Apple’s official employee steals user photos and is investigated by the police
A few days ago, a woman said on her Facebook that her photo was stolen by Apple’s official retail store employee, causing considerable concern of Apple users. The lady’s device screen ruptured and was sent to Apple’s official Apple retail store in Bakersfield, California, the USA for repairs.
After the equipment repair was completed, Apple notified the lady to retrieve her equipment from the retail store. However, the lady was shocked when she opened the device to view the information record. Someone transferred the photos stored on the device to the strange number via the messaging app, apparently indicating that the technical engineer at the Apple retail store was stealing the photo.
She wrote:
“I open it and instantly wanted to cry!!! This guy went through my gallery and sent himself one of my EXTREMELY PERSONAL pictures that I took for my boyfriend and it had my geolocation on so he also knows where I live!!! AND THIS PICTURE WAS FROM ALMOST A YEAR AGO SO HE HAD TO HAVE SCROLLED UP FOR A WHILE TO GET TO THAT PICTURE being that I have over 5,000 pics in my phone!!!! I could not express how disgusted I felt and how long I cried after I saw this!! I went back to the store and confronted him and he admits to me that this was his number but that “he doesnt know how that pic got sent 🤬!! The manager just said he’d look into it. So I’m going to be pressing legal charges against him but I’m sharing this because iPhones are like a must have for teens now and I could just imagine that I’m not the only person he’s done this to and what if he’s done this to someone’s teenage daughter or even any other woman at all!! I have no idea if he sent more than the picture that he forgot to delete and I have NO CLUE WTH HES GOING TO DO WITH THEM!!! This makes me cry thinking about it but I think he needs to be held accountable and anyone else that has had him work on their phone should be aware of the fact that there’s a possibility that he’s done this to them!!”
After the woman found the problem, she quickly called Apple’s official customer service hotline to make a complaint. The preliminary investigation of Apple also confirmed that it was indeed the engineer responsible for the repair. After receiving user feedback, Apple first conducted an internal investigation to confirm the violation, and then Apple immediately dismissed the non-compliant engineer according to Apple policies.
An official Apple spokesperson said the employee’s behavior far exceeded the privacy guidelines followed by all Apple employees, so the employee no longer has any relationship with Apple. The Bakersfield Police Department said that an open and positive investigation is currently underway and that the employee may be subject to criminal charges.
