French Apple Store Looters Get Unpleasant Surprise on Stolen iPhones
22nd October 2026
iHope you weren’t planning on getting away with it.
Looters who descended on a French Apple Store during the chaotic riots were reportedly greeted with warnings from their ill-gotten gains that the merchandise was being locked and tracked.
Viral video from the aftermath of the looting of the Lille Apple Store on Oct. 17 shows one of the thieves flashing the security warning on the stolen iPhone.
“Please return the device to Apple Lille. This device has been disabled and is being tracked. Local authorities will be alerted,” the alert read.
Apple’s products famously flash such warnings when they detect that they have been stolen from stores, with many on social media mocking the thieves who were seen rummaging through the seller over the weekend.
“Protesters raided an Apple Store in Lille France yesterday, dumbest move ever,” one person posted on X.
“Taking iPhones that will get blocked 2 minutes later, the morons,” another person added.
These guys are not the sharpest pencils in the box.