Two guys claim that after visiting the same sports bar in Atlanta on separate nights, thieves who got their hands on their phones stole tens of thousands of dollars from each of them.
Charlie Zeanah, 27, and Micah Brown, 34, said that following their visits to Five Paces Inn in Atlanta’s Buckhead district, they were each robbed of over $30,000. Zeanah reported that he and Brown were both robbed last week.
The guys claimed they think the burglars either got their passcodes without their consent or exploited their unconscious faces to access their iPhones using facial recognition technology. Before the occurrences, Zeanah claimed to have known Brown through common connections.
Zeanah said that on Saturday, after losing track of companions at a pub across the street, he went alone to Five Paces Inn, a large dive bar featuring live music. Zeanah stated he last remembered talking to an unidentified woman before waking up speechless in the backseat of a strange driving automobile.
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Zeanah remarked, “It felt like I was there physically, but not mentally.” “But I couldn’t act; I was still asking myself, ‘What are we doing?'”
Zeanah claimed he had a hazy memory of riding in the car with three strangers—two men and a woman—who appeared to know one another.
The automobile came to a stop in the parking area of what looked to be an apartment complex early on Saturday morning, he added. Zeanah claimed that after a while, one of the males had forced him to the ground in the parking lot and started robbing him of his wallet, jewelry, and phone.
The 27-year-old claimed he next recalls running away. He claimed that for the next hour and a half, he begged for someone to call him an Uber as he pulled into and out of petrol stations along the same four-lane road in an unknown area. At some point around six in the morning, Zeanah received a ride home offer from an unidentified male.
Zeanah soon discovered at home that almost $25,000 had been taken out of his investment accounts, third-party payment applications like Venmo and CashApp, and bank accounts, some of which he had used with Zelle. Zeanah said that the suspects had altered his iCloud account’s password, locking him out forever and preventing him from seeing years’ worth of pictures and videos.
Regarding iCloud accounts, he stated, “It is your entire life.” It’s crazy that a single password can manage the entire phone.
Zeanah stated that he believes his attackers may have forced him to divulge his passcode while he was not completely aware in order to access his phone, or they may have unlocked his iPhone using his unconscious face. However, he’s not precisely sure what went wrong.
There have been no takedowns. Zeanah submitted an online report to the Atlanta Police Department on Sunday. He got an automatic response stating that he would hear back from them in five business days if the report was accepted.
Brown claimed he never reported anything to the police, preferring to concentrate on attempting to persuade his banks to return the money.
A representative for the Atlanta Police Department, Police Sgt. Jarius Daugherty, stated, “We humbly ask anyone who has been the victim of a similar crime to please reach out to 911 and report the incident that has occurred.” “We would not advise submitting this report online.”
The reason Zeanah’s event was not recorded by the department, according to Daugherty, was probably because the crime he detailed could not be reported through the agency’s online report portal, which is limited to less serious incidents like misplaced wallets or minor car damage. According to Daugherty, the department would probably get in touch and advise making a 911 call or going to the police station in response to internet allegations such as Zeanah’s.
Requests for response from a Five Paces Inn representative were not answered.
The occurrences follow NBC News reports on related crimes that resulted in at least seven fatalities in New York City in 2022.
In the event that malicious actors figure out users’ passcodes, Apple has developed a new security option to safeguard user security. To verify or update passwords in places you’re not acquainted with, you must take extra security precautions, which are referred to as “Stolen Device Protection.”
Brown said that on June 29, 2023, he misplaced his iPhone at Five Paces Inn for a considerable period of time. A buddy subsequently discovered it in the bar’s restroom. Brown, nevertheless, said that he never used the restroom.
After two days, Brown said he was playing the well-known smartphone game “Heads Up!” on the beach with pals when his PayPal account began to get a deluge of email alerts regarding wire transfers. Brown said that he lost around $34,000 in total due to charges made on his credit card and money transferred from his bank account.
According to Brown, he is still pleading with Venmo to help him recover the $12,000 that was taken from his bank accounts using the mobile payment app.
Requests for comments from CashApp and PayPal representatives were not answered. PayPal’s subsidiary Venmo did not respond to requests for comment.
According to a representative for Early Warning Services, the business that operates Zelle, privacy reasons prevent the company from commenting on specific fraud allegations.
The spokesman issued a statement stating, “All participating financial institutions in the Zelle Network are required to reimburse consumers for confirmed fraud claims.” “In order to start the claims procedure, consumers who were victims of a crime should get in touch with their bank, credit union, and the local authorities.”
A salesman, Brown said he feels “lucky because some people would be out on the street or whatever” following such a heist.
“Nevertheless. I’m furious because I work so hard for it,” he remarked.
Prosecutors in New York City charged four individuals on Tuesday for allegedly obtaining credit cards and using mobile payment applications on pilfered phones to purchase over $420,000 worth of upscale goods between October 2022 and August 2023. Prosecutors alleged that the accused deliberately targeted drunk people at nightclubs in Manhattan.
The high-profile arrests of eight guys last year on charges of drugging and robbing about thirty-two patrons of bars and nightclubs in New York City resulted in at least seven fatalities. These arrests preceded the indictments. Pleading not guilty, all but one of the accused are awaiting trial.
Information gleaned through a public records request indicates that between March 2021 to September 2023, almost a dozen such offenses took place in Austin, Texas.
Prior to their interactions, Zeanah and Brown said they were unaware of the atrocities occurring in New York.
Zeanah declared, “This has to stop because they’re going to keep doing it and they’re going to kill people.” “To be honest, I shouldn’t be alive right now.”
