SIM to learn your Son’s number before he was able to report the theft to your carrier.

(Something not possible w/ modern eSIMs)

Law enforcement - backed-up by the carriers - have other tracing / tracking tools at their disposal.

I’d think that a death threat should be sufficient for their “investigative” wheels to be set in-motion.

my son got the same exact message. Later that day he got a message saying the phone was for his daughter and he begged to have him erased and delete from his network. Finally after my son didn’t respond they sent a threatening email stating some horrible things if he didn’t detach phone from network. He didn’t respond to anything and now they quit contacting him. I was very scared as a Mom.

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.

GREAT job by your son to NOT allow himself to be goaded into engagement. 👏

Seriously consider using an eSIM on his “replacement” phone.

The “non-extractable” eSIM virtually eliminates this FAR too-common phishing attack vector.

mine was stollen in Los Angeles.

after that message i recived another one where they claim to be in china and that they bought the phone from black market for his daughter and begging to delete it,

next day i recived serious threats, very disturbing messages, and videos with some guy holding a gun! 🤯 but the messages don’t make any sence, they are claiming they know where i am in miami, and they are coming for me. very disturbing, yet i understand it is probably an automated message. anyways i reported them to police. and just now i recived an EMAIL from FIND MY : “activation lock is requesting your password…. “ it looks very legit but i am 100 % sure it is them again. not pressing any links . went to apple store today, showed them everything that’s happening and they are puzzled as well, no one has a clear understanding how are they able to reach me

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.

Just chiming in to share I’m experiencing exactly the same awful situation. My iPhone 13 was stollen in LA, a month later it’s in China, near Macao.

I’ve been receiving requests from the thieves to remove my device all week, but a more aggressive one this morning reading:

”Yo!!

Iv’e bought an iPhone 13 Pro Max I’m using, it have your messages, emails, cards, bank, notes and personal information on it even your SIM # that you transferred, I get your calls. It was not erased.

The erase request you made didn’t work, it was connected on wifi in china then got jailbreak and still saying pending it wont erase remotely.

I’m telling you this because the phone is going be auctioned on the black market with your personal information and everything about you that you had on it. all your info including your phone number, address, everything will be cloned.

That’s why I’m telling you to so you can REMOVE IT from your device list and I will factory reset it manually and remove the number.“

Now, as soon as it was stollen I locked it, put it in lost mode, and attempted to erase it…so I’m not replying to these criminals. But, I’m still a bit confused as how they’re able to obtain my cell phone number or contact to text me in the first place?? And, how they know I’m trying to erase the device. Maybe they’re just guessing.

Obviously, I’m not going to proceed to “Remove this device” from my iCloud because it’s then all theirs to take. But definitely alarming.

This is the EXACT messages I just received as well. Anything happen since you posted this? I had my phone stolen back in November and it's even showing the same location as yours in China. Even the same videos and name.

My Son had his phone stolen a few months ago. Now he is receiving death threats if he doesn’t detach his device. I understand it could be a scam but scary none the less. He will obviously contact the local PD but how does one get his phone number? Is there a way to get the phone number off the stolen phone? His phone was placed in lost mode right away. He has his roommates number to call in case found. Not his?