Phone snatching in London｜A phone strap is not a decoration
Students arriving from Taiwan need to rethink how they handle their phones here.
In Taiwan you probably walk while looking at your phone, or leave it on the table without thinking. In London those habits make you a target. And because you rely on your phone far more here than at home, losing it hurts more.
If we could give a new student only one piece of advice, it would be this: get a phone strap.
In your first few weeks you are on your phone constantly, which is exactly when things go wrong — and thieves are at their busiest around the start of term.
A shoulder strap or a wrist strap both work, but pick one for strength rather than looks: a decorative strap will not survive a violent snatch in London. If it uses a T-shaped tab that slides between the phone and the case, make sure the tab is metal — fabric and card ones mostly tear straight through.
- When you are not using it, keep your phone in an inside pocket and take it out only when you need it. In winter especially, a phone in an outside coat pocket can be lifted without you feeling a thing.
Do not stand at the kerb using your phone
The classic London theft is a phone snatched out of the hand of someone standing at the roadside using it.
Make these automatic:
- Stand near a shopfront or a wall when you look at it
- Keep to the inside of the pavement
- Do not stand by the road scrolling
- Do not walk along staring at your screen
Listen for bikes and e-bikes coming up behind you
Almost every phone snatch in London is done from a bicycle or an e-bike closing fast on someone on foot.
So if you are out on the street and:
1You hear a bike behind you, 2You hear an e-bike approaching fast, 3You sense someone coming up behind
Pull the phone in towards your body without thinking about it, and keep half an eye on what is around you even when you are reading something.
- Above all, never hold your phone on the side nearest the road.
Videos of phone snatching in London:
London’s Phone Snatching Epidemic
https://youtu.be/7agCRCeIRw8?is=_A3Sm8UF0tDS2Ks1 https://youtu.be/7agCRCeIRw8?is=_A3Sm8UF0tDS2Ks1
London moped thieves steal phones from hands of lone unsuspecting commuters
https://youtu.be/efPXuI3p-1A?is=3rQc-qEyv9XiQr5p https://youtu.be/efPXuI3p-1A?is=3rQc-qEyv9XiQr5p
Indoors is not safe either
Cafés and restaurants get robbed too. Wherever you are, if you are out, your phone stays on you.
- Put the phone back in your pocket
- Keep your bag where you can see it
- Take your valuables with you if you get up
- Do not leave your phone lying on the table
- Do not hang your bag on the back of your chair
- Do not leave a phone or laptop to hold your seat
The standard indoor theft here is someone approaching you as if handing out flyers, laying the flyer over your valuables and walking off with them underneath. It is usually a team, with someone in the place ahead of time watching and someone else ready to take the handoff. If you are not expecting it, you will not catch it.
Bring a spare phone
Bring an old phone and leave it in your room. If your main one goes, the spare is how you get back into your email, your bank, your Apple ID and your accounts. If you rarely need Taiwanese verification codes while you are out, keep the Taiwanese SIM in the spare too, so you do not lose both SIMs at once.
Set your phone up before anything happens
How fast you can react after a theft depends entirely on what you set up beforehand.
Do these before you fly, or the moment you land:
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Turn on Find My iPhone or Find My Device | Lets you locate, lock or mark it as lost |
| Write down the serial number and IMEI | The police, your insurer and AppleCare+ may all ask |
| Turn on two-factor authentication | Protects your Apple ID, Google account and email |
| Back up once a month | So you do not lose every photo, file and contact |
| Keep a spare phone | Lets you get straight back into email, banking, social apps and UKVI |
| Keep the Taiwanese SIM in the spare | So you can still receive codes from Taiwanese banks and accounts |
Common questions
Q1: Do you really need a phone strap in London?
We would strongly say yes. A strap is not decoration, it is what stops the phone leaving your hand in one motion. It matters most in your first weeks, when you are checking your phone constantly.
Q2: Is leaving a phone on the table genuinely risky?
Yes, very. Cafés, restaurants and fast food places are all common. Do not leave a phone or wallet on the table, and do not use your things to hold a seat while you walk away.
Q3: Should you chase someone who takes your phone?
No. They usually have accomplices, and most carry a knife. Your safety comes first — report it, lock the device and deal with the insurance afterwards.
Q4: Is reporting it worth it? Will you get the phone back?
Recovery is very unlikely, but reporting still matters. The case reference number is normally required for AppleCare+, phone insurance and any other claim.
Q5: If the phone is gone, can someone use Apple Pay?
Mark the phone as lost and lock it straight away, and the cards in Apple Pay are suspended.
Q6: Why keep the Taiwanese SIM in the spare phone?
Because a lot of Taiwanese banks, credit cards, email providers and accounts still send codes to a Taiwanese number. If your main phone goes with the Taiwanese SIM inside it, getting back into all of that becomes a real ordeal.