Apple Stores in New York were targeted by a few robberies, and the latest heist hit the company's SoHo outlet.

The thieves, who recently stole iPhones with a value of $16,000, used a similar modus operandi in every location: they simply dressed as Apple employee look-alikes, entered the stores, took the devices and were gone with the wind.

DNAinfo reports that, according to the New York Police Department, a man who was wearing an outfit resembling the official Apple Store uniform entered the SoHo store on June 1 with mischievous intentions. The man quickly located the shops' storage drawers and passed the devices to an accomplice who hid the $16,130 worth of iPhones under his shirt.

Snatching 19 handsets from a store is nothing to trifle at, but the bold move might actually be part of a broader picture.

According to the New York Post's report, an Apple Store on the Upper West Side was subject to theft last March. Thieves dressed like staff hit the store twice in two months and took a whopping 67 iPhones, raising the losses for the company to about $50,000.

This is how the story unfolds: back in February, Apple lost eight iPhones to a woman who entered an Apple Store dressed like an Apple employee. The operation occurred in the UWS store and involved another two accomplices, one of which caused a diversion to distract the clients and legitimate personnel while the second was acting as a lookout. The trio hit the UWS store again in March, when they succeeded in taking 59 iPhones in a duffel bag. An estimation of the 67 stolen iPhones' value ranks the loss to approximately $49,300.

It is puzzling why Apple Stores continue to be fooled by imposters posing as Apple employees, but speculations say that the company's recent change in uniform code could have something to do with it.

Angela Ahrendts, the leader of the retail unit, made it a priority to unify the store dress code. The iconic blue T-shirt sporting a tiny white Apple logo became mandatory for employees. 

It should be mentioned that a degree of variation exists so that employees can choose a short sleeve or a long sleeve depending on the season, but the unified apparel still makes it easy for the thieves to speculate the easy-to-imitate dark blue design.

Based on The Next Web's notes, such shirts can easily be purchased online. Check out the video below with people pranking Apple fans by claiming they are Apple Store employees.