The stolen device protection setting is designed to protect against these attacks. The Wall Street Journal reported on a nationwide string of thefts where criminals used the iPhone password to break into victims' accounts. The security of the Apple product was changed last year.
The Journal reported for the first time how these thefts resulted in losses far beyond phones, and how Apple's security settings gave victims few ways of preventing harm. Over the past year, we have heard from hundreds of people who had their phones and digital lives stolen.
Users will have to turn on the new setting to take care of all threats to their personal and financial information. Here is why you would want it, and what to think if you turn it on.
Thieves can access a lot of your data and make a lot of changes to your accounts if they have a four or six digit number. The passcode serves as a back up when Face ID or Touch ID fails. The rundown is about Apple ID password change.
If you don't do anything, a thief can change your Apple password and lock you out. You can't locate the phone since you don't have an Apple ID password. If you want to change an Apple ID password when away from a familiar location, the device will require your Face ID or Touch ID. You have to change the password after the hour has passed.
If you do nothing, a thief will be able to use the recovery key. Losing access to your photos, files, and whatever is saved in the cloud is possible.
Changing the Apple ID password will require two separate scans an hour apart, as with changing the recovery key or trusted phone number.
If you do nothing, a thief could use the phone's password to gain access to the bank, cash, and coin apps. We have heard from people who have had their accounts emptied of tens of thousands of dollars. What can still be taken?
Even if Stolen Device Protection is on, a thief with your phone's password can still gain access to it. If Face ID or Touch ID doesn't work, don't give your password to strangers. A string of letters and numbers is harder to guess than a six-digit code. You can add protection to both Cash App and Venmo with PINs. We have learned that the toll of a stolen phone can be much more than just the cost of the device. It is possible to log in and wipe out the data on your missing or stolen device using icloud.com/ find. The setting under Face ID & Passcode will prompt users to turn it on when Apple releases Stolen Device Protection.