In the past couple of months, the Parisian police have been releasing
alarming statistics describing a new kind of crime : robberies of
smartphones. Paris’ Metro is offering great opportunities for thieves
who are targeting travelers that are being careless with their gadgets.
Many of these situations escalate into assaults.
So many travelers are unaware of the dangers mainly because they
don’t really believe it can happen to them, so they are not being
cautious enough and most of the times they aren’t able to detect these
shady people either. A thief will usually watch his target pretty
closely and study it until the time is right when he moves into action,
usually when he finds the target alone, away from the crowd or
distracted by something.
Smartphones are not only valuable for their technological features,
there is also a lot of personal information stored in their memory.
Thieves can take advantage of email auto-logins and read your personal
emails. One of the most targeted smartphones is the Apple iPhone. On the
used handset market, an iPhone can be traded in for up to $400, which
makes a lot of sense why robbers are specifically looking for this type
of a smartphone. The cell phone recyclingindustry is filled with stolen handsets.
The Parisian policy also reported that 90% of theft on the Metro
leads or ends with violence. The chief of police in Paris declared that
half of the robberies on public transport concerns smartphones, while
wallet or purse robbery is only 33% of the incidents. One of the
Ministry’s elaborated statistics indicated that in a recent period of
time 2,813 objects have been stolen on Paris public transport, 1395 of
them were cell phones, and 64% of those cell phones were smartphones.
More than 28% of all stolen handsets ware the latest Apple iPhones.
In order to prevent a theft you need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- • Robbers tend to snatch smartphones while you are entering or
leaving a room, a building or a train compartment. Since one of your
hands holds the smartphone and the other is closing or opening a door,
it makes it very easy for a robber to simply snatch your gadget even
before you realize what’s happening. Usually these people work in
groups, targeting a vulnerable victim that either looks defensive or
careless.
- Once they snatch your smartphone they will pass it off to other
criminals. Always keep your phone secured, either in your purse or in a
pocket while you transition the Metro area. Being unaware of
surroundings, such as walking and texting in the same time, makes you a
very good target.
• Police reports show that robbers look for busy users, who are
seeming to be very absorbed into what they are doing on their
smartphone. Usually they hold their phone with one hand and use the
touchscreen with the other. When a thief snatches your smartphone, you
won’t be able to react faster enough to get your phone back since you
won’t realize what’s going on for at least a couple of seconds, so
always keep a firm grip on your handset at all times.
• Once your smartphone gets stolen never chase the thief. They are
running for their lives and they will do anything to lose your track,
including killing you! Recent reports stated that a 27 year old woman
died after being pushed down the stairs while chasing a robber and
another elderly woman was also pushed on the Metro platform and she
ended up in coma at the hospital.
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