Glamorous woman's iPhone stolen and sent to China - then thieves started sending her unbelievable texts

Daily Mail​

21-05-2025

A woman whose iPhone was snatched on a night out in North Carolina has tracked the device to a city in China that is more than 8,000 miles away.
Marin Blake was at The Rose Honky Tonk bar in Charlotte's South End with her friends in March when a thief swiped her cellphone.
She tracked her missing phone using Apple's Find My feature, which revealed the thief had taken the device on an unusual journey around the globe.
Blake's phone thief travelled to Miami before heading Shenzhen, a leading global technology hub often revered to as the Silicon Valley of China, according to tracking data provided to WBTV.
The glamorous paralegal has since replaced her phone, but says the thieves are now trying to target her on her new device months later.
'I've received multiple text messages ever since my phone went from Miami to China saying they're going to sell my information on the black market if I don't click certain links - which of course I didn't click,' she told the TV station.
Blake suspects her phone thieves may be part of an organized ' crime ring' and has urged others to 'be safe, because you never know'.
She tracked her missing phone using Apple's Find My feature, which revealed the thief had taken the device on an unusual journey around the globe. Blake's phone thief travelled to Miami before heading Shenzhen, a leading global technology hub often revered to as the Silicon Valley of China
Blake, who according to her LinkedIn profile graduated last year with a degree in public relations, believes the thieves are messaging her in an attempt to get her to deactivate the stolen device.
She refused to interact with their texts, but fears the pickpocketing scheme is part of a larger criminal operation.
She says the incident 'doesn't feel random to me' and 'like it's orchestrated', telling the news outlet that action needs to be taken 'because it's becoming a huge issue'.
Nearly 40 thefts have been reported to police in the South End since December, city crime mapping data has revealed.
'It's very scary to have something taken from you,' added Blake, who is currently working as a paralegal in Charlotte. She said the incident has 'made me more aware of my surroundings'.
Last week, two other women claimed to have had their phones stolen while they were out with friends at another South End bar.
One said a thief grabbed the device out of her back pocket, while another claimed her phone was swiped out of her purse.
Shelby Mazzone, whose alleges the her phone was taken out of her bag while she was at The Gin Mill, told WBTV that she remembered a man slapping her hand around the time of the theft.
She suspects the thieves, who have disabled location services on her device so she cannot track it, were trying to distract her so they could gain access to the bag.
Charlotte police have not said whether investigators suspect the slew of thefts are part of a larger criminal operation. Authorities also did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
But bars in the South End are aware of the ongoing problem with at least one - The Gin Mill - posting a sign warning customers of a 'person taking wallets and phones'.
'Please be mindful of your belongings,' the sign reads.