UPS ships T-Mobile subscriber an empty box instead of his iPhone 16
The other day we told you how AT&T subscribers are being targeted by porch pirates who somehow are able to obtain tracking numbers of AT&T parcels shipped via FedEx. As we pointed out in the story, these thieves follow a FedEx truck and seconds after the driver drops a box containing a new iPhone on the doorstep, these creeps run out of their car, grab the box, and run off with a new iPhone on someone else's dime.
There are two reasons why AT&T subscribers are being victimized by porch pirates. One reason is that some of these thieves were arrested with a copy of tracking numbers in their possession. This information, possibly sold to porch pirates by insiders, could be used to find out when packages from AT&T would be delivered to the carrier's customers by FedEx. The second reason is that, unlike Verizon and T-Mobile, AT&T does not spend the additional money ($7.15 per package) needed to have a signature required to have these expensive phones dropped off at their destinations.
A package that was supposed to contain an iPhone had been previously opened and sloppily resealed
While requiring a signature to deliver a new iPhone would prevent porch pirates from grabbing boxes of iPhones from doorsteps, there are other ways to steal a brand new iPhone before the rightful owner ever gets his or her hands on the device. Consider the plight of a T-Mobile subscriber who was expecting the delivery of his iPhone 16 today. When the package arrived, it seemed too light to be the device. Inside was a shipping label and bubble wrap for the device that the victim was sending to T-Mobile. There was no iPhone in the box.
A T-Mobile subscriber received this package which came without the iPhone that was supposed to be inside. | Image credit-Reddit
Others who had a trade-in due were shipped their new phone in the same box that included the return label and bubble wrap for their trade. So yes, the iPhone 16 should have been in the box and it was not sent just for the trade. A photo taken of the box by the victim shows that it has crinkled clear tape all over the outside which would seem to be the work of a thief in a rush who grabbed the phone out of the box and quickly looked to reseal it.
While no one can say for sure who took the iPhone out of the box, a Redditor threw in his two cents and said, "Got stolen during transport. When it comes to you with clear tape on it, somebody somewhere at UPS took it." Another Redditor unfortunately was also victimized in the same manner. "My T-Mobile package was also stolen getting to me at UPS. So I think it's an internal issue that desperately needs to get fixed."
There is something that you can do to help put the odds in your favor if this happens to you
If we can pass along some advice, perhaps the best thing you can do when receiving your new iPhone-or any new device really-is to have someone video you opening the package just in case you end up in a battle with the company you bought the device from, and/or the delivery company. And when you send a device to a carrier as part of a trade-in, make sure you are recorded putting the device in the envelope and sealing it.
After all, you never know when you might end up having the experience that the following person had did. "UPS stole my new phone and watch when I shipped them back to T-Mobile," he said. "T-Mobile wouldn’t work with me, even sent me to collections. $1600 and no devices later, I’ll never do business with them again." Making such a recording seems like a pain in the butt, but the video might be the difference between losing a thousand dollars or more and getting reimbursed for the stolen device(s).
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