The BIGGEST Scam I've Ever Uncovered...

TL;DR

Salvation Army sold a $480 lot of 14 iPhones with 12 still logged into owners' accounts and 3 containing active SIM cards.

Key Points

• 1.Austin bought three lots from shopthesalvationarmy.com: 31 Apple products ($455 + $25 shipping), 14 Android phones, and 4 Nintendo consoles ($360 + $10 shipping).
• 2.Of 14 iPhones, only 2 were wiped — the other 12 were still logged into owners' accounts, and 3 had active SIM cards with live phone numbers receiving texts and notifications.
• 3.One phone was an iPhone 15 with an eSIM that can't be physically removed, making it impossible to sever the owner's connection to the device.
• 4.Austin visited police (no stolen phone records found) and T-Mobile (only shredded SIM cards, couldn't identify owners) — neither could meaningfully help return the phones.
• 5.A MacBook Pro in the lot still had the previous owner's data fully intact and accessible via recovery mode, a known risk that Goodwill avoids by pulling or reformatting drives.
• 6.Salvation Army never responded to Austin's request for comment; he argues they need a clear policy to check for passcode locks, personal data, and active SIM cards before selling donated devices.