Be careful in London..phone thieves are everywhere

Ugh. So sorry this happened to you.

Very sorry t happened to you, but thank you for posting this reminder.

Unfortunately this is a problem in London.

Never take your phone out and use it near a road or even facing the road.

If I have to use the phone for some reason, I walk next to a building and face the building. I keep an eye out on both sides to see if anyone is approaching.

I also have a ring attached the back of my phone. This allows me to put a finger through the ring while holding the phone. It prevents it from falling and from someone grabbing it. The ring can also be used as a stand.

A ring is not the best idea. A couple years ago in Denver someone nearly lost a finger because the ring remove a lot of skin when the phone was grabbed. Just step into a doorway or a small passage way to use the phone. Using the phone on a street corner is not much different from when we warned people about reading maps on street counters. Except a map was a lot cheaper,

A nice reminder; similar to never lay your phone on a table while eating.

What a terrible situation. I can't imagine how stressful that was for you. I use a lanyard phone carrier and wear it crossbody; so that I won't drop it or it won't be grabbed out of my hand. Of course like a purse, someone can grab you and pull you down, but I think it gives you better odds. I think both men and women should consider embracing it.

Yes, it's a major problem. I've mentioned it several times, most recently on a thread started by jules_m. The Met Police have taken steps to counter it, or at least posted on social media telling us they're working on it like the Batman stunt we talked about the other day. Be very vigilant about when and where you're using a phone, particularly in the west end, though in the OP's case this happened in another tourist hotspot in Borough. It's not an issue out in the "dangerous" inner London boroughs like the one I live in, though I wouldn't be surprised if some folks from here travel into central London to do this.

It’s true unfortunately. Everyone knows somebody that it’s happened to. The electric bike grab is their classic move, so try to stand away from the road while using your phone.

There was a really good piece about it in the Sunday Times. The thief makes about £50-£100. The phones are then shipped mainly to North Africa where they are unlocked, repackaged and sold on at a high price. Every person along the way takes a cut.

Last time I was in London, I’m pretty sure I was pickpocketed. I normally keep my phone in a zipped pocket in my pocketbook, but that time I’d put it on my front pocket (fairly, but not extremely, deep). O recall feeling someone bump me, didn’t think any thing of it until I reached for my phone, and it was gone. I went back to wear I’d been, nothing - no surprise as I hadn’t done anything do that the phone could have fallen out of my pocketbook

Finishing the last few days of my trip without a phone was aggravating, but I managed it….

I’m sorry this happened to you. Thank you to all for the warning and reminder.

Sorry to read this. Makes navigating London as a pedestrian a bit fraught.

I bought a phone lanyard for our last trip and absolutely love it. Yes, I look like a dork. Don’t care.

Really sorry that happened to you, and it’s a useful reminder.

As someone who has lived in London and still visits often, if I need to check something on my phone I will stand as far from the road as possible. I never walk with a phone in my hand. Now, I realise this is tricky when you’re trying to navigate the streets using your phone as a map - but honestly, I’ve been known to stop every couple of streets, move towards the buildings and then get my phone out to check my map. Otherwise it’s stowed in a zipped section of my backpack that’s facing my back.

Not that it guarantees it won’t get pinched, but I reckon there are way more people whose phones are therefore easier to pinch than mine.

I tend to use my debit card rather than Apple Pay for public transport as that’s easier and more discreet and can be tucked securely in a pocket. You see so many phones on the tube poking out of people’s back pockets.

I have a lanyard, but has a safety feature to break with force. I have no desire to have my neck broken or be injured over a phone.

Lynn, Which lanyard with a break-away feature do you use?

With these lanyards you speak of, is your phone hanging around your neck in full view? That seems like a bad idea to me, even if someone can't immediately grab it. Sounds like something that draws attention to you, especially if you have an identifiably nice phone.

I've never taken any real steps towards security around London, except maybe watching where and when I get my phone out these days. My phone stays in my pocket most of the time and I wear just regular jeans or Carhartt work pants generally. I don't check socials often like many people do. I do use maps occasionally but doing it somewhere it's difficult for someone to blast past on a bike and grab your phone is a good idea.

I've never been a victim of any street crime. I saw someone in the process of reporting a pickpocketing to police on Westminster Bridge last summer, but I've never seen a crime occur. I was a victim of theft recently, but that was my cocaine enthusiast neighbour that I'd invited into my home that perpetrated that... Whole 'nother story.

Thank you for sharing your experience, and I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. Your warning will help others, and I’ll be in London in a couple of weeks, so I’ll be extra careful. On the last few trips to London, I’ve seen more and more bicycles on the streets, and while many are undoubtedly simply getting from Point A to Point B, it’s unfortunate that there are thieves using them for crime.

I wonder, are there crooks who just ride around all day, specifically waiting for people with phones to snatch? Maybe they can spot a snatchable phone from blocks away, or they react quickly, within in a few seconds if they see a phone just ahead. If they don’t get a phone on one circuit, they must just do another loop, and snatch what they can. Big cities come with all kinds, and I wonder whether London has more of this problem than other cities?

Smartphones have now become such an essential part of peoples’ lives, especially when you’re on vacation, and getting one unexpectedly stolen has a bigger effect than just losing a little electronic device.

Lynn, Which lanyard with a break-away feature do you use?

I don't remember. It was just something I knew to pay attention to since we have lanyards at my work for our badges and this feature is required since sometimes around machinery.

My phone is on a lanyard and then slipped into a side pocket in my purse when not in use. The lanyard will help if someone just walks by and tries to grab, but not if on a bike etc. I'm sure tourists use their phones a lot for navigation, photos etc. which a local would not need to do, thus more likely a target.

Edit: Side note, if you're curious what the break away feature looks like, google cat collars. They are normally designed with that in mind, since cats are, well cats.

I wonder, are there crooks who just ride around all day, specifically waiting for people with phones to snatch? Maybe they can spot a snatchable phone from blocks away, or they react quickly, within in a few seconds if they see a phone just ahead. If they don’t get a phone on one circuit, they must just do another loop, and snatch what they can. Big cities come with all kinds, and I wonder whether London has more of this problem than other cities?

I always think it's fair to assume people are watching you in the street, even if you're not aware and you're drawing the slightest bit of attention to yourself. The speed of ebikes makes it easy for folks to react to a target quickly I'd imagine. Ebikes have been a game changer, both in terms of democratising takeout food delivery and these crimes.

The scale of this is probably quite large behind the scenes. There will be networks of people in the neighbourhoods out here in east London and in south London processing phones and looking after the export process. I'd imagine very few to no phones stay in the UK. I think it is a problem that is fairly unique to London at the moment.

Lots of people still insist on having their phones in their hands, especially the young who are glued to their socials. I have no fear using my phone on trains or buses, in cafes (except on the pavement tables maybe) etc. Locals do have to use maps often too. London is so vast that people regularly find themselves having to navigate places they don't usually go to. When I met Claudia of this forum, I had to use my phone to get to the pub from Chancery Lane station.

Please don't overly worry about this. Take sensible precautions. London is still statistically a very safe city. Millions upon millions of people remain unaffected by crime here on a daily basis.

I'd probably add that this summer is going to be peak phone snatching season, like we've never seen before, as the networks I talked about have grown and become so well established. A combination of high tourist numbers and London often tends to go a bit nuts when the schools break for summer. The little b*stards have more time on their hands to get up to no good.

"I wonder, are there crooks who just ride around all day, specifically waiting for people with phones to snatch? "

Well, "ride around" probably specific, heavy "target rich" locations. Popular with tourists or other reasons (big sporting event just releasing its crowds, etc).

Also, they can just take advantage of the phones they are stealing. :)

Someone up high with a good pair of binoculars can spot targets at large distances to then phone waiting bicycling snatchers.

Lots of ways.

I just took a ten minute walk to my local Tesco Express and I was observing how many people had their phones in their hands or at their ears after reading this thread. Honestly it must have been more than half, young and old alike, no jokes. The real problem areas are central London / the west end. Come out to Hackney and walk around with your phone without a care in the world it seems.

Robert, I doubt very much there's people with binoculars. We're talking roadmen in their teens and early 20's in ballys (balaclavas) cruising looking for opportunity here.

I just took a ten minute walk to my local Tesco Express

You bought more hot cross buns, didn't you?

Haha no. Fruity scones this time. I'll need to make sure I get in early before the hot cross buns sell out tomorrow.

"I doubt very much there's people with binoculars."

Oh, I agree. Most of it is amateur, like you say. Just there was a mention of gangs getting organized and/or others moving in. They certainly can do simple things like that.

I'm no expert, but I'd imagine it's the youngsters out in the streets of central London taking phones and the elders (20+ years of age) back in Brixton, Southall or Hackney buying and processing them. In this instance, we're not talking about a rigid structure like the mafia, but it does take some organisation which I'd imagine happens fairly organically without a real hierarchical structure as such.

My Apple Watch works just as good for directions as my iphone. The screen is small to really see a large area of the map, but it can give verbal directions too. I’m not sure, but I think the watch can do step by step written directions too. I’ll have to check that out.

I swear Google reads what I write here and recommends me videos on Youtube.

Here's a video from The Evening Standard (10m 47s)

https://youtu.be/bOkKR1yMgfk?si=O4HdOAAR1B9k2vuA

and the Met Police (4m 03s)

https://youtu.be/oDBjIqee5sU?si=Wk35kONm7NsG-L5B

I'd bet the clips of motor scooters are from two or three years ago. Motor scooters have almost totally been replaced by fast ebikes for food delivery and crime.

I've seen ne'r-do-wells on these Surron ebikes. https://sur-ron.co.uk/light-bee/ There's a couple of clips featuring them in The Met's video, including one I recognise as Old Street.

They're calling it a "rite of passage" to have your phone stolen in London. Glad I've been able to miss out so far, touch wood. If I was in the west end every day for work it would probably have happened by now.

I've prattled on at length about this, but neglected to offer my sympathy to the OP.

I experienced a theft recently and I know how it feels now to lose something like that. I'd never been a victim of crime at all in my 51 years up until then. It's a range of emotions you feel. I decided it was done and moved on last week or so.

My dealings with the police were fine. They couldn't do much in the circumstances, but the officer from The Metropolitan Police neighbourhood team was quite kind and considerate. It was quite slow, four weeks from first contact to last, when we mutually decided it wasn't really worth pursuing further.

OP, did you report it? How did you find the police to deal with if you did? I reported on the web. The non-emergency number is 101, which should be a free call from any phone. I got a call back from them within a few minutes of reporting.

On my last trip to Germany (I know, I know, but it is related) I kept a specific eye out for phone use, based on an observation that I had previously. Lots of people, mostly tourists, many Americans, keep their phone out constantly. In their hands, following them around with the phone out front, on the table next to them, if not on them, basically always out. I saw this repeatedly. What I assumed to be locals? Not so much, they were just walking, talking to others, going about life.

I have specifically tried to limit my phone use in public, a hard habit to break, the phone is so useful for everything (but rarely as a phone while traveling, oddly), but I am trying to make a real effort.

If I am navigating, I have made myself get out of the crowd, off to the side, get my bearings, then put it away and go.

At a cafe outside (even inside), I just resist the urge to be on it, don't have it out. If I need information, or need Google translate, use it, put it away.

Pictures?, get out of the crowd, find a nice angle, take a pic, put it away.

Basically, the phone is a distraction, it keeps you from being aware of your surroundings (just like use while driving), and distraction is the opportunity pickpockets watch for.

As a Software/Electrical Eng I've seen too much "behind the curtain" to get into smartphones back from when they started. There's a lot of crap that goes along with desktop computing but the Mobile World is orders of magnitude worse. So, basic tool, yes. Nothing more for me.

People who wish to limit their phone usage are making a conscious decision that works well for many of them, and I'm happy for them. But those of us who don't share in their decision are not acting immorally. Sometimes the anti-cell-phone cohort gets pretty preachy.

My smartphone is an incredible tool. I use it for navigation, as a calculator, a camera, a voice recorder for oral notes, a units converter (e.g., centimeters to inches), a translation computer, a compass, a bubble level ... the list of its capabilities is incredible. The notion that I should refrain from fully using it is foreign to me.

Just another point of view.

Yeah be careful around central London if you're doing that jph :)

It's sometimes hard to perceive real crime levels if you both read media and spend time out on the streets. I've never felt in danger of having my phone nicked or being pickpocketed, but I don't spend as much time in those real pinch points for street crime in the west end as the average London visitor might. I have spent quite a bit of time around Borough and London Bridge fairly recently though, where the OP's unfortunate incident happened.

You need to really watch out for people on ebikes around the west end. Nobody should be masked up in a balaclava by rights, but give folks a wide berth if you do see them. The tricky part is that there's so many young people also delivering food in the same street uniform, dressed in all black, and many of them are benign. Look for the big insulated bag :)

"The notion that I should refrain from fully using it is foreign to me."

I don't know if that would change if you knew what's going on behind the curtain. It was enough for me.

The balaclava or "bally" trend probably spawned 10 or so years ago. It's been driven in major part by "drill" music artists who often have criminal records or cases pending, but still want to release tunes and dance in videos with the crew. It's a look around London if you're up to no good, wanting to appear to be up to no good for cred, or delivering pizzas when it's a bit chilly out. It probably works to a certain extent in CCTV-heavy London.

I'm sorry I'm being a bit flippant OP. I'd like to hear back about your experiences after the event if you're back in the thread.

jhbucks yes my phone is also my brain-which is why I need to be very careful that it's not stolen.

So sorry this happened to you. It's so difficult to anything outside your house without a cellphone.

You just need to know what’s going on around you if you are going to use your phone. I use my phone to take all my pictures. I don’t stand close to the edge of the road.

I've seen some phone cases with wrist straps on Amazon, not sure if I can find one for my particular phone, but has anyone used them? Any success stories?
I found tello.com has really inexpensive phones, I have a back-up one for $6 per month for work (if my regular phone ever broke, I might not be able to sign in to work from home, so added a 2nd #, because I live alone and had no other back up). That's the one I'd use for free wi-fi and basic stuff while traveling, and keep my more expensive phone for calls from the hotel or something more private. I hope to get back to London next year. Hope, hope. :)
-Alison