Brazilian Police arrests gang specialised in unlocking iPhones, stealing data

After several reports of criminals unlocking people's iPhones and managing to access users' bank accounts in Brazil, the Sao Paulo state police were able to arrest one of the gangs.

According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, four men were arrested recently and accused of integrating a specialised gang in unlocking mostly iPhones, accessing users' bank accounts and then stealing their money.

This is one of the most famous and sophisticated gangs operating in Sao Paulo city, based in the downtown region, reports 9To5Mac.

They can exploit smartphone security flaws and even bypass Face ID, Touch ID and alphanumeric passwords through specialised software, it added.


According to Police Chief Roberto Monteiro, with pirate software bought on the deep web, the gang is able to extract people's iPhones data.

"From the moment they manage to unlock the phones, the gang evaluates what's inside of them. If the people have bank account information, they use another software to take off the data and then start to steal their money," said the Police Chief.

Over 80 police officers, 38 cars and 10 specialised teams with the help of a police air unit and three teams of Metropolitan Civilian guard members were able to access a building reported to be the number one place where the criminals sent people's robbed iPhones to be unlocked.


Following the previous reports, Apple has promised the Brazilian newspaper that it will make it easier for users to delete all data from a stolen iPhone. However, the company did not give details of what exactly it will implement.

With iOS 15, users will finally be able to track a powered-off iPhone using the Find My app, which could also help.-IANS