Burglar broke in to steal Mac minis but left with empty boxes, leaving the computers in plain sight

On October 4, 2026, a man broke into a tech company in a business park near University Drive and State Route 143 — blissfully oblivious to the CCTV documenting his not-so-sneaky moves. The worst part? The internet called him a "would-be thief" for stealing what was essentially a pile of empty Mac boxes, FOX 10 Phoenix reported on October 7, 2026. The tech company filed a police report to identify the man captured in the security footage. Reportedly, the business owner has offered a $1,500 reward for information related to the suspect.

The unusual heist

The thief is yet to be identified, but the security camera caught him wearing a plaid shirt and a black baseball cap with the word ''Hoonigan'' on it. He smashed the window of the Tempe office at 2:19 am on a Sunday. He didn't even enter the office building but squeezed half his body through the shattered window and scooped up several Mac Mini boxes. The robbery was completed within a minute. The thief must have rejoiced at the amount of "loot" he got until he checked what was inside.

A $1,500 reward

Curran Rose, an employee at the company, came to work the next morning and was shocked by the scene. When employees checked the footage, Rose realized what the man had actually stolen. "Just empty boxes." The funniest part was that there were things worth stealing right next to the Mac Mini boxes. Rose explained, "Our computers were right there in front of them. They just stole the boxes instead. Really low IQ. They stole empty boxes. Everyone was laughing about it." The company offered anyone who could identify the man or help with his arrest a reward of $1,500.

Targeted businesses

Unfortunately, not all thefts end on a funny note. A 2026 FBI crime data report, cited by Talius, revealed 1.1 to 1.4 million reported theft incidents annually in the U.S. 35% to 40% of thefts occurred at service businesses, retail stores, offices, and warehouses. The report also found that most companies experienced a loss of $3,000 to $8,000 with a single robbery. This included property damage and inventory loss. Luckily for the tech company, there was no inventory loss since the man stole empty boxes. But they did have to deal with minor property damage.

'Jail for empty boxes'

Netizens thought it was hilarious how careless the thief had been. For example, @xSentryTechx wrote, "There is no brains amongst thieves anymore." Similarly, @EricAnderson58 pointed out, "The blind was closed. He had (bad) inside information."

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