iPhone users must be wary of this scam that tricks them into inviting thieves into their homes
A Reddit subscriber with the username "CalciteQ" revealed that a random lady had come to his front door two days in a row, ringing the doorbell, and claiming that her Apple Watch was inside his home. So far their conversations have been conducted through a Ring doorbell camera. The woman did show the homeowner through the security camera that the Find My app on her iPhone was indicating that her timepiece was inside his house which is why she doesn't believe the Redditor when he says that there is no Apple Watch inside.
The homeowner spent the time to go through all of the electronics inside his home and could not find the watch. Meanwhile, another Reddit subscriber posted a link to a story posted by KSAT in Texas from 2017; even though the story was more than seven years old, it sounded all too familiar. That story was about a man who "...would ring the resident’s doorbell and present a phone with the "Find my iPhone" app showing that his lost phone was inside the resident’s home."
Just as it was back in 2017, the woman's goal could be to get inside the homeowner's dwelling to get an idea of the layout of the house, figure out where the valuables might be kept, and possibly learn when the home would be unattended. More frightening is the possibility that this woman is trying to get the homeowner to let her in so that her accomplices, hidden off to the side, could race inside the home and rob the place at gunpoint.
Even though the KSAT report is quite dated, obviously this is a scam that is still being used today. If you are ever in a situation like this, do not open the door. Call the police immediately. If a random person says that their iPhone, iPad, AirPods, or Apple Watch is inside your home and they truly believe that they are telling you the truth, there should be no objection if you tell him/her not to move, and that you are calling the police.
The woman could have told the homeowner that she would use the Find My app on her iPhone to play a pinging sound on her missing Apple Watch
Another Redditor said that if the woman's Apple Watch was inside the home of "CalciteQ" as she claimed, she could have hit the "Play sound" button when her Apple Watch appeared on her iPhone's Find My app. This suggestion could have been made over the Ring camera and her failure to bring it up might indicate that she is working a scam.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: