A group of armed thieves is terrorizing customers at Bay Area Verizon stores.
They’ve hit three locations in the past week, each time ordering everyone to get on the ground while stealing merchandise.
Now, a tip actually thwarted a robbery in Cupertino.
On Wednesday night, Verizon alerted employees at the store to lock their doors because the thieves were coming.
A spokesperson for the company says they have taken additional measures to prevent these robberies.
Verizon stores are on high alert after being the target of a gang of thieves
On Thursday, a masked and armed group stole dozens of phones from a Hayward location. The night before that, a robbery at the Cupertino store was thwarted before the thieves could get in.
“I’ve been living here since I was like maybe in kindergarten, and it is surprising because usually, this area is, you know, a rich area, not a lot of theft,” customer Leslie Castillo said.
“Well, I heard about the incident on the TV, and I knew the people that work here because I’ve been coming here for the last 13 years to buy my cell phone and update my plans,” customer John Tong added. “I’m really glad no one got hurt.”
Last Saturday, thieves entered a Fremont location and ordered customers and employees to get on the floor. A similar scene took place at a Brentwood store just days before that.
“That’s a very scary situation because you never know what can happen,” Castillo said. “You never know what kind of weapons they are carrying and what they can do to you.”
KRON4 reached out to Verizon.
In a statement, the company says:
“Unlocked phones have become a target for criminals looking to steal devices they can sell abroad and connect to wireless networks around the world. On Feb. 12, 2018, we began to lock phones coming to Verizon stores so that they can be initially activated only on Verizon.”
Police have not said if they think it’s the same group of people that are targeting the various locations.
But they’re asking people with information about any of the incidents to come forward.