A Sherman Oaks man says someone used a fake ID to pick up his brand-new, pricey computer from inside a store. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024.
Another pricey laptop was stolen in Southern California, but what makes the latest theft different is that someone appears to have used a fake ID to steal the high-end device from inside a store.
Rick Markowitz of Sherman Oaks said he ordered his Apple laptop online and opted for an in-store pickup to make sure the $3,600 device doesn’t get stolen.
But when he went to get his brand-new computer last week, the store told him it was already picked up.
“They told me that apparently someone had shown my ID,” Markowitz said. “Ever since then, I’ve been trying to get this resolved.”
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Markowitz said he did not hear back from police despite having filed a police report while trying to resolve the case of the stolen laptop with the company.
He said he is puzzled by the situation as he claimed there was no evidence of him being hacked in anyway.
“(Apple) says, ‘We are not saying that it was necessarily you. We are saying someone had your ID and your QR code, and our store protocol says that we hand it to anyone that has the ID,’” Markowitz said. “That’s crazy .. I don’t have any bank account draining. I got no suspicious emails or anything like that.“
NBC Los Angeles reached out to Apple for comments.
The latest laptop theft came after a man apparently hijacked the deliveries of laptops, including a MacBook Pro, by presenting a fake ID in Irvine and Lawndale.
“The suspect may have produced an identification with the victim’s name and his photograph on it,” Kyle Oldoerp with the Irvine Police Department said.
The same suspect is believed to have used the same method to steal the package in Lawndale.
The Irvine Police Department said its investigators have connected the two cases to one person.
Police urge shoppers to be extra vigilant about package deliveries during the holiday season by using cameras to record any footage.
Officials also recommend signing up for services, which provides consumers with a tracking email so they know when their package is sent and is on the way.
