Q: Stolen iPhone removed off Find My iPhone by thief - what now?

FindMyiPhone can only be turned off with the owners Apple ID !

Turning off FMiP does not eliminate the passcode on the phone. The data is encrypted. Your phone has probably already been erased and listed on eBay or craigslist.

The reason you do not see it anymore is because the iPhone is turned off, or not connected to the internet.

It can not be used at all as long as FindMyPhone is not turned off by your AppleId, even when reset completely.

Of course it can be sold, but basically it is a dead brick.

Apparently you missed this part...

A phishing scam told me the phone had been located and I fell for it. I logged into what looked exactly like iCloud and then within a few minutes my device was removed from my iCloud account and from Find my iPhone.

Yes, I missed that

(stupid), thanks.

Even though they got your Apple ID and password - they will have to restore the phone to get around the passcode issue. That will erase your data - sorry about your loss

TessZA wrote:

 

I am wondering how they turned off Find My iPhone though without the passcode? Unless, they way they set the phone into recovery mode so that, when it connected with my Apple ID password, it reset the phone. I am HOPING so. I would rather that than they were able to access my data (mostly, emails).

 

Is it possible that they can hack the passcode though, along with the Apple ID? Surely not from Lost Mode, when all they can do is put the phone into recovery mode at most without the passcode?

They did not 'hack' your Apple ID. You gave them your iCloud login credentials. I hope you changed your password as soon as you realized you'd fallen for a scam. They likely don't care a whit about your data. They now have a phone they can use or sell.

If they could, they did it quite a while ago. There are 10,000 possible combinations. Did you have it set to erase after 10 incorrect tries? Did you use a ridiculously simple passcode?

There is a non-zero probability that they were able to figure out your passcode.

What difference does it make now? If your data was compromised, the damage has been done. You can't do anything to stop them after the fact.

Sorry but you should pay more ATTENTION to detail

I live in Miami,FL.

It takes a search on Craigslist and a call to meet with someone who will

1:Remove iCloud lock

2:Remove Passcode lock

3:Change IMEI code

4:Carrier unlock it (GSM versions)

and 5

Give me a shiny new operating iPhone X for about 50 bucks cash (returning the one I stole to me as if brand new never used).

IF you get another phone

1: Use a 6 DIGIT NUMBER/LETTER passcode to unlock phone

2: Use the passwords that are automatically generated in Safari to access iCloud.com (those hard to remember ones like HX3z-$YGI-3Ab4, etc)

3: Set it to where it does NOT notify you of ANYTHING on the lock screen (when locked), just makes a sound

4: Send last location when LOW BATTERY

5: Erase after 10 attempts

6: NEVER EVER answer emails to "login to XXXXXX" IE: CLICK THE LINK IN THE EMAIL, go to a NEW BROWSER WINDOW and MANUALLY ENTER THE URL ADDRESS

Sorry, but these are only a FEW of the things you need to do on a new iPhone. I will tell you this, Apple can NOT (until it goes to the Supreme Court) unlock a iPhone either in their possession or remotely

BUT

Google can REMOTELY unlock and decrypt ANY, and I mean ANY Android device. Period. Even if you use Marshmallow full disk encryption and encrypt the microSD card, Google can still remotely unlock and decrypt it.

Apple is the ONLY manufacturer that can not do this by design.

And if your really paranoid (like I quasi am) you will use other means to be sure everything is encrypted, you don't fall for social engineering hacking (like clicking links in emails) and you use a password OTHER than ABC123 or PA$$w0Rd (and people still actually use 12345 and abc123.....Can't fix STUPID. Those people you call Semi-Gloss, not the brightest)

Here in Miami,FL, they do that (above 1-5) and then take the phones to Brazil, that has a HUGE VAT (Value Added Tax) on iPhones.

I got 2 phones, a 6/64GB GSM and a 6+/128GB GSM

The 6/64GB GSM cost me $350 of Craigslist. And it was a true AT&T locked iPhone.

I asked AT&T to unlock and they did (it was not black listed or stolen/etc)

IF I was to sell it to someone to take to Brazil (the small Simple Mobile stores around here are prime examples of these places) I could get $450 cash for it.

Because in Brazil, it would sell for $700 or more unlocked.

So if you don't want to become another statistic of stolen iPhones and hacked iCloud accounts then I suggest you either learn how to be more secure with your data/information or someone will get a credit card in your name and go buy $5000.00 worth of flat screens at Best Buy to sell for pennies on the dollar so they can goto their meth dealer and get another hit....

Best of luck