New data from insurance firm SquareTrade suggests that the UK is the location of nearly two in five mobile phone thefts reported across 12 European markets, despite making up only a tenth of the company’s customer base in the region.
The analysis shows that 39% of theft claims submitted to SquareTrade since June 2021 originated in the UK. Of those, 42% were in London, accounting for 16% of all reported mobile thefts across Europe.
The number of claims in the UK has increased by 425% over the past three years, according to the firm.
The data, first published by The Times, comes as police continue to address rising incidents of phone snatching. According to the Metropolitan Police, around 80,000 mobile phones were reported stolen in London in 2023. The force has described the activity as part of an “organised criminal enterprise”, estimating the combined street value of the stolen devices at around £20 million. iPhones were cited as a frequent target.
Metropolitan Police Commander James Conway, who oversees efforts to tackle phone theft, said organised groups are increasingly involved in phone-related crime due to demand in overseas markets and the potential for higher financial returns.
“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,” said Conway as quoted in a Guardian report.
He noted the disparity between sentencing for drug offences and for theft-related crimes, particularly when involving younger individuals, the report said.
In response to the rise in thefts, police have called on technology companies to restrict access to cloud-based services on stolen devices, aiming to reduce their resale potential.
At a recent session of the House of Commons science and technology committee, representatives from Google and Apple said safeguards are already in place to protect user data and accounts.
Simon Wingrove, a software engineering manager at Google, described the company’s approach as “robust and works very well”.
Gary Davis, senior director for regulatory and legal affairs at Apple, said there were concerns about fraud, including attempts by criminals to extract data or delete accounts to pressure victims. He added that Apple had invested “many hundreds of millions” in systems designed to prevent phone theft and related misuse.
