Latest news with #SquareTrade
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
People in the UK: have you been the victim of phone theft recently?
According to data compiled by an insurance firm, nearly two in every five mobile phones stolen in Europe are taken in the UK. Claims made to the American insurance company SquareTrade showed 39% of all phone thefts across the company's 12 European markets were in Britain. The data revealed that phone theft claims in the UK had increased by 425% since June 2021 and 42% of phone thefts in the UK occurred in London. We'd like to hear from people who have been the victim of phone theft in the UK in the last six months? Has your phone been snatched out of your hands? What happened next and how easy was it to secure your data and accounts? Did you report it to the police? Has it changed your behaviour using your phone or sense of safety on the streets? Why do you think that the UK is the phone theft capital of Europe. You can tell us if you have been the victim of phone theft in the UK by filling in the form below. Please include as much detail as possible. Please include as much detail as possible. Please note, the maximum file size is 5.7 MB. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian. If you include other people's names please ask them first.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
UK leads Europe in mobile phone pickpocketing
Nearly two in five phone theft claims across Europe originate in the UK, according to data compiled by the US insurer SquareTrade, as cited by The Times on Friday. London alone reportedly accounts for nearly half of all pickpocketing incidents involving mobile phones in the country. The research, based on claims across SquareTrade's twelve European markets, found that 39% of all mobile phone thefts occurred in the UK, despite British customers representing only 10% of the company's client base. According to the report, mobile phone theft claims in Britain have soared by 425% since June 2021, with 42% of these taking place in London. That figure represents 16% of all phone thefts across the region, while Birmingham recorded the second-highest number of reported incidents. The data also revealed that phone thefts in the UK spike during the summer months and around Christmas, aligning with travel, festivals, and seasonal shopping activity. These findings are supported by official data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which reported a 50% increase in 'theft from the person' in the year ending December 2024 — amounting to 483,000 incidents. Mobile phones were the most commonly stolen item in these crimes. Separate research by Compare the Market, released earlier this year, showed that over 70,000 phones were stolen in London in 2024, equivalent to 1,349 per week. If replaced with the latest models, the cost to Londoners could reach £70 million. According to the Metropolitan Police, nearly 40% of all phone thefts in London occur in Westminster and the West End. The Met estimates that mobile phone theft has become a £50 million per year industry for criminal gangs. The sharp rise in thefts comes amid ongoing economic pressures and deteriorating living standards in the UK. Earlier this year, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) noted that Britain is neither a high-wage nor a high-welfare country, leaving millions 'trapped between low wages and inadequate support.' In addition, Britain has long struggled with illegal migration, with officials linking some rises in theft and gang activity to undocumented individuals operating via criminal networks.
Russia Today
4 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Britain leads Europe in mobile phone pickpocketing
Nearly two in five phone theft claims across Europe originate in the UK, according to data compiled by the US insurer SquareTrade, as cited by The Times on Friday. London alone reportedly accounts for nearly half of all pickpocketing incidents involving mobile phones in the country. The research, based on claims across SquareTrade's twelve European markets, found that 39% of all mobile phone thefts occurred in the UK, despite British customers representing only 10% of the company's client base. According to the report, mobile phone theft claims in Britain have soared by 425% since June 2021, with 42% of these taking place in London. That figure represents 16% of all phone thefts across the region, while Birmingham recorded the second-highest number of reported incidents. The data also revealed that phone thefts in the UK spike during the summer months and around Christmas, aligning with travel, festivals, and seasonal shopping activity. These findings are supported by official data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which reported a 50% increase in 'theft from the person' in the year ending December 2024 — amounting to 483,000 incidents. Mobile phones were the most commonly stolen item in these crimes. Separate research by Compare the Market, released earlier this year, showed that over 70,000 phones were stolen in London in 2024, equivalent to 1,349 per week. If replaced with the latest models, the cost to Londoners could reach £70 million. According to the Metropolitan Police, nearly 40% of all phone thefts in London occur in Westminster and the West End. The Met estimates that mobile phone theft has become a £50 million per year industry for criminal gangs. The sharp rise in thefts comes amid ongoing economic pressures and deteriorating living standards in the UK. Earlier this year, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) noted that Britain is neither a high-wage nor a high-welfare country, leaving millions 'trapped between low wages and inadequate support.' In addition, Britain has long struggled with illegal migration, with officials linking some rises in theft and gang activity to undocumented individuals operating via criminal networks.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Two-fifths of mobile phones stolen in Europe are taken in UK, data reveals
Nearly two in every five phones stolen in Europe are taken in the UK, according to data collated an insurance firm. An analysis of claims made to the American insurance company SquareTrade showed that 39% of all phone thefts across the company's 12 European markets were in Britain. This was despite the UK only making up 10% of the company's European customers. The data revealed that phone theft claims in the UK had increased by 425% since June 2021 and 42% of phone thefts in the UK occurred in London. This equated to 16% of all phone thefts in Europe. The data, reported by the Times, comes amid growing concern about phone snatching, with police saying gangs are now stealing handsets as an easier way to make money than drug dealing. The Metropolitan police said about 80,000 phones were stolen in London last year, describing the phenomenon as an 'organised criminal enterprise'. The stolen devices had a street value of about £20m, with iPhones being targeted most frequently. James Conway, a Met police commander specialising in phone thefts, said phone theft had become more prevalent among gangs partly due to a growing demand for such gadgets in overseas markets, creating opportunities for 'huge profitability'. Conway said: 'These are the same sort of gangs that are also running county lines operations and dealing [drugs] but are getting increasingly involved in robbery and theft … They can make a far greater profit than from dealing drugs in the same period of time with a lower risk from a criminal justice perspective.' The commander added: 'The sort of sentences you see for drug trafficking or drug dealing offences, and those you might receive for a series of thefts as a young person are very different.' The police have called for phone companies to cut off cloud services on stolen phones in an effort to reduce their resale value. Representatives of Google and Apple told the House of Commons science and technology committee last month that security features were already in place to protect customer data. Simon Wingrove, a software engineering manager at Google, said its system for such situations was 'robust and works very well'. Gary Davis, a senior director in regulatory and legal at Apple, said the company was concerned about the potential for fraud. He said there was a risk of bad actors attempting to obtain data and the power to delete accounts for blackmailing victims. The Apple representative added the company had invested 'many hundreds of millions' in designing protections for its customers against phone theft.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Two in every five phones thefts across Europe happen in the UK as government battles to get to grips with rise in county lines snatcher gang chaos
Two in every five phone thefts across Europe happen in the UK, new figures claim, as the government attempts to grapple with county line gangs turning to phone snatching. And harrowing figures show London is at the centre of the snatching chaos, with one in every six phones nabbed across the continent happening in the capital, according to American insurance firm, SquareTrade. After surveying data across its 12 European markets, it found despite Brits only accounting for 10 percent of their customers on the continent, they made up 39 percent of all phone loss claims. Nearly half of phone theft in the UK happened in London, according to the gadget insurance firm, with Birmingham following in second place. Phone snatching incidents also occurred more frequently in summer months and Christmas, aligning with busier travel months, shopping periods as well as festivals. Britain has become 'leading country for missing devices in Europe', the company told The Times, with claims of phone theft has quadrupling since June 2021. Latest statistics from the Crime Survey for England and Wales also indicated 'theft from a person' rose by half in the last year to 483,000 incidents, with the most common object snatched in the category being mobile phones. In 2024, 70,371 phones were stolen in London alone, and in 2020, around 20,000 phone thefts were reported, however, due to a lack of reporting from victims, the figures are likely to be higher. Last September, the Home Office promised to crackdown on phone thefts by increasing patrols in the most at risk areas, while adding Operation Opal, the national police intelligence unit, would also be honing in on crooks. Phone thefts are estimated to cost Londoners and its visitors at least £ 70million, according to the Metropolitan Police. The mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan was also accused by City Hall Conservatives of 'virtually ignor[ing the problem, even though he remained adamant he was continuing to support the force with 'record funding' to tackle the epidemic. The most stolen devices were iPhones, SquareTrade reported, with claims on average totalling to £1,200. The iPhone 15 Pro Max was the most commonly stolen device, with the iPhone 16 Pro Max coming in second place, followed by the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Kevin Gillan, the managing director, of Square TradeEurope, told The Times: 'July creates a perfect storm — festivals, holidays, and crowded spaces increase the risk of theft. London is especially vulnerable, and the UK now leads Europe in phone theft claims.' It comes as county lines gangs have turned to snatching phones instead of dealing drugs to feed a growing £70m a year epidemic. Gang members are grooming vulnerable young people to steal mobiles on Britain's streets due to unprecedented overseas demand and softer sentences for those who are caught. Stolen phones are being shipped abroad in bulk and sold around the world, a police chief warned, with some 80 per cent of the 80,000 phones stolen every year in London ending up overseas. A Mail investigation tracked down a phone stolen from an estate agent on the capital's famous Baker Street across the globe to a high-rise block in Hong Kong, where it sat alongside hundreds of thousands of other handsets. And a police chief in charge suggested the likes of Apple and Google had the gift to stop the trade by making a phone worthless after being taken. At least 230 phones were stolen every day on average in the UK last year - twice as many as five years ago and rising all the time. London is the epicentre, making up roughly 75 per cent of phone thefts, but it is clear the problem is nationwide, with every major force recording thousands of stolen phones every year.
