To think we will have to leave our phones at home

Pathetic.

The amount of people saying phone theft isn’t bad is mind blowing! Just because you didn’t get your phone stolen it doesn’t mean the gutter rats of London aren’t out on high powered bikes wearing balaclavas stealing peoples phones so that they don’t have to actually get a job or put the effort into learning something that would enable them to not be scum. Wild.

What you're actually saying refers to the latest iPhones. No one would want my smartphone which is Motorola with a cracked screen. I'm not a fan of using my phone as a method of payment so not using it to pay for things is probably a good idea. London has always been somewhere where gangs operate to pickpocket and steal possessions. I think being sensible with such items is the best move.

yes I have one outdoors waterproof coat too with loads of really great deep pockets so I don't need a bag. wish more were like this.

@burntheleaves something about needing to reset my 'stolen ' settings so that apple could update my phone. Included a link that I should click on to make it easier for me - so thoughtful 🙄

What did they say to try to get you to unlock it?

Please lady. We stole your phone but you locked it. Can you unlock it please 🫤

If you feel worried buy a cheap pay as you go phone to take just for emergencies.

@Pippy2022 where do you live? London is not some dire dystopian centre of crime and violence.

And no. Phones won't stay at home unless there comes along some other device that enables us to access our money, make payments, use for directions, book tickets, send and received messages and oh, occasionally talk to people too.

This if people stop walking with their phone in their hand and keep them safe they would not get stolen.

That is a classic distraction pickpocketing. We saw something similar at work on the New York Subway recently where a woman approached people hassling them to buy small items like packets of tissues and gum while a small child trailed behind her dipping pockets and bags.

Horrible Londoner that I am, if anyone comes over to me in a cafe or on public transport I move my bag across me and hold it in my lap with both hands.

I had my phone stolen while sitting in a cafe with a friend (I live in London). A woman came in begging & put a printed sign over it (we had been looking at photos together). When she left my phone was gone. I called my DH from my friend's phone & he quickly locked it down. Cafe had cctv which they shared with police. Tracked it down to a house in Greater London that afternoon and was in Romania the following week. Interestingly the thieves sent several texts to try and get me to unlock it (I transferred my number to an old phone) posing as apple. It really affected me for weeks as I felt very angry with myself, I was always sooo paranoid about keeping it out of sight. Ironically this was my first 'new' phone as I'd previously always had dh old one. Insurance refused to pay out as it wasn't taken at gunpoint or knifepoint.

There was a spate of phone thefts at work recently on a very quiet (nice ish) area in the centre of London. Everyone that was targeted had their phone out scrolling while they walked. Colleagues are now much more conscious of their behaviour and keep their phones in their bag or pocket out of sight.
London is no different to any other urban area please stop scare mongering!

I have a Didriksons knee length waterproof coat which is an everyday coat suitable for the Swedish climate but is also good for all but the most extreme outdoor activities in the UK.

One of the reasons I wear it so often is that the pockets are brilliant. Two chest pockets, two hip pockets, all zipped and a decent size.

There's also a small zipped pocket next to the zip that's good for keys or a bank card and an internal mesh pocket that takes an OS map or a small water bottle.

Means I can often go out and about with everything I need for a long walk or a day out in the city including map, water, snacks, hat, gloves, plasters etc without needing to take a bag.

Driving licence is also a worry if your bag is snatched because then they have your address and house keys and know that the house could be unoccupied so if you live nearby they could go straight round there to grab valuables while their victim is flapping around dealing with being robbed without access to their phone or other essentials.

I wish more coats and jackets had a decent sized inside pocket for this reason as phone is much less likely to be taken from an inside pocket. I wish clothing designers would consider pockets for mobile phones as 95% of the population has a smart phone which is to big for a regular pocket.
But I agree that a lot if not most phone thefts are phones snatched from the hand whilst in use.

You need to wise up. Fingerprints, pins and passwords prevent this from happening.

Thanks @Wheelz46. Yeah I thought it was unusual too and was worried about identity theft for a while. This happened a couple of years ago. I have since kept an eye on my credit report. So far nothing dodgy flagged so keeping my fingers crossed.

I work in fraud and this is pretty unusual, most people who get their stuff snatched are victims of contactless payments as it's much quicker and easier for the fraudster to rack up debt before the victim can highlight it to their bank.

The fact they had your drivers licence would be a worry as that contains most of the information needed to apply for credit in your name.

Most of my friends and colleagues have had their phones snatched or bags stolen in London including me. I’ve always been careful with my phone and personal belongings in public but still had my handbag snatched as I was getting into my car outside a supermarket in London. It had my phone and wallet with bank cards & drivers license. They didn’t try to use my bank cards though, they seemed more interested in getting access to my iphone as they sent me emails trying to get my password. I cancelled all my cards and changed all my passwords when I got home. The police were useless and closed the case within days.

Or they’re very careless and not paying attention…..

I'm baffled by this, especially with reference to London. I drive, cycle and tube it round London all the time. I've always got my phone dangling off me, as have most of the other people I see about.

I've never felt threatened or had it nicked. When cycling it's on the bike in a holster.

This just seems like a very weird paranoia to me. I bet there are one or two places in London I know of where I'd be a little bit more cautious, but not the whole city. 🤣

It's a huge international city scanning 30 miles diameter. It's one of the most civilised, safest and richest places in the UK, and also the world. It's not dangerous or a minefield of criminals. On here it's hilarious to me that some people see it as "the big, bad city, full of thieves".

If you phone is locked and pinched then probably the only consequence is a probably a lot of inconvenience and an insurance claim, make sure stuff isn't on the Lock Screen though. An unlocked phone is much more serious, that seem to be what they are after.

It always amazes me the hoops we jump through with banks and our own money but these scammers and thieves can just do everything unhindered with bank accounts. I had to ring my bank to explain I was giving DS 5k and went through a load of fraud questions but these people seem to have free rein with other peoples accounts

Also I don’t think your average phone thief has the technology to get into a phone that has a PIN code to commit fraud - they’d have to get past passcodes and Face ID.

Afaik they target phones that are in use and then keep them open. You need to add the layers of protection so they can't easily change the phone PIN, obviously, and then fingerprint or Face ID on email and messages , make sure messages don't show up as banners etc. 2FA on banking apps ideally should use a different device, rather than it all being via the one phone.

This! Thieves want easy pickings. The amount of people I see walking down Oxford Street, texting away, oblivious to their surroundings... next minute, their phone is gone. There are small changes people can make to protect themselves and their property.