To think we will have to leave our phones at home

[Pippy2022]

Fraud and phone theft is becoming such a problem I think it will reach a point where it's safer to leave the smart phone at home, certainly when visiting a city like London.

Maybe smart phones will become such a risk - as in our lives are on them - we will stop using them and revert to bricks? Use tablets at home etc.

Doesn't it just. I don't know how some people ever leave the house or live normal lives.

Oh I forgot. Some of them don't. (obviously not talking about illness and disability here).

I went to a festival in the summer where apparently countless phones were stolen and ended up in Dubai according to the phone tracking systems.
I have a smart phone. But it’s an iPhone 7. Totally functional but completely worthless. I’ve left it on a table in a cafe of a busy city centre before now, it was still there when I went back about an hour later. No one is going to steal my phone.

Funnily enough that's the only place I've been pickpocketed too, though it was 20 years ago.

no but maybe more people will pay more attention to security protocols? (such as disabling the ability to put the phone on Airplane mode easily)

Mines on a cross body lanyard

it might not look stylish , but it does the job

You wise up OP - phone doesn't have to be out on show! Just be sensible. If you're not capable of being sensible then yes maybe leave your phone and yourself at home.

Exactly. They are professionals and they are getting more and more sophisticated. I'm just highlighting this to people because its useful. I lived in London for years and never had my phone stolen but that was pre-banking apps. Don't use banking apps!

Banks apps might be seem secure but there is a guy on bbc news today who had his phone lifted and and account drained of £21,000 including a £7k loan in his name. It was face ID and password protected. He reported it to the police but didn't cancel app payments etc until later. So, even with security who the hell did that happen?
I would never trust banking apps but then I don't trust anyone either.

Or may be people stop voting useless Sadiq Khan as London Mayor over and over.

We didn't all manage fine with A-Z's! I got lost A LOT!

What I do is if I am going somewhere I don't know the route, I set my phone to navigate using text, and keep one earbud in (I have a hatred of not being able to hear my surroundings so rarely use more than one earbud at a time!)

When I was in Naples someone on a scooter tried to snatch my bag with my phone in it. They got a nasty shock as my bag was attached to my clothes with several large safety pins. I was quite amused when the would be robber fell off the scooter.

Not sure what the mayor's got to do with it. Pretty sure he isn't a grab and run phone theif, although I suppose it's the quiet ones you have to watch 🤔

On the back of this thread I have just attached a lanyard to my phone. I'm travelling to a concert in London this evening. I feel perfectly safe, but for the sake of this 2 minute job I reduce the chance of it being stolen. It's a very, very small risk but the repercussions could be pretty major.

It could do with being a bit longer as I'll need to bend for contactless!

I know right. Susan Hall would have been SO much better 🙄

Back in my 20s (pre mobile phones) I had my purse/ handbag stolen a few times in London till I got wise to keeping my bag closed under my arm or otherwise secure. Never happened since though had an aborted attempt once.

If you are careful and aware of your surroundings, you can use a mobile phone in public in London - most other people are doing so as well, anyway, so the chance of yours being taken is minimal.

People have already mentioned the security straps.

Another thing to do is create a separate bank account with a small amount of money in it and only have that one app on your phone so the financial damage that can be done is minimal.

There are also services that will wipe your phone remotely if needed, and many social networks and email providers and such let you log out of other sessions you're logged into remotely if needed.

I couldn’t live like this.

Give it a rest.

Can’t risk losing their phones 😂

I had a jacket nicked from a rave in London in the 90s but to be fair I had just left it on the floor no where near where I was dancing so fair do's. Other than that, even though I've lived and worked here the whole time I've never been robbed while out and about EVER.
Burglary though? Well that's a different story.

Wasn't she the one who lied about being robbed?

My Grandson was out pokeamon hunting and a teenage lad rode by on his bike and snatched his phone right out of his hands.
CCTV footage found the lad.. he's known to the police. His mum cancelled it etc so no use to anyone.
It's not the actual phone.. my Grandson was so shook up..
Luckily we are in a position to buy him a new one until insurance pays out.

Years ago someone followed me to snatch my bag in Tenerife but because it was cross body and I was holding it in front of me they gave up and instead targeted a poor woman over the road that had her bag swinging from her shoulder

Well I am here now and it looks like 98% haven’t got your memo! Everyone has their phones out, walking, having coffee, following directions and chatting. I don’t think there is any chance of that happening. I think the technology will move on though and chunky phones will no longer be a thing. Apple Watches will continue to be developed and other tech that is much more obscure and less likely to be stolen in a short space of time.

I’d happily go back to the days before smartphones. I don’t do anything on mine such as have financial apps (I use my iPad, which stays at home).

it’s not just the fraud. I have two factor authentication set up on everything but that means that if my phone got stolen I’d also lose access to various accounts.

Surely thieves would just start cutting lanyards? I read about them doing it to cross body bags some years ago.