Theft at DCA

When:  November 15, 2014

Location: Disney California Adventure, Tower of Terror Fastpass machines

Time: 7:00 p.m.

My friend and her whole family were at DCA for a night of fun. Unfortunately, it turned into a night of frustration and sadness. My friend’s sister, Kim, was attempting to get fastpasses for Tower of Terror and placed her iPhone on top of the fastpass machine.  The machine would not dispense a ticket so she turned to the next machine. At that moment, someone took her phone. When she turned back, she noticed the phone was gone. A man, dressed all in black was standing by the fastpass machine and she thought he was a maintenance worker. She asked him if he had seen her phone and he immediately got defensive and said, “I didn’t take your phone…Look, I only have mine!” When she began to tell her family members that the phone disappeared, the man stepped forward and insisted that she use his phone to call hers in an effort to locate it. Meanwhile, Kim’s mother was suggesting the same thing, telling Kim to use her phone. The guy kept insisting that she use his phone, practically putting it into her hands. She did – and unfortunately that disabled her phone immediately.

Kim contacted guest services and reported the theft and was told to file a police report which she did. Thinking back over the incident, she realized that the guy’s response was odd, very odd. The officer told Kim that apparently this is a new thing – phones are stolen and the perpetrator insists that you use his phone to call yours in an effort to find it. What the victim doesn’t know is that the thief has something on his phone that will immediately disable your phone once you call your number. Sadly, Kim’s phone is lost forever and according to the officer, probably on its way to being sold on the black market overseas because here in the states, it will show up as a stolen phone.

You know how many pictures and videos you take. You know how much information is on your phone. Losing something like that is devastating. The phone can be replaced. The pictures cannot. DO NOT PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN FOR A SECOND!

This is a true story. I actually know Kim and I work with her sister.