iCrooks have caught up to the technology they’re stealing.
Thieves have learned to immediately turn off the iPhones they steal so that tech-savvy cops can’t track them down through a location app on the devices, police sources said.
“Whatever surprise we had, that surprise is out the window now,” lamented one Manhattan police source.
“At least 80 percent of the time, the phone is off by the time it’s reported stolen.”
Before the crooks got wise, the NYPD had great success in tracking them down through the GPS-enabled “Find My iPhone” application.
They used it to collar a variety of crooks, including a Midtown gunman and an East Harlem teen who hid a stolen phone in his underwear.
In January, the NYPD even sent out an internal training memo instructing officers on the use of the free app.
But now, in larger robberies, some thieves are even protecting themselves by leaving any iPhones behind.