To think we will have to leave our phones at home

As PP said bank apps have security.

The picture BBC used for the article is apt. I would bet most of the phones stolen were from back pockets, snatched from hands on the street or pickpocketed. All of which can happen to your wallet. You just have to take the same precautions with your phone as you do your wallet.

I only go into the office once a week, however if I do use my phone it’s in and out of my pocket or a pocket on my bag. I don’t just wander around with it.

I only ever use my phone for an occasional phone call or text when I'm out. Or if one of my dc is bored in a hospital waiting room and wants to play a game on it. If I leave my phone at home when I go out I might as well not bother having one.

So? Just use your phone sensibly as others have said. I go to London a lot and have never been robbed or had my phone stolen.

Theft is the reason I don't put any apps on my phone except for whatsapp. Its an old phone as promoted by Mr T Rex but does its job. I wouldn't put my life on a phone and certainly no banking apps, too risky.

What is the point then, in having a mobile phone if you leave it at home?
just be sensible, don’t flash it about on the street or public transport keep in zipped in a bag or pocket I mean we could stop doing loads of things just because there are people who might steal etc but I’m not convinced that’s how I want to live.

Sorry if I'm being dense, but what is the purpose of stealing a phone? Is it to gain access to banking apps etc.? Surely there's not much of a market for stolen smartphones now that basically everyone has one? Or is it for people using them as "burner" phones? Can a smartphone be a burner phone or does it have to be a dumbphone? Clearly I'm not very well-informed in this area...

The issue is numptys walking down the street with their head glued in their phone not paying attention to their surroundings so their phone gets snatched by a passing cyclist.

I always keep my phone in my bag, only take it out if I really need to in a shop. If I hear it beep whilst I'm walking it can wait. Only time I get it out is if I get a call and then I hold it tight and am aware of my surroundings. Just like when I use a cash point.

That is what I do, never ever have it out in public. It is always in my bag and I only use it when in a cafe and never have it out of my sight. The same as I do with my purse and cards. All put away in the inner pockets of my cross body bag. Yes, people do get robbed and it is horrible but I try to be as careful as I can.

this thread has made me laugh.

I did a quick search. Apaprently 200 bags are stolen in london daily. So I guess we should all stop carrying handbags!?

I don't understand why risk assessment is so hard. The very small number of phones that get stolen (as a percentage of the overall number of phones) makes the risk really small and seems totally irrelevant to me. In addition, in the same way that we have hopefully all learnt to keep our bags close to us, not to leave them lying around etc to minimise the chances of our bags being stolen, we also need to be sensible about how we use and carry our phones.

A friend had £70k stolen from their account within half an hour of having a phone stolen in London. These thieves know exactly how to bypass security. It's not just kids on bikes doing it and selling them on to make a few quid, these are professional gangs doing it.

Just attach them to a lanyard as suggested and put double verification on all of your accounts so that they are more difficult to hack.

So long as you are aware of your surroundings when using a phone, you are at no more risk of having it snatched as you would be having a bag snatched (with all your money/cards inside) or being pickpocketed. Keep the details of your cards separate so you can call and cancel them easily (I think there are services you can register with that sort it all out with one call) and keep a payment card on your person/separate so that you can always get a train/taxi home and use a public payphone.

Just basic security that most 15 years olds can manage, really.

I do not have the energy to work out what the percentage of phone theft is out of the number of smart phone users in London but i am guessing that is is not shockingly high. I don't live there but have family and friends who do and only one of them has had their phone snatched in the street. Horrible experience for them of course but that is one theft in the past 15 years in my immediate circle.

Sorry that should have said a *few weeks ago

My student son had his phone stolen in London a couple of weeks ago. In the 30mins it took him to get to a police station to report it thetheives managed to unlock his phone, access all his cards, transfer money from his bank account, use Apple Pay to buy clothes and shoes, changed his email address and access all his passwords.

The phone was locked and had facial recognition, all his passwords were completely different and he had 2 step verification. It's taken 6 weeks to rectify and recover everything. Never underestimate the skills of these thieves.

I'm not in London. But I regularly visit other English cities, one of them ancient and touristy, the others large, busy and full of people and their gizmos and gadgets. I keep my phone in my bag or pocket as much as possible and use a watch to tell the time, but I sometimes have to use Google Maps in the open. An area that's busy with pedestrians and not popular with cyclists is usually OK (most cyclists aren't criminals but those criminals who are cyclists can get away faster.)

I don't get my phone out in public at all. It's safely in an inside pocket and I only use it if I'm in a cafe. Why does everyone walk down the road looking at their phones? When we didn't have phones in the 70s and 80s we didn't miss them. And yes I use my phone for work, banking and everything else just not in public.

If you're really worried get a lanyard or wrist strap so it can't be pickpocketed or snatched. But most people will still use them to pay for the tube and other contactless purcahses so they're not going to leave them at home. Personally I always but the 'mini' version of the iPhone so I can put it in a front jeans pocket or small inside jacket pocket and try not to ever use my rear pockets.

no with stuff like 2 factor authentication you wont be able to do anything WITHOUT your phone, much like china,

I live in London. Generally my phone is in my bag, which could also be snatched! But I need these things with me. I'm aware of my surroundings and don't take stupid risks, that's all you can do.

I live in London and work at a university. A huge number of students walk around holding their phones, looking at them as they walk. It's really not surprising that they get stolen, as they don't have much awareness of what's going on around them. I tend to keep my phone in my bag or pocket, my earphones read out messages to me but aren't completely noise cancelling so I can still hear what's going on around me. If I need to look at my phone I wait until I'm inside to do it. I started doing it as a way to reduce screentime but it's also safer that way. It shouldn't be necessary, but there are steps we can all take to make ourselves less vulnerable to opportunistic theft.

Honestly OP you're being paranoid. I have loved and worked in London my whole life and I don't know ANYONE who's had their phone stolen out of their hand EVER.
But I am sick to the back teeth of idiots who walk around town in slow motion looking at their phones slap bang in the middle of he pavement so they're holding everyone up. So i CAN see the benefit of not having phones out and about on London but it's not the one you're suggesting.

Being aware it's a risk and taking sensible precautions with belongings is always worth doing - weather that a phone, wallet, bag, cash or cards or even keys.

I'm not saying it's impossible for thieves to unlock phone pin/face lock - and the pin on banking app and then the bank log in - but it does cause delay and give you time to contact the bank and let them know there an issue with your account and to put flags your accounts.

I know DD1 few months into uni and DH both had phone charging issues - and then issue with two form authentication to limited their access to uni and work apps/pages as well. I'm not keen my bank forced me to use their app - I'm not keen bus company puts cheaper tickets on phones - but that where I am.

Pushing more and more onto phone isn't great and does add to risk - but they are useful and despite high levels of phone theft in London it's not so widespread it automatically means everyone with a phone will have a problem.

Also live in London, I frequently have my phone in my hand in the street and never had an issue. I think maybe you are reading silly newspapers.

I work and live in London. Haven't had a phone stolen ever