Man who stole £237,000 worth of iPhones shares how people can protect themselves from theft

Before his arrest in Minnesota last year, Aaron Johnson made an estimated $300,000 (£237,000) by stealing iPhones and transferring money to himself.

And it wasn't as simple as pickpocketing and running off with the smartphone to resell it. Instead, he took a more sneaky approach.

Despite his malicious acts, Johnson - who's now serving time - shared how people can protect themselves from similar crimes.

He said: 'I just feel like I should try to be on the other end of things and try to help people.'

Johnson confessed to making $20k on a good weekend / The Wall Street Journal

Johnson's approach involved targeting inebriated individuals in bars and clubs.

In particular, he targeted college men, who he found to be easy targets due to them being 'they’re already drunk and don’t know what’s going on for real.'

Johnson mentioned that victims would willingly hand over their iPhones without a second thought.

In his ploy, Johnson would often introduce himself as a rapper, enticing people to add him on Snapchat. In which he'd say: ‘Hey, your phone is locked. What’s the passcode?

'They say, ‘2-3-4-5-6,’ or something. And then I just remember it.'

Once unlocked, he would bypass security measures by change the iPhone's passwords and Apple ID in the settings app 'faster than you could say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.'

From there, Johnson would head straight for banking and cryptocurrency apps, looking through notes and photos for any hints to sensitive information, like Social Security numbers.

He also deactivated tracking features such as Find My iPhone and added his own biometrics to Face ID.

Johnson shares his insights to help other people protect themselves from similar crimes / ondacaracola photography / Getty

Once the Face ID had been changed, getting any security and private information was smooth-sailing. Johnson said he was able to access all passwords within iCloud Keychain.

By the time his victims sobered up the next morning - unaware of the theft - Johnson had already transferred money to his account, via Apple Pay. Typically, he reinvested the funds in his cycle, purchasing more expensive Apple products for resale.

Usually he would reinvest the stolen money back into his scheme, purchasing more expensive Apple products that he could resell for cash.

On a good weekend, Johnson admitted he would unlock 30 iPhones and iPads giving him $20,000 to his account.

So, be careful the next time someone seems too friendly in the club - don't be so quick to hand your phone over.

Johnson has proven that just by telling someone your passcode can turn from an harmless mistake into a crisis that costs you your life savings.