There seems to be an increasing prevalence of a sophisticated yet worrisome technique for taking over an iPhone user’s device and locking them out forever.
A recent Wall Street Journal study claims that some thieves are abusing an iPhone security feature called the recovery key, which makes it almost impossible for owners to recover their data, texts, photos, and other media.
A few victims also told the publication that their bank accounts were entirely emptied once the thieves gained access to their financial applications.
But it’s important to keep in mind that this kind of takeover is difficult to pull off. In essence, it entails a criminal seeing an iPhone user input the passcode—for example, by watching over their shoulder at a sporting event or bar—or forcing the device’s owner to reveal the passcode. And that was all before they physically took the device.
