We all now walk down the street talking on our smartphones or stand on a street corner using them to find the nearest coffee shop – however are we becoming “security casual” with these very expensive items? Apple devices are a very desirable items for street thieves, (I have just bought an iPhone 5 and got very little change from £700) who find them easy to sell on.
According to London’s Metropolitan Police, street criminals in London are increasingly targeting easy-to-steal gadgets, although they do not provide a breakdown of the brands most favoured by thieves.
“In general the more you paid for a gadget the more interest it will be to street robbers,” said a spokesman.
“We are constantly reminding people to register their goods,” he added.
What police have seen, he said, is a change in the profile of victims as thieves become less likely to steal cash and more likely to steal phones which are “highly sellable on the second-hand market”.
“Victims now are far less likely to be a bashed-up pensioner and more likely to be a young professional who has had a phone grabbed out of their hand or pocket,” he said.
The story talks about London and New York but may be we all need to be careful where and when we use our phones and tablets.
Read more here – BBC News – Apple store in Paris hit by thieves in heist.
