Phone snatching in London

[Letitrock]

Going to London next weekend and all I’m being warned about is phone snatching being rife.

We go a couple of times a year and I’ve never been particularly worried about this but a few colleagues have said it’s quite a problem now.

Is it worse than before? I often need to get my phone out as I approach a tube station to check the route and tap through the turnstile. Also I like snapping pics etc.

Is there something I can buy to kind of attach it to my body? 😂
Insights from Londoners please!

I'm
A Londoner. I use a phone strap, cross body so I don't get strangled if it's grabbed.

Not only do I not lose it or leave behind, but it's much harder to grab.

And when atop high bridges and buildings taking pics, you won't accidentally drop it over the edge 😬

I've recently been to quite a high crime city overseas and bought a really good bag from Oliver bonas which goes cross body and sits under your arm.

I used that with a top over it so it couldn't be snatched. All was fine.

I've never had an issue in London but a friend had his phone snatched and £10k taken from his bank last year.

Probably a hang up very from my clubbing days but I have a dirt if lanyard attached to the inside of my bag

We're usually going to a gig in London so it's to keep my phone close in the dark and crowded places

iPhones can’t be factory reset unless you have the iCloud password. There is literally no way around it either. You can also log in remotely and brick the phone too.

London is pretty scary, a mobile phone is stolen every 6 minutes in London, (see linked video below) and actually if you only lose your phone you're getting off lightly.
My son had his unlocked phone snatched on a night out in London. Within a few hours the settings had been changed and his bank account emptied. His credit cards linked to the phone maxed out, a car hired through an app he had on his phone and a £1000 credit card linked loan approved in his name. The thieves even called his bank purporting to be him to try and get his closed account reopened and attempted to get into his lifetime isa savings.
It was a nightmare, and he knows plenty of other people with similar stories. A colleague was beaten up by a gang taking his phone when he fought back the police (who were at the scene quickly) took him and the thieves into custody and he was advised not to press charges by a lawyer as the gang would say he'd started the fight and he wouldn't win the case. In the meantime one of the gang members had already made off with the phone whilst the fight was ongoing and £15k was emptied from various accounts whilst he was held in police cells overnight.
I'm very cautious about getting my phone out in London these days and will be taking the advice of a pp to listen to directions through headphones in future as that's when I'm most vulnerable.

www.instagram.com/reel/C9qfKOJMb8E/?igsh=NzZ1em1xYzMzdzM1

@DesdamonasHandkerchief did your ds lose the money or get it back?

@EasternStandard he eventually got all the money back. Although TSB were very suspicious and accused him of being in league with the thieves (they'd managed to change his Face ID - don't ask me how!) Am Ex were very understanding & quick to refund. The car loan app threatened to take him to court as the car had been abandoned rather than returned but eventually took no further action.
It was a bloody nightmare and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. He also cancelled his passport and driving licence and had to reapply as details of them were on his phone and they were trying to use his id to get further loans.
Ultimately the police were totally uninterested and we all pay for this through increased costs.

personally make sure all passwords are locked on it, keep it close , adopt a jason bourne style situational awareness, always be careful, always assume in public your being watched etc, then it in theory helps your security, and or use a burner phone or secondary phone for the basic maps etc for the trip if possible ?

That sounds so incredibly stressful. I'm glad he got some back but still what an absolute nightmare

I have used Citimapper on my phone a lot in the past but this thread is making me rethink

Sorry being a bit dim here but even with a cross body lanyard aren’t you danger of being dragged to the floor as opposed to strangled?

Possibly. Though the hope is you'd keep your phone as they don't seem to like stopping. I don't think they'd hop off their ebike to try and untangle your lanyard even if you had been pulled to the floor.

I'm not in London but in another biggish city and this is bound to spread. The number of people I see with their phones hanging out of their back pockets still, or almost bumping into things as they're so engrossed in their phones is worrying

A locked phone isn’t the end game for many of these crimes - they want data & so an unlocked phone from your hand