Mobile phone thefts have tripled in the last four years, new data shows, as criminal gang members riding e-bikes help fuel a booming export trade to countries including China and Nigeria.
More than 70,000 phones were snatched in the streets of London alone in 2024, out of an estimated 100,000 thefts across the UK.
Some 70,137 devices were stolen amid a scourge of criminal gangs using e-bikes and scooters to tot up high numbers of phones to sell abroad for parts.
It is thought phone snatching could cost consumers up to £70 million each year.
The data, from an FOI request to the Met Police, is thought to be a significant underestimate of the true scale of the problem, as it only includes thefts reported to the force.
Shockingly some 40 percent of all London phone snatches take place in Westminster and the West End.
Victims of the crime come from all walks of life, with celebrities including Lady Victoria Hervey and Kym Marsh revealing their handsets have previously been taken.
Lady Victoria Hervey told how her phone was taken in Pimlico after she left a London Fashion Week event.
More than 70,000 phones were snatched in the streets of London alone in 2024, out of an estimated 100,000 thefts across the UK
Thieves have been tracked racing across the capital, although 40 percent of thefts take place in just one borough
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She said a man on an e-bike riding past snatched the device out of her hands, adding: ‘It was such a shock.’
And just yesterday Kym Marsh told Morning Live how she had her phone stolen two weeks ago on Buckingham Palace Road.
She said: ‘It is quite a scary thing to happen to you, you’re walking down a road and then all of a sudden something’s taken out of your hand.
‘And that was about a fortnight ago that was taken from me. But thankfully I was okay.
‘I felt really vulnerable, I was really shaken. I immediately wanted to get help but, of course, it’s not so easy when you don’t have your phone.’
She went on to share her devastation at losing messages sent to her by her father before her death, adding she will ‘never get [them] back’.
The Met has taken efforts to ramp up its response to the phone snatching gangs, and have increased plain-clothed officer patrols in the hardest hit areas.
Last month, the force arrested 230 people and seized 1,000 devices in a week-long blitz.
Some 70,137 devices were stolen in London last year amid a scourge of criminal gangs using e-bikes and scooters to tot up high numbers of phones to sell abroad for parts
E-bikes and mopeds are often snapped mounting the pavement before riders snatch phones out of pedestrians’ hands
Lady Victoria Hervey previously told how she had her phone snatched after leaving a London Fashion Week event
Kym Marsh told yesterday how her phone was stolen from her hand a fortnight ago
It is also making use of phone-tracking data to pinpoint those handling stolen devices.
Government is also looking at the issue, with the Crime and Policing Bill including measures that will allow officers to conduct a property search immediately, rather than having to wait for a search warrant in suspected phone thefts.
The officers will still need the approval of a senior to conduct a search.
It comes after victims have reported handing location data to police officers of their stolen devices, only for no action to be taken.
Recently the force snared one criminal gang who they say handled more than 5,000 stolen phones.
Over an 18-month period, Zakaria Senadjki, 31, Ahmed Abdelhakim Belhanafi, 25, Nazih Cheraitia, 34, and Riyadh Mamouni, 25, were at the centre of the terrifying trend of gadget grabbing sweeping the capital.
Their crimes totalled a whopping £5.1million, an investigation by the Met Police found – with many of the devices believed to have been sold abroad.
The four men were all jailed in November to a combined total of 18 years behind bars.
Zakaria Senadjki, 31 (left) and Zakaria Senadjki, 31 (right) were jailed for their part in a criminal gang that handled more than 5,000 stolen phones in November
Ahmed Abdelhakim Belhanafi, 25, (right) and Nazih Cheraitia, 34, (left) were also jailed last year for their part in a phone snatching criminal group
Anna McEntee, of Comparethemarket.com, the comparison website that conducted the research, said: ‘Londoners and those visiting the capital will be concerned by the substantial rise in phone thefts last year. Criminals are becoming increasingly brazen in the city, often using mopeds or e-bikes to make a quick getaway.
‘Given the increase in thefts, it’s worth checking if your phone is covered by your existing home insurance policy. If not, you may want to buy separate phone insurance or add personal possessions cover to your policy when you come to renew,’ she said.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council recommends that people secure their phone using its security features to stop someone from using it if stolen. Owners can use their international mobile equipment identity number to block a stolen device from being used. The number can be found by typing *#06# on your phone keypad.
