Cell Phone Thief NE area (Albuquerque, Las Cruces: 2009, insurance, violent crime)

[anelizk]

Yesterday my family who came in from EP & I went to have breakfast at a popular restaurant known for breakfast at a shopping center on Wyoming & Menaul. There's also a fabric store, topless bar, & pool hall in the shopping center. While waiting outside for other family members to settle the bill, a tall skinny Caucasian kid in his late teens/early 20's wearing blue jeans & a dark baseball cap came up to my sister & I. My sister had her I-phone in her hand & he gave us this sob story that he "needed to borrow somebody's phone real quik; his was dead & it would be a quick local call"...you get the picture. Well no sooner, the jerk was making a break for a late-model hatchback Red Pontiac Sunfire w/yellow plates & getaway driver.

My husband tried to follow the car which turned right on Moon & Menaul but he lost them. We called the police, filed a report, but basically this punk got a free $400 I-phone & won't be caught. While the police officer was nice, it wasn't a priority. In all fairness, w/folks suffocating their children & burying them in parks, bodies turning up in the desert, & home shootings, I'm sure they have their hands full. So of course if a stranger approaches you to use your cell w/a sob story DON'T FALL FOR IT! Or if anyone has had a similar experience or info. re: this please share.

On a lighter note, I've been in Albuquerque since late Dec. early Jan & there has been a shooting in the parking lot of a grocery store right around the corner of my house in NE Heights. A very strange guy showed up at my door w/a weird sob story begging to do yard work, I didn't feel comfortable so I declined. My lovely neighbors gave him a chance, he did next to nothing & took their money. I've only been victimized twice in my life w/a purse stolen in Las Cruces & now this & I've lived all over the world. I love Albuquerque & think it's a great city, but it appears to have a slight crime problem...or is it me? Is it the state's legislature? Love some feedback! Thanks!

[lobo]

Can't you just call AT&T and have them stop service on the phone? The phone will then be useless to the crook. It's a pretty stupid crime to steal a cell phone. Hopefully you have insurance on it and can get it replaced. The other phone will not be able to be reactivated without a clear ESN# which it won't have if it was reported stolen.

[berncohomes]

AT&T can't stop service on its phones, the only network that can is Verizon. The iPhone uses a sim card which can be replaced with a pin. iPhones are also easily hacked, cracked so they can be used on other networks. This phone can be used and probably will be sold on Craigslist, eBay or just locally to someone he knows. Check the ads on CL & eBay to see if you can find your phone.

Your husband followed the vehicle. Did he get the license plate? If so post it here, post it on CL, make it public knowledge that the driver is a thief. Also post the name of the restaurant.

[AlisonL]

Never, ever let a stranger borrow anything...period! This should be a lesson well learned for your sister. Your best bet is to decline or offer to make the call for them.

[anelizk]

Well...duh...of course it was a lesson well learned for my sister! I've done that before & never had that happen. He was at fault not my sister...it's easy to pass judgement until happens to you. It's a shame no one can be a good citizen anymore.

My husband was several cars behind them & couldn't get the license plate number. Furthermore, you're right about the I-phone. They shut the service off but that's all that can be done w/it. Will look for it on CL & eBay. We were thinking of putting an ad for one on CL, but who knows what good that would do.

[yukon]

"Just Say NO" isn't just for drugs anymore. I don't use my cell phone in parking lots unless I'm in the locked car - no matter what city I'm in.

[anelizk]

Point well taken.

[ziaAirmac]

In three days, with the release of iPhone 3.0 software, people with a mobileme account (Apple's online server service) will be able to send a special message and tone to their iphone to help it with being found. If that doesn't work, you can see it's location online just like google maps. If raiding a house to get your iPhone back doesn't interest you, or the police won't escort you, you can wipe your iPhone's info from online. Now if you could just watch video in real time through the built in camera and then set off a C4 charge at the perfect moment.

Apple - MobileMe - News - Find My iPhone Announced at WWDC09

Sorry it's too late to help your sister. I feel for her. Albuquerque has an issue with panhandlers/walk-ups and 'travelling van salesman' scammers. How many people could you call if you ran out of gas? How long would it take you to ask to borrow a business phone if you absolutely needed to make a call? Any stranger walking up to you in this town has to be treated like they're up to something.

In this town, we look directly at the person and immediately, aggressively tell them we're not interested, can't help, don't have change, etc... It's a car-club thing. When they see you're well aware of them and paying attention to what's going on, they'll look for the next easy mark. If I'm in a public space I do it very loud. I had a guy come up on me while I was trying to load my girls into the car at the Albertson's on Eubank and Candelaria. I went off about not coming up on me when I was trying to secure my kids and he didn't just back off, he left the parking lot as the associates up front watched.

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by anelizk

Well...duh...of course it was a lesson well learned for my sister! I've done that before & never had that happen. He was at fault not my sister...it's easy to pass judgement until happens to you. It's a shame no one can be a good citizen anymore.

My husband was several cars behind them & couldn't get the license plate number. Furthermore, you're right about the I-phone. They shut the service off but that's all that can be done w/it. Will look for it on CL & eBay. We were thinking of putting an ad for one on CL, but who knows what good that would do.

Well....duh....no need to be nasty about it!

It won't happen to me because I don't own a cellphone and have no intentions of ever owning one.

IMHO, both are at fault.

[anelizk]

I realize now this is a town that one obviously has to REALLY watch their back in. I went from living in a place where people were so honest & trustworthy (Jakarta, Indonesia) to NM, I've forgotten where I was...& needed to remember back to my purse getting stolen back in Las Cruces which also seemed to have an issue of petty & violent crime when I lived there for university in 97.

AlisonL: people make mistakes as I'm sure you have at least once in your life & sorry if my reply was short

Thanks for the feedback all, fortunately I don't own an I-phone, & rarely use my cell phone out in public.