iPhones Most Likely To Be Stolen By London Thieves

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 114 months ago
iPhones Most Likely To Be Stolen By London Thieves

Photo by Fuji x100s photographer from the Londonist Flickr pool

The most popular phones for nicking are iPhones, according to a report from the Home Office (PDF), though Blackberries and Samsung handsets are also prone to go wandering into thieves' hands.

Data from the Metropolitan Police from 1 August 2012 to 5 January 2014 covers 100,000 mobile phone thefts, and shows that over 50% of phone thefts were of Apple devices. That's compared to a market share of approximately 15% — however, the rate of thefts did fall after the introduction of new security features with iOS7 and, relatedly, the Met has some intelligence suggesting the black market value of iPhones is falling.

Around 17% of mobile phone thefts from a person occur in pubs and clubs, 6% on public transport and 5% in cafes and restaurants. Women are more likely to be targeted for phone theft, even if carrying the handset in a pocket and not a bag. You're also far more likely to have your phone half-inched if you're aged between 15 and 29.

There are some obvious things you can do to prevent your phone from being stolen, like not leaving it unattended on a table like a complete tool. The police also recommend registering your handset at Immobilise.com, installing a tracker app and have a decent PIN set to protect your data, which could prove just as valuable as the physical device itself.

Last Updated 08 September 2014