A barman in China has reportedly lost his iPhone while sharing a cab with a thief. According to a report from the Xinhua news agency, Zou Bin used another device to send text messages to his stolen iPhone to request the return of the device. Bin has almost 1,000 contacts stored in his device.

He reportedly said he knew that the person who stole his iPhone was the one who sat beside him in the taxi. He texted the thief with this message: "I know you are the man who sat beside me. I can assure you that I will find you."

He then instructed the thief to check the contacts list on his iPhone so the thief can see what "trade" he was in. He asked the thief to return the iPhone to the address he texted. The thief did not reply to Bin's texts.

To his surprise, the Chinese barman received a package several days later with his SIM card and 11 pages of handwritten notes. The pages contained all the contacts listed in Bin's iPhone. According to the XiaoXiao Morning Herald, Bin was only bluffing when he sent those text messages. He didn't expect the thief to return his iPhone 4.

He said he was "stupefied" when he received the pages filled with his personal contacts. He added the thief took a long time to write the contact numbers. He noted the thief's hand may be swelling from all the writing.

The thief may have been one of the kindest iPhone thieves in the world. Despite not returning the device he stole, he cared enough to return the SIM card and took extra time to write the contacts by hand.

In the U.S.,the New York Police Department (NYPD) said Apple products are most targeted by criminals. The NYPD said almost 20 percent of theft involved Apple products. In 2012, about 16,000 iOS devices were stolen. Stealing iPhones makes up 14 percent of New York crimes.

Former FBI and DEA Agent Bob Strang said iPhones have a high resale value. He added those stealing Apple products are not petty thieves, but expert criminals working for a network.

The number of people who will own an iPhone may grow as China Mobile will soon start offering Apple Inc. products to its subscribers.

RELATED STORIES