Looters who stole phones and laptops from the Apple Store in The Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles, California, during riots will not be able to use the products they stole due to special safeguards installed by Apple that render them useless.
Looters will not be able to use or pawn the Apple products that they stole from Apple stores during recent riots over the death of George Floyd as safeguards have been put in place by technicians, according to a report by TMZ.
The report added that the phones and laptops stolen from the Apple Store are demos, and that they come equipped with special safeguards that prevent the products from being reset to factory settings, rendering them useless.
APPLE DISABLED THE PHONES THAT WERE LOOTED pic.twitter.com/9xp1HhOAeR
— mJ (@disposablefilms) May 31, 2020
Instead of being able to reset and use their newly-acquired phones, looters are getting a message displayed on their screen asking them to return the phone to the store, adding, “This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted.”
The looters who pillaged the Apple Store over the weekend were only able to steal the demos, as the other products that are actually for sale in the store remained safe in a highly-secured area, reports TMZ.
Riots taking place across the country appear to be in response to the death of George Floyd, who died last week after former police officer Derek Chauvin was seen pressing his knee onto his neck.
After his death, protests ensued in cities across the nation, but have quickly transpired into violent riots that have involved looting, buildings being set on fire, businesses destroyed, the White House going on lockdown, and people being beaten and killed.
The riots have prompted several cities across the nation to issue curfews in an attempt to quell what appears to be a perpetual state of chaos seen in videos circulating on social media.
On Saturday, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti issued a curfew, proclaiming, “if you love your city, go home,” which was apparently to no avail, as the mayor later called on California governor Gavin Newsom for help from the state’s National Guard.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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