New Delhi: The recent phone-snatching phenomenon in London is showing a startling trend; thieves are becoming choosy, and Android owners are unintentionally benefitting. More and more victims report their devices have been rejected in the middle of a robbery, and the criminals only want iPhones. In London-centric reports, muggings are still a major problem, but the resale value of Apple products seems to be playing a role in determining the type of phones thieves are willing to steal.
Some of the Londoners have recounted some humorous experiences where thieves gave back their Android handsets or just left. The trend has become difficult to overlook, with Samsung users returning their phones back to the moth andpotential muggers fleeing the scene as soon as they see a non-iPhone.
Thieves turning down Android phones
Mark, who owns a Samsung Galaxy, tells him that one of the thieves on an e-bike stole his phone but did not have any interest. He took a glance at my phone and threw it on the ground, he said. The device survived the encounter, but Mark made fun of his pride. A number of other victims also stated the same, that their Android devices were given back as soon as they were checked.
The same happened with the case of Sam. Earlier this year, he was attacked by a group of eight men, who responded to his attack in a matter-of-fact manner: one of the men retrieved his phone and told him, “Don’t want no Samsung.” The gang took away his remaining property, but the appearance of the Android device as a discarded item was a telling of what will be deemed as valuable by the thieves in the present time.
According to security experts, the trend makes financial sense. Stolen iPhones are generally sold for many times more on the black market than the majority of Android phones, which makes them the best product to target by opportunistic thieves. The difference in the resale prices has continued to increase, given that the secondhand smartphone trade in London is flourishing.
Another Londoner named Simon reports that he had just escaped a mugging after he had drawn out his Samsung Galaxy. Some stranger who had come to meet him also withdrew abruptly, with an accomplice informing him that the phone was dead. Simon later realised that the encounter was a trap and his Android phone had defended him without his realisation.
iPhone users on alert
Although the police do not trace the thefts by the type of device, there are reports anecdotally indicating a definite pattern: iPhone owners are more vulnerable on the streets of London. To a large number of Android users, the scenario is strangely sort of relief and humour in one. However, to iPhone users, it is one more reminder to be on guard in a city where smartphone theft is still being adapted to; not every phone is created equal.