Where your stolen phone ends up – and what to do if yours gets snatched
Many UK smartphones snatched out of peoples' hands end up in the same overseas destination. Here are the steps to take it it happens to you.
The top 10 places where mobile phones are stolen were revealed earlier this month – with all of them being in London.
Most incidents of pickpocketing are believed to be thefts of mobile phones. According to an analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Westminster City Council area in the capital is the worst area for pickpockets in the whole country, with 133.21 reports of theft per 100,000 people.
Camden came in second place and Southwark in third. Other London boroughs featured in the list include Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Haringey.
Workers and residents in Westminster claim phone theft happens daily – mostly to tourists who are “unaware” of the risks. The most common tactic is for a thief to ride past on a bike or moped and grab the phone while their victim is distracted – such as when they are taking a photo or checking their messages at a traffic light.
One worker, Paul, said this week he claims to see the same people stealing phones all the time.
He said: “There are groups of them who are here all the time. The police know about them. Sometimes, they get arrested. But they're back 24 hours later and doing it again.”
Georgina Collier, who works at the London Dungeon, said the problem is so severe around Waterloo Station that her manager has issued a warning to all employees. The 24-year-old said: “We've been told to leave in pairs at the end of our shifts. Although it does happen in the morning too. One of my colleagues had her phone snatched just around the corner.”
Where do stolen phones end up?
Many people set up trackers on their phone in the event of it getting lost or stolen. If left on, it is a simple way to find out exactly where your phone has ended up.
However, while it may seem like being able to track your phone will ensure you get it back, the reality can be very different. Police may not be able to act simply on you telling them an address – or the phone may even leave the country very quickly.
According to an investigation by the Sunday Times, demand for second-hand iPhones in China is thought to be fuelling the massive volume of phones being stolen from people in the street.
The paper found that many of the phones are being moved around various addresses in London before being shipped by criminal gangs to China and often heading to the same street – Huafa South Road, in Shenzhen – which is home to one of the world’s largest second-hand markets. Phones were also found to have ended up in the Philippines and Dubai.
The phones are then unlocked and resold or dismantled, where the parts of it are sold on to markets or recycling plants, the paper claims.
How to make your phone more secure
There are a few things you can do to make your smartphone more secure or help report it in case the worst happens.
First of all, it's worth making note of your device's international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) number, which identifies your exact device and can be used by police to check if it ends up being illegally sold on.
Those with an Android phone can find their IMEI number by dialling *#06#, while those with an iPhone can find their IMEI number by going to Settings > General > About.
Both Android and iPhone users can also set up Find My Phone services.
To set it up on Android, go to to Settings > Security or Security & location or Google > Security; select Find My Device and turn it on. Then go to Settings > Location and turn it on.
To use Find My Device if your phone goes missing or is stolen, go to android.com/find and log in with your Google account. Here you can locate your device, lock it with Secure device, make it play sounds and erase all your data – although the latter option means you will no longer be able to locate the phone. If you find your phone, you’ll need your Google Account password to use it again.
iPhone users can set up Find My iPhone by opening the Settings app, tapping your name and then Find My > Find My iPhone. Activating this enables you to local, lock or erase the device remotely.
Meanwhile, enabling Find My network lets you locate the device even if it's offline, while selecting Send Last Location will send the phone's most recent location to Apple if the battery is low.
Should your phone be missing or stolen, you can visit Find My iPhone on a computer at icloud.com/find or on Apple's Find My app and log in with your Apple ID. Here you can locate it if the thief hasn't turned it off, secure it in Lost Mode, add a recovery message visible on screen, make it play sounds and/or erase all your data, although the latter will prevent you from locating it again once its offline.
Those with Samsung phones can go to Settings > Samsung account and select Find My Mobile and then enable Allow this phone to be found to be able to locate their phone if it goes astray.
To use Samsung’s SmartThings Find service, users can go to smartthingsfind.samsung.com on a computer and sign in with a Samsung account to locate and lock your device – that means anybody who uses the phone will be unable to use Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass.
Most smartphones will have their security functions updated regularly, so keep up to date with the latest services available for your device.
What to do if your phone gets stolen
Even with a raft of security measures on your phone, they can still be stolen and broken into or sent abroad to be resold. In the event of your phone being snatched, there are some steps you should take straight away.
To get your phone blocked, meaning no one else can easily use it to make calls, contact your network provider straight away. If you don’t tell them immediately, you may be left with a very expensive phone bill for any unauthorised calls made after the theft. However, providers sometimes only charge a maximum of £100 for the calls and you should not pay for any calls made after you reported it stolen.
When contacting your phone provider, you should be asked for the device’s IMEI number (see above) as this is the number you will need to provide to the police. You should report the theft to them at your local police station or by calling 101. Make a note of the crime reference number as you will need it if you want to claim on insurance.
Your phone network usually won’t replace your phone and sim for free and you will still be tied to your monthly contract until it runs out.
You can also take precautions to maximise the security of your phone before it is stolen. This includes not storing all your logins for various accounts on your phone and using two-factor authentication like a code and face or fingerprint unlocking.
