Man who stole 100+ iPhones at Coachella scuppered by ‘Find My Phone’

A Coachella iPhone thief who pickpocketed over 100 smartphones at the California music festival was brought to justice with the ‘Find My Phone’ app, police report.

Indio Police Department posted photos of the staggering haul of iPhones stolen from festival-goers.

Local officers told of “chatter” on social media platforms Twitter and Instagram that a Coachella iPhone thief was on the loose.

When victims began to realise the prolific thief was active, they turned on the Find My Phone app and tracked him through the crowd.

36-year-old New Yorker Reinaldo de Jesus Henoa was found with a backpack stuffed full of iPhones of all shapes and sizes, including the 4, 5s, 6+ and iPhone 7.

He has been arrested on suspicion of grand theft and possession of stolen property.

Pickpockets often target large, distracted crowds at music festivals because they believe it is easier to get away with stealing.

The Find My Phone app is available free on iTunes. All you need to do is to sign in with your Apple ID and you can track your phone’s location, lock it remotely, or even erase all the data on it.

Android users will likely have a version of this software already installed on their phones called ‘Android Device Manager’ – it’s usually bundled with all new Android devices. You can turn this on and off by going to your phone’s Settings¬Personal¬Google¬Services¬Security.