[Breadman03]

My wife's phone was stolen a few hours ago in NOLA. We can track it via the native app. I'm curious if it is real-time enough to locate the person in possession. If so (and I'm sure it's a pipe dream here), would LE use that to recover the phone?

Thanks from the guy that is seriously tempted to hop a flight and politely ask for his wife's phone back.

 

[Gun Shark]

My wife's phone was stolen a few hours ago in NOLA. We can track it via the native app. I'm curious if it is real-time enough to locate the person in possession. If so (and I'm sure it's a pipe dream here), would LE use that to recover the phone?



Thanks from the guy that is seriously tempted to hop a flight and politely ask for his wife's phone back.

I have tracked it relatively real time I think. I believe that LE can track it through the carrier.

 

[Patchman]

Yes, it is real time enough to track. Assuming the person keeps the phone on. Once the phone is turned off, it no longer tracks. But you may still get the message where it was last tracked to. So check how long ago that was.

But is it accurately enough to track? All civilian GPS has built in error to (at least) 10 meters radius (or was it 10 yards?). So if it tracks (for example) to a crowded movie theater, you'll have to figure out which patron there has your phone. Also, it wouldn't show elevation, which means if it's tracked to (for example) an apartment/office building, you won't know which floor/office it's at.

 

[Ducowti]

Real time, yes. As noted only good as long as the phone is on. Mine got picked up recently and despite passcode lock the skell shut it off before I could track him. That's a fatal flaw - stupid Apple.


Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire

 

[RenegadeGlocker]

R/T and can be found within a few meters if good GPS signal.

Anyone can test this right now with Find My iPhone or Find my Friends App.

 

[DaBigBR]

Yes and no.

We've had good luck using the software to track the phone to somebody on the street and then use the function that makes the sound to identify the person. We have also been able to use it to do knock and talks and recover phones. Where it is frustrating is when somebody tracks the phone to a large, multitenant structure and thinks we're going to walk in the building and come out with their phone.

Finally, we've had issues with people tracking a phone that is obviously in a car somewhere and constantly calling in to tell us where it is. It's not real time or precise enough to really do anything with in that scenario, in my experience.

 

[Breadman03]

Update: my wife left her phone on the table while conducting a Q&A panel. One of her fellow authors mistakenly put it in her purse and didn't realize it was there.

For any of you who (or whose spouses) read romance novels, the Romantic Times convention is at the Marriott in NOLA and packed with NY Times bestselling authors doing the whole meet and greet thing.

PS, of you see my wife, remind her that I told her not to leave her stuff laying around!

 

[Patchman]

Update: my wife left her phone on the table while conducting a Q&A panel. One of her fellow authors mistakenly put it in her purse and didn't realize it was there.

PS, if you see my wife, remind her that I told her not to leave her stuff laying around!

I'm glad she was able to get her phone found. If she already made a police report, please have her call the police back and tell them it was a mistake.

Theft from unattended bags is the biggest headache we have. If everyone watched their stuff and there were no theft from unattended baggages, our larceny would drop by 50 to 70 percent.

We monitor about 12 to 18 BGs known to strike at hotels where conventions are happening. They include indiividuals as well as father/son, father/daughter teams.

Just because you're at an event where you're with like minded people, theft still happens!

 

[Breadman03]

She never filed a police report, but I was at the Verizon store and was within about 5 minutes of having a new phone delivered to her via the concierge at her hotel when her phone was located.

Unattended stuff really irks me. It presents a strong temptation for the turds of the world.

This situation is proof that she doesn't listen to me, except that she left her new (and spendy for us) earrings at home.

 

[VPD4327]

We've had this situation happen before. Someone's phone is stolen, they track it to some apartment in the projects, and call us to knock down the door. Unfortunately, we have to tell them: 1) We can knock but if they don't answer, we're not kicking down their door. 2) We're not getting a search warrant for a phone. 3) Don't ever come to the projects looking for your phone. I did have one time when the above scenario happened where I saw the phone dot clearly in a single level apartment. I knocked and an elderly woman answered the door. I obtained consent to search after I explained the situation. I felt like crap because she had just arrived home from church and still had her old lady church hat and dress on. She barely knew what a cell phone was (OLD OLD). I searched and found nothing. I checked the roof to make sure nobody threw it on the roof in passing as well as checking the empty trash cans. She lived alone and had no "grandkids" to bring stolen crap to her place. The tracking dot clearly showed the stolen phone in her house. I explained to the people that were eagerly waiting outside. That was the last time I entertained tracking phones down for people.

 

[IrishSheepdog54]

I've tracked at least a half dozen iPhones, and made three (if I remember correctly) robbery arrests using the Find My iPhone software. I also was able to track a phone to a Mexican restaurant in Chicago's Little Village, where we found out that one of the line cooks was buying stolen iPhones for $100 and selling them at a local Flea Market. That case was handed off to Chicago PD to see if they could run with it. Sometimes the tracking stuff works, sometimes it doesn't.

 

[nitesit(+ an e)]

I responded to a robbery 2nd call on the side of a highway where the victim had her purse and AT&T cell phone taken along with cash and other property. I had 3rd party witnesses who backed the whole story up. I got a good description of the suspect and vehicle and and direction of travel and called AT&T to request a ping of the general area of the phone so we could BOLO the area. If we could just find the pickup truck even if it was parked and unoccupied we could act on the tag info, and I was forwarded to the AT&T "Special Services" branch that handled LE inquiries.

I was told that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES would AT&T cooperate in pinging for a phone unless there was "an immediate liklihood of imminent death or grave bodily harm" involved. Otherwise, go thru the subpoena process in the morning. Even had the victim talk to them and request the location of her phone. No dice.

I asked for just a ping allowing us to get within a five mile radius and was repeatedly turned down by even the supervisor who called my dispatcher back to verify I was speaking from a known LE phone number.

SCREW AT&T. Verizon helps us a lot.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

The "find my iphone" app isn't as real-time as LE tracking through the carrier via tower. But that's used more often (in my experience) for looking for a person using their phone than finding a stolen phone, for obvious reasons.

I have tracked it relatively real time I think. I believe that LE can track it through the carrier.

 

[DaBigBR]

I was told that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES would AT&T cooperate in pinging for a phone unless there was "an immediate liklihood of imminent death or grave bodily harm" involved. Otherwise, go thru the subpoena process in the morning. Even had the victim talk to them and request the location of her phone. No dice.

I asked for just a ping allowing us to get within a five mile radius and was repeatedly turned down by even the supervisor who called my dispatcher back to verify I was speaking from a known LE phone number.

SCREW AT&T. Verizon helps us a lot.

We have the same experience with most carriers and it is our dispatch center's policy to only ping in those circumstances. I understand the position of the carriers.

 

[Patchman]

We have the same experience with most carriers and it is our dispatch center's policy to only ping in those circumstances. I understand the position of the carriers.

We always needed a subpoena to ping a phone. And even pinging is useless if the phone is turned off (at least according to Mossad and NSA! :whistling

Pinging a phone is not the same as Find My phone. I really don't know which is more "accurate." Good question for next time I speak with people from cell phone providers!

 

[Vic777]

- stupid Apple.

Ya, gotta be one of the dumbest companies in our lifetime!