They strike again–yet another robbery at an Apple Store this time it happened along the Peninsula.

And now, thieves got away with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

Thousand-dollar iPhones are tempting snatch-and-run thieves. They are just sitting a few feet away from the front door with not much in the way.

Apple stores have unarmed security guards that do not engage physically. They are there as a visual deterrent and to act as witnesses.

The iPhones and iPads had no security ropes attached to them at the Burlingame Apple Store. 

The laptops did have a security rope but a very flimsy one, easy to rip out.

Over the last two weeks across the Bay Area, similar thefts, involving small groups of hooded individuals took place in Apple stores in Santa Rosa, Corte Madera, Emeryville, Walnut Creek, and now the latest one on Sunday at 1130 a.m. in Burlingame.

Burlingame police said four men ran into the store, grabbed $50,000 worth of gadgets, and jumped into a gray Volvo getaway car.

Burlingame police say all these Apple store burglaries may be connected. They are investigating it that way, but they are not saying at this time that it’s the same people doing the crimes.

You may be wondering if Apple has some technology they can put in these devices that would render them useless if they were stolen from the store.

The devices stolen from an Apple store would be wiped remotely from the Find My iPhone Feature and marked as stolen, so if anyone tried to activate them with cell service, it would not work.  

But, when selling the stolen goods through Craigslist or eBay, the people on the buying end would not know they have been marked as stolen. 

And an iPhone or iPad is still desirable even without cell service. They work on WiFi. 

Apple said they do not comment on security issues and referred KRON4 to local authorities.

If Apple has some secret technology they could use to curb the snatch-and-run thieves, they are not telling us at this time.

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