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My home work to the office last Wednesday was unexpectedly dramatic. While the doors of the tube Koets closed, a mobile phone was grown from the hands of the opposite passenger. While the train got away, she could do nothing but flee the thief to the platform.
The so -called snatch thefts have risen by 150 percent in the past year. Last spring I fell the victim myself when I waited to board a London bus and I have seen grimly how the efforts of the government and the industry do not delay this crime golf.
The overseas trade in stolen handsets is a director. Apple’s “Find My iPhone” software eventually showed the mines in a Chinese container gate. But access to digital portfolios, financial apps and personal data on our phones is the direct and lucrative goal for organized crime. Losing an expensive device is a blow. But the target of subsequent fraud and extortion attempts and losing thousands is worse.
This week, powers for the police were to plunder real estate where stolen items are inherited, announced as part of the new crime and police law of the UK. But disturbing the networks behind this complex, cross -border crime requires a multiple approach to international legislators and the technical and telecom industry.
My own case was closed on the same day with an e -mail, although I could see my phone from several stores and addresses ping – a common frustration for victims. But even if the police had the means to chase after all these stolen handsets, we should not fool ourselves.
It can take less than 10 minutes for criminals to extract money and data if they have thrown away an unlocked handset, or secretly observed victims who enter their screen locking pass code, says Tony Sales, a reformed fraudist who has established the crime prevention advice We fight fraud.
“The gangs behind this will be in a row, with money lumps ready to transfer stolen money,” he says, referring to those – often very young – who allow stolen funds to be routed through their accounts, for a small fee. Handset Thieves can be coached remotely by more expert gang members, making it difficult for the authorities to catch the Kingpins.
“As the street starts to understand the wider fraud potential, this problem will grow,” the sale predicts. Most people are worried that their digital portfolios and bank accounts are endangered – but not their e -mail. This is the next border, from phishing -e -mails and malware -losgeld scams to the rise of “e -mail from the boss” fraud, because business contacts are sold at the Dark Web.
Communits present an attractive target. 5G -Connectivity On a large part of the London tube network, it is customary that entire carriages of passengers are glued to their phones. On my recent home -working traffic, nobody could describe what the phone looked like.
Technology companies come up with impressive innovations from Antitheft to make it more difficult for criminals to compromise devices – although these will only protect consumers when activated.
On Android, Google’s Theft detective locking Uses AI to feel sudden movements that can indicate that a telephone has been torn away, so that the screen is automatically locked. With a “Private Space” function, users can make a separate area for sensitive apps, locked with a pin. Both Apple and Google have stimulated the security functions of the pass code – such as limiting any changes in Well -known locations. All this buys victims more time to log in remotely and to close or wipe stolen devices.
Banks also add new layers of app security. Even if criminals have the compromised passwords and biometric face recognition data, the aspiration of Revolut is mentioned “Wealth Protection” Function means attempts to transfer money from the savings of a customer, crypto or investments will activate a new selfie -ID -Check.
Finding a balance between the convenience of using your device against the convenience of access for criminals is a very personal conversation. After my own phone was torn away, I loaded many financial apps to the iPad at home. I disabled “Message Preview” to make it more difficult for thieves to view one -off pass codes and to set the shortest possible time before my screen is automatically locked. Slightly annoying, but nothing compared to the stress of losing your phone.
Others prefer physical limitations, such as telephone Lanyards and Bandoliers. Not using your phone in public is demonstrably better – easier said than done.
Given the growing amount of personal, financial and medical data on our phones, the collision of last week’s home office with Apple, which led to the withdrawal of its safest cloud coding services from the UK, is remarkably poorly timed. Yes, we have to resign the fraud bends. But this should not be at the expense of endangering safety for millions of consumers.
Claer Barrett is the consumer editor of the FT and author of the FTs Sort your financial life Newsletter series; claer.barrett@ft.com; Instagram and Tiktok @Claerb