Apple CEO Tim Cook wears the Apple Watch and shows the iPhone 6 Plus during an Apple event at the Flint Center in Cupertino
Apple’s Sept 9 event was one of the most highly-anticipated ones in recent times. The tech world as well as common users waited eagerly to know about Apple’s next moves. Here are the highlights of the evening. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

The Apple iPhone's are the most talked about devices on the web. Recently, there was a research conducted in U.K. by Home Office on mobile thefts. The reports of the research stated that the theft ratio of mobile phones were high in the case of the iPhone 4S, 5, 5C and 5S. These handset were loved by thieves and were most likely to be stolen followed by other brands like Blackberry and Samsung.

The second hand market for iPhones and iPads has been thriving. People can be conned into buying stolen or lost devices. To protect customers from buying such devices Apple has created a new Activation Lock Status checker on iCloud.com.

When purchasing an iPhone, iPad or iPod that is second hand the user must check whether the feature "Find My iPhone Activation Lock" is turned off in the device. This should be done to make sure that the device is ready for use.

This feature was first introduced in the iOS 7 that the activation lock keeps the iDevices safe from thieves. This prevents anyone from restoring the iPhone without entering the Apple ID password of the owner. The main aim was to safe guard the customer from theft and if the iPhone could not be unlocked it would be useless to steal as its value will drop. But this is not foolproof as the iPhone may still get stolen and the stolen goods can be pawned or sold again to unsuspecting people.

When buying a second hand iPhone take the serial or EMIE number in the phone and enter it on the "Activation Lock Status Checker" on iCloud.com and it will tell you the status of the iPhone. You can find the serial number and IMEI for the iPhone engraved on the back case or Tap Settings > General > About to see the device's serial number. The Activation Lock Status Checker works only on a laptop or PC web browser.