NYC i-Crime Spike: Shocking Report Shows 40 Percent Jump In Apple Product Thefts
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An eye-opening new NYPD report shows you could be a target walking the street, on the train or just sitting in your home.
Whether thieves target iPhones, iPads or personal computers, the crime spike is outpacing the rise of the city's overall crime rate.
They are the hottest gadgets out there and easy to steal.
Since January 1, a shocking 11,447 Apple products have been stolen. That's an increase of 40 percent from just one year ago, CBS 2's Jessica Schneider reports.
"My girlfriend had her phone stolen about a month ago, right out of her hands when she was texting someone," Kevin Barber of Willamsburg said.
"Some guy on the 6 Train tried to take my phone," Krizia Figueroa said.
Apple products are being snatched on the subway and even taken out of people's hands on the street.
"I've been told multiple times by policemen to put it away, put it in my bag, not walk around with it," said Christina Gemdjian.
Apple products go for big bucks inside the store and out on the street. Once they're snatched, they're often sold for hundreds of dollars on the Internet and overseas.
Promising young chef Hwang Yang was even robbed of his life when police said a man jumped him, shot him in the stomach and grabbed his iPhone on the street in the Bronx in April.
Police tracked down the two suspects when they tried to sell Yang's phone on Craigslist a few days after his murder and now, with the staggering number of thefts just this year, people are making changes.
"I don't take it out as often as I did," Figueroa said.
"I think I'm a little more aware when I'm just walking around," Barber said.
The NYPD has even launched a program that lets people register their devices, so if they are lost or stolen, they can be traced back.
