News
San Francisco public transit warns commuters about iPod theft
Like many other recent warnings across the U.S. and abroad, San Francisco’s rail system has begun informing commuters that the iPod’s white earbuds are magnets for thieves. “Don’t be a target: Use earbuds other than the standard iPod white, or other aftermarket headphones,” the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, or BART, is warning in fliers distributed at the entrances to stations. “iPod theft is not unique to BART; it is a crime of opportunity occurring when an individual is seen wearing the familiar white iPod earbuds.” The flier states that 11 percent of robberies on the BART system were iPod thefts.
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1
Of course, Apple could help this by making the earphones in a different color. All the different coloered iPods scream for matching earphones.
Posted by rockbox on March 8, 2007 at 9:44 AM (PDT)
2
All the more reason to carry iGun!
Posted by a3rdleg on March 8, 2007 at 10:17 AM (PDT)
3
i got an idea, ditch the ###### ipod earbuds and buy some quality ones, like the Bose earbuds or the shure earbuds. this way, you don’t stand out as much as far as the ipod is concerned and u get better sound
Posted by bernard Niu on March 8, 2007 at 11:39 AM (PDT)
4
I agree with a3rdleg!!!!
Posted by S on March 8, 2007 at 1:18 PM (PDT)
5
Stupid thing for them to waste time on.
Given that iPods account for over 80%% of the MP3 market, chances are if someone is wearing headphones, they are listening to an iPod.
I don’t think wearing different ear buds will change the fact that 11% of thefts are iPods.
Why don’t they do something more useful like beef up security presence instead of blaming the victim.
By the way ladies, don’t wear short skirts coz you are inviting abuse!
Posted by Boca on March 8, 2007 at 1:58 PM (PDT)
6
I think the real answer is modding your ipod into a Walkman body!
Posted by superape on March 8, 2007 at 6:27 PM (PDT)
7
iPod headphones suck anyways. The only reason people wear them is because a. They haven’t new ones. and b. It’s a status symbol flaunting em. Me personally I don’t care and I’m surprised so many celebs haven’t upgraded their iPod headphones.
Posted by AZ on March 8, 2007 at 10:08 PM (PDT)
8
in the world at large, most headphone-users are listening to a CD player or radio.
Posted by yakov chodosh on March 9, 2007 at 12:48 AM (PDT)
9
Just another reason why you should carry a handgun.
I know I would think twice about grabbing someones iPod if I thought they would be putting a bullet in my head as I stole it.
Remeber, in the eyes of the law you can’t shoot them as they run away with it, but you sure as heck can when they are in the process of stealing it, as there is an immediate threat to your persons.
Posted by anti-trend on March 13, 2007 at 7:50 AM (PDT)