Nearly 40% of all mobile phone thefts across Europe happen right here in the UK, new insurance data reveals — despite Brits making up just a tenth of the customer base.
A study by American insurance provider SquareTrade has uncovered an alarming trend: of all the phone theft claims made across its 12 European markets, a staggering 39% were from the UK. That’s nearly four times the expected rate based on customer distribution.
The numbers paint a bleak picture. Since June 2021, mobile phone theft claims in the UK have skyrocketed by 425%. London alone accounts for 42% of all UK phone thefts, which translates to 16% of all such incidents reported in Europe.
“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 James Conway, a Metropolitan Police commander.
The Metropolitan Police warn that organised gangs are turning away from drug dealing to phone snatching — it’s faster, easier, and comes with less risk.
According to the Met, around 80,000 phones were stolen in London alone last year. The total street value? Roughly £20 million. iPhones, in particular, remain the prime target.
“The sort of sentences you see for drug trafficking or drug dealing offences, and those you might receive for a series of thefts as a young person are very different,” added Conway, highlighting the legal loophole criminals are exploiting.
Police are urging tech giants to do more. Their latest plea? Disable cloud services on stolen phones to make them worthless on the black market.
But tech companies say they’re already one step ahead. Simon Wingrove of Google said the company’s anti-theft measures were “robust and work very well.” Apple’s senior director of regulatory and legal, Gary Davis, expressed concerns over potential misuse.
“There is a risk of bad actors attempting to obtain data and the power to delete accounts for blackmailing victims,” he explained. Apple, he said, has poured “many hundreds of millions” into safeguarding its users.
The UK is at the heart of a rising wave of phone thefts sweeping Europe. London, in particular, is under siege, with high-value gadgets becoming lucrative targets for organised gangs. As tech companies bolster defences, police are calling for deeper intervention to make stolen devices worthless to criminals.
With thefts on the rise and criminals exploiting tech vulnerabilities, the call for stronger digital defences and firmer legal action has never been louder.
