Burglars going after LA Apple Store customers

Carry a black trash bag -for men, stuff it inside the back of your shirt, ladies in your handbag. Put your purchase in that.

When walking to the car, take a zig-zag double-back path and watch for anyone watching you. If you see something you don't like, go back in the mall and see if the tail follows. But be aware that the thieves often tag-team with lookouts and scouts who communicate via cellphone. So it's not always easy to evade.

When you do finally get back to the car, Leave. Now. Go. Even if you are not done shopping GO. Leave the shopping area and see if anyone seems to be following you. If you think you are being followed, you can play with them or just do some evading. It's usually not too hard to find an empty stretch of road where you can see if anyone is behind you. Pull in some place, lights out, crouch down in the car. Wait for the traffic to pass. Then leave and go back the way you came. Again, they can tag-team in multiple cars. Drive to a police station if you want. It may act as a deterrent. The point is, do not go straight home.

Now, if you need to do more shopping (and honestly put the expensive PC last, go get your groceries later), leave with the pricey purchase and proceed as above, but eventually circle back to the mall and park somewhere else. Hopefully the purchase is well hidden. But there are no guarantees.

One last note: in some states, you can buy the vehicle registration info for any car you see. It's as cheap as 50 cents in some states. So all you need to find out where someone lives is their tag number. So a crook or stalker or just anyone sees you leave, notes down your tag, goes to the state DMV and gets your name and address and all that personal info for 50 cents and bingo he knows where you live and where the new purchase is likely to be hiding.

The fix for this is to use somebody else's car. A rental. Borrow one. Drive to a friends and use their car. Etc.

Yes, you have no privacy.

You can also buy with an American Express card; they will reimburse for theft/loss/damage within 90 days of purchase.

I wonder why such an old photo is being used... there are what look like iPod Minis in the window (I think).

I NEVER leave an Apple Store with their bag, I take my own backpack. I did once and I did see a guy (either admiring my new purchase or looking to snag it) so I turned right back towards him and went back into the store (he probably assumed I was reporting him, because he left) and I also NEVER leave my iPod/iPhone or anything in my car. It's small enough to put in my posket and thats where it goes. Also another tip is to take any Apple stickers off your winodws etc. That's a sre sign to a theif that there is PROBABALY an Apple product in your ride or at least some expensive gadgetry of somekind. any machine I order gets paid for at the store and I clutch it with bothe hands looking behind me every step of the way and always park as close to the entrance of the Apple store as I can. If you want you may also ask a Mall Cop to walk with you, they'll be happy to do so (In San Diego anyway) if you have a large purchase. Once Mall-Cop offered to call maintenance and get a dolly for me when I bought my MacPro, that sucker was like 74lbs in the box etc. so I did. really set my mind at ease having another person with me.

Thiefs are scum!

All Santa Monica computer products are now packaged with a tracking device.

When I last spent a small fortune at the Apple Store, I didn't leave my car unattended while my wife went back shopping in the mall.

The main reason of the trip was getting to the Apple store, so you get that out of the way first and there was no casually camouflaging anything when you're escorted out with a big dolly full of pro boxes.

Even though this may not be proper form, and certainly if the order was any bigger, I wouldn't mind backing up to the loading dock. But, I understand this poses some logistical problems and introduces security issues for Apple, or any other company.

If this had been in a high crime area, I would have driven straight home, which you want to do anyhow when you buy the latest greatest, right :)

Btw, when is that picture of the Apple Store from? Looks like they're selling iPod Minis in the window!

What on Earth is happening to America? Supposedly the 'wealthiest nation on Earth' and people are scared to leave something valuable for 5 minutes in their locked car?

I live in a much poorer country on the other side of the world where young people dream of the opportunity of even visiting the USA - and this happens so infrequently that I don't know anyone who ever had anything stolen from a car here.

FYI, putting the iPod in the glovebox is useless if you leave any sign of cables, chargers, or connectors showing. Thieves who do a "smash & grab" are knowledgeable enough to pop the glove box open while they are at it.

Unfortunately, I know this from experience. I had power cables for my old Treo in my truck, and in the middle of the day my passenger side window was smashed and the glove box was rifled through. They JUST got my cables, but I was out the cost of a replacement window.

Leave NOTHING of interest visible.

Only leave stuff in the trunk if you drive off to some other location (though the scary part of this story is being tailed to your home.)

Oh, and if you do get it home and set up, install this first: http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/mac/

This was also happening last year at the Christiana, DE store. Not only were buyers' cars broken into but a few of their *homes* were broken into too, quite a bit scarier proposition since the thieves would have to be tailing them all the way home on the highway!