Apple iPhone thieves locking owners out of their phones, How to prevent
Many Apple iPhone users are being locked out of their phones by thieves by using the Apple’s recovery key system of the phone.
Many Apple iPhone users are being locked out of their phones by thieves with the help of some integral security feature. It seems Apple’s recovery key system which was used to strengthen the security of the phone, is now creating problems for iPhone owners.
How the thieves use the feature
According to reports, the iPhone thieves first get access to the stolen iPhone and then they block out the user after stealing the victim’s money from their bank accounts. Reportedly, they are using the Apple’s recovery key system to carry out this task.
A Wall Street Journal report informed about an incident where an iPhone 14 Pro owner Greg Frasca was locked out of his iPhone since October from last year using the same method. Greg is not the only one who has faced this problem, many others are also facing the same issue due to this security exploit.
The thieves reportedly changed his Apple ID password after getting the passcode to the stolen iPhone. He was also unable to access the iPhone remotely as thieves even enabled the recovery key to prevent him from doing so.
The recovery key is a randomly generated 28 digit key and was introduced back in 2020. One needs to provide this recovery key to gain control of their Apple ID password. But, this feature may backfire on the iPhone user if a hacker or thief gets their hands on this password as they can use this security feature against you. After this, there is no other way to recover the Apple ID.
An Apple spokesperson stated that they will take this matter seriously and look into it.
However, there are some ways you can use to prevent thieves from locking you out of your iPhone. Check them below.
Step-1: You can use face-ID if your iPhone is compatible with this bio-metric security feature as thieves can’t copy your face, can they?
Step-2: Try to set up an alphanumeric password instead of four or six digit password as they are easy to use. As the alphanumeric password includes both numbers and letters it is not easy to remember even if someone sees it by accident.
You can set up the alphanumeric password by heading to Settings >> Face ID & Passcode. Now, enter your old passcode for verification then tap Passcode Options to access the Custom Alphanumeric Code keypad.
Step-3: You can also try disabling Control Center access on the lock screen to stop thieves from activating Airplane mode.
Step-4: OR Enable a Screen Time password for your Apple ID. To do that go to Settings >> Screen Time >> Use Screen Time Passcode. Now, enter a passcode of your choice, then enter your Apple ID credentials so you can recover the Screen Time Password if you forget it.
(Source: Techradar)
Ms Kalinga