Criminals lurking on the London Underground target passengers’ mobile phones just before the doors close and the money drains from their bank accounts.
Many so-called ‘gadget robbers’ flee with their devices before stealing thousands of pounds and fleeing with very low conviction rates.
Reports of theft and robbery on trains and stations rose by 58% from 2018 to 2023, with the majority in London last year, police figures show.
But an overwhelming 98 per cent of the 23,683 thefts and robberies recorded last year did not result in what police call a “positive outcome” or conviction.
Recent victims include musician and actor Niall McNamee, who was riding a subway train when his cell phone was snatched from his hand just as the door was closing.
The 30-year-old was found to have £21,000 left his bank account two days later, including a £7,000 loan taken out in his name, despite his banking app being protected with facial recognition and passwords. I realized this and felt scared.
“It’s one of those moments where in a matter of seconds you feel buckets of sweat coming off your head and your face turns red,” McNamee told BBC News.
“It was a panic station for two days. I was on the phone pretty nonstop and then going back and forth to the kitchen. Just trying to get to the bottom of it.
Musician and actor Niall McNamee was on the Tube when his phone was snatched from his hand as soon as the door closed, and £21,000 was later taken from his bank account.
Travel writer and TikTok content creator Tasha Whitley, 26, revealed last month that her new iPhone 16 was snatched from her hand at Elephant and Castle Station on November 7th.
“I don’t know how they got into my account, which is protected by Face ID and password. They managed to get me a loan, even though I’ve been trying to get a loan for years. , it’s funny because I don’t qualify for that. Somehow they managed to get me a loan.”
He reported the theft to police but did not call his bank or cancel the card. And then she realized the thief had taken out a £7,000 loan from HSBC in her name, transferred all the cash to her Monzo account and then stole everything.
British Transport Police (BTP) closed the investigation a month after the theft, citing “no evidence on CCTV”. Mr Monzo has repaid £14,000 of the money stolen by Mr McNamee but is still waiting for HSBC to write off the loan.
Another recent victim of subway cell phone theft was travel writer Tasha Whitley, 26, whose new iPhone 16 was snatched from her hand at Elephant and Castle station on November 7th. It was done.
Whitley, a popular TikTok content creator, was sitting in the seat closest to the door on the Northern Line train from Balham to Moorgate at the time of the incident, and said she was left “upset” and “heartbroken”. said. In shock.”
she said in the video, which has now been viewed more than 670,000 times. “Like most people, I was using my cell phone. I was typing things on my phone. “The people around me didn’t understand.”
“Suddenly, someone came and snatched the phone, snatched it out of my hands, jumped out the door and ran away. I was just shocked and literally screamed. Then the door closed and the tube started ringing. .
“I didn’t even have time to process it. I had my suitcase with me too, so of course I wasn’t going to run out the door. He obviously had his eye on me and just saw the perfect place to snatch it.” I found the timing.”
The government promised to crack down on mobile phone theft in September after the overall number of incidents soared by more than 150 per cent last year.
The Home Office said at the time that it would hold a summit with tech companies to discuss ways to tackle the problem, building on the existing anti-theft capabilities already available.
An estimated 78,000 people had their phones or bags snatched on UK streets in the year to March 2024, according to data from the Crime Survey of England and Wales.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan uses a mobile phone on the London Underground (August 2023)
This represents a 153 per cent increase compared to the 31,000 snatch theft incidents in the same period up to March 2023.
More than 200 incidents occurred every day in England and Wales over a 12-month period, according to Home Office data analysis.
Only 0.8% of cases were prosecuted for “theft from the person in question,” and 81.9% of police investigations ended before a suspect was found.
Police information indicated that this was likely due to increased demand for second-hand smartphones in the UK and abroad.
Many smartphones already come with a variety of tools built in to help users protect their personal data and track their phone if it’s stolen.
Apple’s Find My Device tool allows users to remotely lock their iPhone or other mobile device if it’s stolen while continuing to track its location.
Police officers on patrol at London Bridge tube station in July 2020
iPhone users can also use a feature called Stolen Device Protection. Turning on this feature requires additional security measures to access key security and personal data settings when your phone detects that you are away from a familiar location such as home or work. It will be.
This feature requires biometric authentication, such as a facial scan or fingerprint, to pass an additional layer of security, protecting personal information even if the person using the phone knows the passcode.
Google’s Android allows phone owners to remotely lock or erase their devices using the Find My Device app.
Additionally, earlier this year, Google announced the introduction of new AI-powered tools, including something called Theft Detection Lock. The tool automatically locks your phone when various sensors detect movement patterns associated with theft, such as snatching from a cyclist. Call before taking off at high speed.
MailOnline has contacted London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office, Transport for London, BTP, Monzo and HSBC for comment.
* Was your phone stolen on the subway? Email: mark.duell@dailymail.co.uk *