Phone Snatching on the Increase

There has recently been a significant leap in the numbers of phone theft across England and Wales. In just one year, the number of snatched phones has more than doubled! According to the latest government figures, about 78,000 phones, wallets, and bags were stolen from people between last March and this year. That’s a big leap from the previous year’s count of 31,000.

What’s Being Done About It?

It is for this reason that the government is concerned about such an increase in the cases of theft and is, thus, taking some serious actions. They have invited special meetings with the companies producing phones to discuss ways of addressing this issue. They intend to brainstorm and think of other ways to prevent thieves from selling stolen phones.

Police minister Dame Diana Johnson says they want phone manufacturers to come up with ways of making stolen phones useless. What this means is that if someone steals a phone, he shouldn’t be in a position to use it or sell it. The whole idea is to ensure such phones do not end in the hands of some other person.

The Home Office will hold a big summit with tech firms and phone manufacturers. The big meeting will discuss ways of making phones more secure and build on the anti-theft features already at their disposal. Dame Diana believes these changes will make it more difficult for thieves to sell on stolen phones.

Why Is Phone Theft On The Increase?

One of the reasons why thefts of phones are increasing is due to more demand for second-hand phones. Globally, people buy used phones not only in the UK but in other nations as well. Due to such demand, this has become a more rewarding crime for thieves. The government believes that by improving phone security, they can make this less appealing for criminals.

Challenges with Catching Thieves

At present, it is tough for the police to catch phone thieves. While there are around 78,000 thefts each year, only an extremely minute proportion of these cases is charged-just 0.8%. Most investigations come to nothing. The police initiate patrols in places with the most phone thefts and other serious crimes. They are also targeting ‘career criminals’ who strike repeatedly.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Commander Richard Smith says, “We know we can’t arrest our way out of this problem. Phone manufacturers and the tech industry need to help reduce the chances of stolen phones being resold.”

What to Do If Your Phone is Stolen

If your phone gets stolen, here’s what you should do:

Call the police and report your phone as missing, providing them with the IMEI number. This is a special 15-digit number describing your phone. It is printed on the box in which your phone was packed or obtained by calling *#06#. Most providers of mobile phones can provide you with this number, too.

Inform Your Network Provider: They will be able to invalidate your SIM card in order not to allow thieves to make any calls or texts from your phone.

Inform Your Bank: If your mobile is used for banking purposes, inform your bank to avoid misuse.

Using Security Features to Locate: Specific inbuilt features on both iPhones and Android phones help track and, hence, secure your device. For locating or remotely locking and erasing, iPhone owners will go through “Find My iPhone” via iCloud. Conversely, for Androids, “Find My Device” is at work, while “SmartThings Find” for Samsung users.

Change your passwords. If you have two-factor authentication, remove your phone as a trusted device. You may want to change your email passwords too.

New Tech Innovations to Combat Theft

Recently, phone carriers have started to develop new features that render stolen phones useless. A future feature coming with Android 10 is called Theft Detection Lock. Using the company’s AI, this feature identifies whether your phone has been stolen by how it moves. If it gets stolen, the phone would lock down, although you are still able to unlock it through your PIN, fingerprint, or face scan in case it goes off by accident.

It’s also updating how phones are reset to factory settings so that the device can only set up again with the correct device password.

Stopping International Resale

But one big issue is that most of the stolen phones are sent to foreign countries for resale purposes. Regarding this matter, the government wants to make an arrangement in such a way that the phones, if stolen, can be permanently locked and will not be usable anywhere in the world. In such cases, the stolen device will be rendered completely useless, even when taken to other countries.

The rise in phone thefts is a serious problem, but there are efforts underway to fix it. By improving phone security and working with tech companies, the government hopes to make it much harder for thieves to benefit from stolen devices. In the meantime, if your phone is stolen, act fast: protect your information and report the theft.