danetted17 wrote:
My phone was stolen a month ago. Now it’s in China. I’ve gotten the message to erase the content and remove from my Apple ID.
When I got my phone stolen I put it on lost mode when I couldn’t find it and changed my Apple ID password.
Now, I’m getting messages that my information is going to get duplicated in the black market.
These are lies designed to panic you, and trick you into removing your phone from the list of devices associated with your Apple ID. If you do that, you will clear Activation Lock, and the thieves will be able to reset your phone, and "make your phone their own" to use for themselves, or to sell as a usable phone to someone else.
Don't fall for it.
i didn’t erase this device because i got scared that it would just give them access to the full phone and they can use it. Does anyone know what happens if I erase it? Will it not have a passcode anymore even if it’s on lost mode?
Here's my understanding of things.
- If the phone was passcode-locked when the thieves stole it – with a passcode that is not obvious and that the thieves had no way of learning – it's very secure. There are a million six-digit passcodes. The phone will only accept ten incorrect guesses before it enters a state where it either (a) immediately wipes itself, or (b) makes things so that you must wipe it to get back in. So there is only 1 chance in 100,000 that thieves could get into your phone if it was securely passcode-locked and had not yet learned that it was in Lost Mode.
- Once the phone learned that it was in Lost Mode, it would put up the "Locked to Owner" screen. That screen requires entry of your Apple ID and Apple ID password (which the thieves obviously do not know). The phone hides part of the Apple ID by default, both to protect your privacy and to make credentials harder to guess.
- If you request a remote Erase, then once the phone learns of the Erase, it will wipe itself. At least with recent versions of iOS, this will not remove Activation Lock (which is recorded on Apple's servers). The criminals will still have a "brick".
Erase a device in Find Devices on iCloud.com - Apple Support
"What happens when you erase a device in Find Devices?
- A confirmation email is sent to your Apple Account email address.
- Activation Lock remains on to protect it. Your Apple Account and password are required to reactivate the device."
