N.Y. AG teams with San Francisco DA for Smartphone Summit

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman teamed with San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón to announce Wednesday a Smartphone Summit to address the epidemic of violent "Apple-Picking" street crimes.

So-called "Apple-Picking," or violent theft of mobile phones and other electronic devices, has seen a spike in communities across the United States. Thieves wipe the devices' memories and resell the stolen goods on the secondary market for hundreds of dollars.

"The theft of handheld devices is the fastest-growing street crime, and increasingly, incidents are turning violent," Schneiderman said. "It's time for manufacturers to be as innovative in solving this problem as they have been in designing devices that have reshaped how we live."

A recent Time magazine report revealed that New York City recorded a 40 percent increase in mobile thefts in 2012, while a Harris poll of phone owners showed that approximately 10 percent had their phone stolen at one point. Lost and stolen cell phones accounted for more than $30 billion in consumer costs last year, according to a recent study.

The meeting, which is scheduled for June 13 at Schneiderman's New York office, will pressure cell phone manufacturers and mobile operating system suppliers to answer for their failure to create technology allowing stolen devices to be rendered permanently inoperable, eliminating incentives for theft.

Representatives from Apple, Google/Motorola, Samsung and Microsoft will attend the meeting.