The iPhone 16 series is now available, and customers can purchase them in stores. However, there are people who opt for direct delivery to their homes instead of visiting a retailer or carrier. That said, several AT&T subscribers have been reporting cases of iPhones stolen at their front doors.
The perpetrators of the thefts are the so-called “porch pirates.” These criminals who specialize in “monitoring” deliveries at doorsteps are nothing new. However, there have been an alarming number of reports from AT&T clients about stolen iPhones. To make matters worse, some clues point to it all being an inside job.
AT&T customers report stolen iPhone 16 devices at their doorsteps
AT&T is a carrier that simplifies the “job” of porch pirates. If the buyer is not at home, the company’s policy of not requiring signatures for device delivery leaves the package on their porches or doors, vulnerable to potentially malicious individuals. Recently, multiple door/doorbell camera recordings have surfaced, revealing how the criminals act.
To begin with, porch pirates who target AT&T iPhone 16 units are highly efficient, perhaps even overly so. The process of stealing and getting away by car can take them as little as 10 seconds after the package is “delivered” to the door. It’s almost as if they know in advance that the device is going to arrive at that exact address, right? Well, it seems that’s exactly what’s happening.
Criminals would have help from AT&T employees
Some of the caught criminals have been found to have a list of iPhone tracking numbers from AT&T. The tracking number allows them to know where and when a package in question will arrive. This gives criminals an advantage when planning a robbery. AT&T could resolve the problem by requiring a signature as proof of delivery of the device. However, the carrier says that they do not require a signature to facilitate or expedite the receiving process. FedEx shippers would even have to pay an additional $7.15 per package to require a signature. Other carriers, like Verizon or T-Mobile, do require a mandatory signature to deliver packages.
One of the cases of stolen AT&T iPhones occurred in Houston, Texas. A couple of teenagers had flown from Detroit expressly to commit the crime. The teens carried a list of AT&T package tracking numbers. “We have no evidence of any breach of our systems, and this was not a hack,” said a carrier spokesperson. Therefore, everything points to an AT&T employee collaborating with porch pirates to facilitate the theft of iPhones.
Carrier must resolve the situation as soon as possible
AT&T should do everything in its power to prevent the escalating problem. A simple change in its policies, such as requiring a signature for package delivery, can help resolve the situation. AT&T must also trace where the leak of tracking numbers comes from.