you’re walking the streets of London with your phone out, be warned: your device could vanish in the blink of an eye. In a terrifyingly swift move, a motorbike will rush past, and with one brutal yank, your phone is gone. In just a few seconds, your digital life and all its memories can be wiped out. This is happening hundreds of times a day in London, turning phone theft into a frighteningly routine occurrence.
The impact of these thefts goes far beyond financial loss; it involves the devastating erasure of invaluable personal memories.
The Heartbreak of Lost Memories
Last August, Fenella Rawlings was shopping in a Cambridge market when her brand-new iPhone 16 was snatched in this exact manner. The phone contained countless precious photos and videos taken with her mother, who was battling lung cancer. With no backup, those memories are now lost forever.
Speaking tearfully to the BBC, Fenella said, “I will never get those memories back.”
Using the ‘Find My’ app, Fenella tracked her phone as it was first taken by train to London. Within a week, it had travelled to Dubai, and then on to China. Soon after, she started receiving a barrage of phishing messages, requesting her account details or asking her to remotely remove the security lock from the device.
Fenella’s story is now commonplace across London. Highly organized criminal gangs have turned phone theft into a lucrative business, with a single stolen phone fetching up to £400 on the black market. Last year, one notorious thief, Sonny Stringer, was arrested for stealing 24 phones in a single hour; he was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison.
An Epidemic Met with New Tactics
Paul Brennan, Chairman of the London Taxi Drivers’ Association, warns that London is now a “goldmine for phone thieves.” He noted, “None of the local administration believes this is happening in London. But when it happens to them, they will understand.”
Brennan explained that the thieves typically use electric bikes for a quick getaway, often dressing in black with their faces covered or wearing hoodies. He added that the surge in theft is now deterring foreign tourists from visiting London.
According to the Metropolitan Police, 117,211 phones were stolen in London in 2024, marking a 25% increase since 2019. The criminals use light, electric motorbikes that can travel up to 60 mph (97 km/h). To counter these high-speed thieves, the London Police have now upgraded their own fleet with high-performance bikes.
“When thieves see us patrolling on similar bikes, they get scared,” said London Police Sergeant Ryan Perry. “If we can stop their crime, that is our success. Let them come out—we are ready to catch them and send them to court.”
Eyes in the Sky and ‘Pickpocket Hunters’ on the Ground
The fight against the criminals isn’t limited to the streets; surveillance is now coming from above. Andrew Law-Less, a Tactical Flight Officer with the National Police Air Service (NPAS), stated, “We are the biggest fear of the phone thieves.” Sergeant Glen Walker, the NPAS London base manager, noted that the helicopter cameras can zoom in to identify suspects’ faces, and simply the presence of a helicopter 1,000 feet up can create fear and cause criminals to scatter.
Citizens, too, are taking action. Diego Galdino, a delivery man who calls himself a ‘Pickpocket Hunter,’ records street thefts and posts the videos online. His “PickPocketLondon” account has amassed millions of views. “Crime is increasing every day in the city. They always cover their faces and they don’t work alone—they come in gangs. So whenever I see a theft happening, I shout to warn people,” Galdino said.
The British Transport Police (BTP) revealed that many phone thieves are commuting to London daily by train, committing their crimes, and then returning home. A BTP officer at Finsbury Park Station pointed out a suspect: “See that guy in the black hat? He lives in Portsmouth. He comes here daily by train, steals phones, and goes back. This is his full-time job.” The officer stated that police have photos of over 600 such active thieves operating in the region, noting that many have turned phone theft into a professional livelihood, with some even flying in from abroad for a few weeks to steal before returning to their home countries.
