Latest news with #phonetheft
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
MP accuses Apple and Google of profiting from stolen phones
Martin Wrigley, a Liberal Democrat member of the UK parliament's technology committee has accused Apple and Google of profiting from phone-snatching operations. Representatives from Apple and Google were addressing the committee, where Wrigley said: 'Apple and Google continue to make profit and continue to sell more phones because these phones are not removed from the system'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
MPs accuse Apple and Google of profiting from rise in phone thefts
MPs have accused Apple and Google of profiting from multimillion-pound phone-snatching operations that police say are masterminded by organised crime gangs in Britain, Algeria and China. In 2024, 80,000 phone devices of all kinds were stolen in London alone, up a quarter from 64,000 in 2023. The devices had a street value of about £20m, and iPhones made up the majority. In evidence to the House of Commons science and technology committee on Tuesday, the Metropolitan police said they wanted smartphone companies to start preventing stolen devices from accessing their cloud services so that they are no longer 'smart', therefore dramatically reducing their resale value. But 'so far they have not agreed', despite calls to do so since 2023, said Darren Scates, the Met's chief digital data and technology officer. Martin Wrigley, a Liberal Democrat member of the committee, said: 'Apple and Google continue to make profit and continue to sell more phones because these phones are not removed from the system. You [the companies] owe it to the customers around the world to implement this immediately. No ifs, no buts, just do it.' Asked why they had not done so, representatives of the firms pointed to other security features, particularly those that protect customer data. Simon Wingrove, a software engineering manager at Google, said its system was 'robust and works very well'. Gary Davis, a senior director in regulatory and legal at Apple, said it was concerned about disconnections being used for fraud, with bad actors wanting to get data and the power to delete accounts for blackmail. Kit Malthouse, the Conservative former policing minister, said it felt as if Apple was 'dragging your feet and sitting behind this is a very strong commercial incentive'. He said: 'The fact that £50m of phones are stolen in London every year – if that stopped that would be £50m in sales that would be depressed.' He also suggested Apple was benefiting from selling services to the users of millions of stolen phones around the world. Davis responded: 'I don't believe we are profiting. It is necessary to refute the suggestion that we benefit from our users somehow suffering the traumatic event of having their phone stolen and being disconnected from their lives. We have invested many hundreds of millions in designing in these protections.' The Met said all types of thefts were down 15% in April and May and around two-thirds of thefts related to mobile phones. Commander James Conway cautioned that it was a 'tentative reduction' and said it was likely to be a result of increased police prioritisation and phone users showing more caution. Scotland Yard recently bought a fleet of high-speed ebikes to chase snatchers. Conway said theft and robbery were 'easy crimes to commit' in London, and he described 'teenagers on [high-powered ebikes] riding down the A10 committing 10, 20 thefts or robberies on the go, packaging those phones swiftly into silver foil or Faraday bags to make it more difficult for us to identify location, and then swiftly passing them on to a middle-market handler and ultimately out of the UK.' Most of the phones being stolen are the most expensive Apple versions, which police believe are specifically targeted and sell on the street for between £300 and £400. Part of the trade is driven by the relative high cost of phones in lower-income countries. It is estimated that more than 90% of stolen phones are reused while the rest are stripped for parts, with the screens particularly valuable. The hearing began with Malthouse saying he had witnessed an attempted phone theft by two young masked men on bikes on Tuesday morning while he was heading to parliament.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
I had my phone swiped and felt like such a mug… Here's the cynical new Insta trick crafty crooks are using to rob YOU
THERE'S a brand new way thieves are taking people's phones on our city streets. And I would know because, on Wednesday night in central London, I became its latest victim. 3 3 3 Forget balaclava-clad youths whizzing by on a bike, swiping your mobile out of your hand while you're unawares. I've learnt that this new breed of thieves are sophisticated, coordinated and as good at sticking to a script as any Hollywood actor. But it also taught me how supposedly oh-so-easy digital banks — the type whose adverts are stuffed with grinning simpletons — can leave you trapped in a dead-end maze of QR codes and AI chatbots. You may come away reading this thinking I'm an idiot. But if this helps just one person to avoid the same ordeal, then I'll have put my gullibility to good use. It's late, but being close to busy London Bridge station, I'm far from the only one heading back from the pub. As I wait for a bus, up walks a young guy wearing trendy shades and a jacket, along with a friend. We get chatting. He's friendly, welcoming and, not before long, asks me if I want to check out his clothing designs on Instagram. I like to think I'm friendly, too, so I have a look — and good on him for trying to make his own path in life, I think. Moment TikTok star has phone stolen during live-stream But what I didn't know was that I was at the receiving end of a carefully rehearsed script. 'Give me a follow, give me a follow,' he begs. I tap in my iPhone 's passcode, reach for the app with my thumb — and the handset is snatched. At least I know now why he was so keen. It was the friend who took it, and in an instant it's handed over to a third person sprinting past that I hadn't even noticed. Not a second later, he's down the other end of the road, out of sight — and the others had scarpered, too. Ironically, his 'fashion brand' was called Expensive. Yes, I know what you're thinking: I am a pillock. And you'd be right. Thinking someone wanted me — dressed in my bog-standard office attire — to give feedback on their sweatshirt designs? Agreeing to give them a follow, and then moronically typing in my iPhone passcode right under their nose? 'HARSH LESSON' I'd been thoroughly, thoroughly duped. Though I grew up in sleepy Christchurch, Dorset — the UK's most geriatric town — where phone thefts are rarer than teenagers at the bingo, I still know to keep it hidden away in public and to stay wary of pickpockets. But this smooth talker had made me completely let my guard down, and I'd paid the price. At least he gave me a cigarette as part of his spiel. So, where did that leave me? With no phone to pay the fare, it took a sympathetic bus driver to get me home. Then came the emails. First, it's Apple — account password changed and Find My iPhone disabled, so no hope of tracking the thieves down. 'Congratulations!', starts the next message, which let me know they'd now managed to set up Apple Pay and start using the debit cards on my phone. If they hadn't known my passcode, the phone would have just been a brick for them to wipe and sell on for a few hundred quid. But they did — and it felt like my entire life now belonged to the robbers. I was about to learn a harsh lesson about why clever, convenient tech can become a gift to criminals. Your phone is constantly pushing you to stop using passwords and to set up FaceID instead. But if your face isn't recognised after a couple of tries, it lets you use the phone's passcode. All it took was a six-digit number to give the thugs access to my banking apps. Heading into the bank branch first thing in the morning, I blocked my card and had Apple Pay disabled. Guttingly, a printed balance sheet revealed how the thieves had shifted all the money in my Revolut account into another . . . And then moved it back again after Santander detected suspicious purchase attempts. But with only my passcode, they were in my Revolut app and all my money was theirs to spend. I can't say I was impressed with their choice to splash £699 at Argos but, either way, that was where next month's rent had ended up. Not that it was easy to find this out. Turns out, Revolut — despite appearances — isn't even a proper bank. It's what they call an 'electronic money institution'. 'CRASHING DOWN' Oh, so great when you're clicking away on an app. Not so great when your phone's been nicked and just about every perk, including fraud reporting, needs — you guessed it — the very thing that you no longer have to hand. Calling up from the landline to report fraud is too old-fashioned, apparently. Instead, it's an AI bot messenger you're forced to talk to, and then a live agent who couldn't give any clarity about whether my report — which I eventually managed to make with the help of a friend's phone — had gone through. I'm sorry that was too tough a question for them. But the only reason I asked was because the reporting process took me in circles, constantly leading back to the same menu I'd tapped through what felt like ten times. Revolut have paid me back, but how many others haven't been so lucky? If we lose our good old High Street bank branches, it won't be long before the entire country seizes up in a 'computer says no'- induced nightmare. I've learnt the tough way that today's crooks are more cunning than ever. I've also learnt that making our whole lives rely on apps just means that when one part fails, the whole thing comes crashing down. And if you're the one enjoying that new TV bought with my stolen money, do please write in to say thanks.
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Shock moment TikTok star, 30, has phone swiped by balaclava-clad thief DURING live-stream – as camera keeps rolling
THIS is the shocking moment a brazen phone thief snatches a TikTok star's mobile in the middle of a live-stream. Fidel Artan, 30, was broadcasting his conversation to his 111,000 followers when a balaclava-clad man on an electric bike grabbed his iPhone 15 pro. 5 5 5 The content creator gave chase down London's Kensington High Street, where he had been sitting outside a restaurant eating dinner, but the thief had already gotten away. Footage from the live feed shows the social media star chatting to his pal on camera before suddenly disappearing from view. He can be heard shouting 'oi' as the man makes off with his £900 device. For a split second, the culprit's masked face is seen on the video. 5 5 His baffled pal - who is still streaming - says, 'oh s*** his phone just got nabbed. No way' as the screen turns black. Fidel told The Sun: 'It happened in a split second. A guy mounted the pavement on an electric bike. "I'm not aware - I'm looking at my screen - and he's snatched my phone. 'By the time I got up to give chase, he was long gone.' Fidel, who goes by the Tiktok handle fiddyworld, rushed home to Shepherd's Bush where he immediately cancelled his bank cards with an old phone. He was also keen to let his concerned fans know he was unharmed. The 30-year-old added: 'The live-stream went crazy and my poor friend was like 'what the hell's going on?' 'I had to quickly get back on live and let everyone know I was okay.' He reported the crime to police later that night. Officers told him 16 other people had had their phones snatched in west London the same evening. The TikTok creator - who had come close to having his mobile stolen in the Notting Hill area just two days earlier - said the ordeal has now made him 'very vigilant'. He added: 'I was pretty shocked. I never thought it would happen to me. "It's made me very vigilant now - I'm gripping onto my phone all the time. 'And when I'm walking on the street now I'm always warning people to protect their phone, because they're not even aware of their surroundings. 'At the end of the day it's not the biggest issue - there's a lot of knife crime and materialistic stuff can be replaced - but it's very inconvenient and it shouldn't happen in London. 'London should be the safest place.' Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: 'At 22:54hrs on Monday, 12 May officers responded to reports of a phone being stolen on Kensington High Street. 'Officers spoke to the victim and followed all viable lines of enquiry. "No arrests have been made at this stage.'
