My daughter's friend's phone was just recently stolen at a music festival in Orlando. The next morning it showed it was in Miami. It then disappeared for a couple days, then she started getting messages from China where the phone was showing a location again. The messages started out asking her for the code, then turned pretty violent in nature. Honestly, it was kind of laughable...they asked for my advice and I told her not to give them the password or remove her account.
I think if they can scare people into removing their iCloud account, they can sell the phone. If you refuse to unlock it, all they can do is strip it and sell it for parts.
I have read in several countries that people will hold you at gunpoint and drain your accounts right in front of you. I do have several cards in my Apple/Google pay but whenever we travel, I usually either uninstall most of the apps (or hide them from the app drawer in Android).
My daughter's friend's phone was just recently stolen at a music festival in Orlando. The next morning it showed it was in Miami. It then disappeared for a couple days, then she started getting messages from China where the phone was showing a location again. The messages started out asking her for the code, then turned pretty violent in nature. Honestly, it was kind of laughable...they asked for my advice and I told her not to give them the password or remove her account.
I think if they can scare people into removing their iCloud account, they can sell the phone. If you refuse to unlock it, all they can do is strip it and sell it for parts.
I have read in several countries that people will hold you at gunpoint and drain your accounts right in front of you. I do have several cards in my Apple/Google pay but whenever we travel, I usually either uninstall most of the apps (or hide them from the app drawer in Android).