On a recent trip to Seattle, I thought I lost my cell phone at the Space Needle. After GPSing my device, I saw a blue dot pulsating down a street no where near the 605 foot tower.

My Samsung Galaxy S4 was on the move. Without me.

Clearly, someone had stolen it. I bemoaned the loss of all my contacts, writing notes, reminders, pictures and more. Then I remembered that my photos automatically upload to my cloud, so maybe it wasn’t as bad because my pictures are what I valued most.

I checked the cloud and not only were my pictures there, but also images of strangers. There were shots of a young couple taking selfies while out to eat, in front of a Christmas display, at home with their pet bird and even snuggling in bed.

About two dozen pictures of these thieves in their 20s, with my damn phone. Some of the photos are blurry and upside down, we all know how it takes a bit of time to get used to a new phone. Others are roadside views of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. There’s also a few snapshots of a little girl.

The whole thing is frustrating. I know, cell phone theft and much worse happens every day. But still, those punks stole from me and now they’re out cavorting with my phone. Some people have no shame.

Anyway, check out this slideshow of my sticky-finger cellphone bandits and see if you recognize them. If you do, can you call the police and then give me a quick shout?

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My cell phone thieves are uploading selfies to my cloud — 30 Comments

    • SMH, I have no idea Karen. I suppose they thought … See? I can’t even finish that sentence. I understand that we all are raised with different morals, and examples, but I’m hard pressed to relate to this one.

    • Yeah, it’s completely crappy. And as far as stupidity, people can do some stunning things, can’t they? I remember watching those America’s dumbest criminal-type shows. Sheer comedy! I’m just thankful there aren’t any uncomfortable bedroom shots. Blech. Anyway, thanks for your comment!

  1. Google has a “search by image” feature and if you search by those pics you may be able to link them to their Facebook page and track them down that way, it is worth a try.

    • Thanks for the advice! A friend of mine did that for me and didn’t come up with anything. It’s amazing how many tools are out there to track down such information. Thanks again for the comment!!

      • Hey, have you tried sending these pics to the police? They could probably find out who they are and deal with it themselves.

      • You could definitely write an article about this…perhaps with a focus on how not much of anything is private. Makes me think about an uncle of mine who works for a company that protects banks against fraud…the last conversation I had with him, he assured me NOTHING is really private anymore…all our credit card data, likes and dislikes of things/pages/pics on FB and other social media can all be compiled to create a profile in which no one can really hide or pretend their way out of! We can even be tracked by GPS (unless of course our devices are not in our possession 😉 I’m really sorry about your phone, that is frustrating, but the fact that your phone bandits’ photos are visible to the whole world is kinda hysterical. I almost feel bad for them. Seriously, I hope you get your phone back soon and the cops make them delete all their ridiculous photos before handing it over!

  2. I know you’re angry, but why are you posting pictures of that child? It’s a few hundred bucks. That’s a child that has nothing do with this theft. Remove that photo. Calm down and find your perspective.

    • You’re right and thanks for the smackdown. I feel like I’m usually good at being objective and considerate, but I wrote this in a fiery passion and in the cozy vacuum of my living room. I should have stepped back and took a pause before I hit send. Heard and received, thanks for the comment! 🙂

  3. Blah! Those parents are the ones who should be ashamed. NOT Melanie. She is the victim here. Shame on you for saying anything. Those piss poor parents made this child a victim and accomplice by taking photos of her with a stolen phone. This is what is wrong with Americans today, blasting a vicitim. Would you yell at a rape victim for posting pictures of her attackers as well?

  4. Looks like they headed down I-5 into Cali (which is where Weed is). You probably already figured that. But since he has a Cali shirt on ….. Y’know. Just a thought.

  5. The mountains look like somewhere southeast of Shasta. Mt Lassan? Redding is nearby has a diner called Country Kitchen that looks very similar…red shirts included.

  6. The t-shirt photo w graffiti looks gang related? The structure behind the chain link is a well protected school or a holding facility.

  7. I would imagine the people in these photos are not actually the thieves themselves. Most phones that are stolen are sold very
    quickly to make a profit. Just a possability…

  8. I’m guessing they live around Los Angeles. I blew up the symbol on the guy’s hat and it is from “Last Kings,” an L.A. brand associated with the rapper Tyga. Plus, as Martha noted, he has a “Cali” T-shirt on.

  9. Rubbing salt in the wound!! I have lost my phone several times and it’s been lucky enough to be found my nice, honest people. (Thank you fellow Target shoppers) Once a lady posted a status on Facebook from my phone, “Help! You lost me!”

    Most cell phone pictures have GPS coordinates associated with them! You could probably track these photos if you were interested in getting your phone back.

    http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/1401/how-do-you-find-the-gps-coordinates-of-your-photos/

  10. One of my writer friends shared this on Facebook. What idiotic morons and seriously, the dumbest criminals ever. I was happy to share via Twitter and spread the word. Have you contacted the police?

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  12. I don’t follow your logic regarding why it was necessarily stolen. You thought it was lost. You checked the GPS and it wasn’t near where you thought you lost it. Therefore you think it’s stolen near to where it showed up in GPS? Perhaps you just lost it elsewhere and they found it.

    That said. They still should have sought you out. Keeping something that doesn’t belong to you is still wrong. Especially with something like a phone, since finding and contacting the owner shouldn’t be too difficult.

    • People keep asking me that, and I understand why. I was trying to be brief in writing my piece, but I should have elaborated. I was in the gift shop near a toy display. I put my phone down either on the shelf or the floor nearby, then walked away. About 10 minutes later I realized I didn’t have my phone and we went back to the gift shop. It was no longer where I left it and I filed a report with security. The guard said that 95% of the time they find the phone, so he wouldn’t worry and would call me when they find it. We leave, and about 20 minutes after that, GPSed it and could see the dot moving down a road that was nowhere near the Space Needle.

  13. I bet the photos have geolocation markers (if you download them and look at their properties). The ones where they’re snuggling in bed will probably give you a pretty good pinpoint of where their house is.

  14. I recognized most of those locations… The one with the arch is the town of Weed CA. the ones of the mountain are Mt. Shasta (Clearly they are heading south). the next photos of them and their parents looks like it is at the Hometown Buffet in Redding CA (60 miles south of Mt Shasta).

  15. I recognize several areas in these photos. Weed, of course, Mount Shasta, and Black Butte (the photo taken from the freeway) all in the same general area. The place their eating at looks to be a hometown buffet. There is one in Redding Ca, and one in Medford Oregon.

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