Criminals lurking on the London Underground are targeting passengers for their mobile phones just as the doors close before draining their bank accounts.
Many of the so-called ‘gadget grabbers’ are running off with devices before stealing thousands of pounds and getting away with it amid a very low conviction rate.
Reports of theft and robberies on trains and at stations rose by 58 per cent from 2018 to 2023, according to police figures – with London making up the majority last year.
But an overwhelming 98 per cent of the 23,683 thefts and robberies recorded last year did not result in what police describe as a ‘positive outcome’ or conviction.
Among the recent victims was Niall McNamee, a musician and actor who was on a Tube train when his phone was snatched from his hand just as the doors shut.
The 30-year-old then discovered to his horror two days later that £21,000 had been drained from his bank accounts, including a £7,000 loan taken out in his name – despite his banking apps being protected by facial recognition and passwords.
Mr McNamee told BBC News: ‘It’s one of those moments where you just in one second feel a bucket of sweat come out of your head and you go red.
‘It was panic stations for two days. I was on the phone pretty non-stop… and then pacing up and down the kitchen. Just trying to get to the bottom of it.
‘I’ve no idea how they’d got into either of my accounts. It’s face ID and password protected. They managed to take out a loan, which is a laugh because I’ve been trying to get a loan for years and I’m not eligible for one – somehow they managed to.’
British Transport Police says there are three ‘gadget-grabbers tactics’ for people to be aware of:
The force also gives a series of tips to help you keep your valuables safe:
He reported the theft to police, but did not call his bank or cancel his cards – and then found the thief had taken out a £7,000 loan in his name from HSBC, transferring all the cash to his Monzo account, before stealing it all.
British Transport Police (BTP) ended its investigation one month after the theft because of ‘no CCTV evidence’. Monzo reimbursed Mr McNamee £14,000 of the stolen money, but he is still waiting for HSBC to write off the loan.
In September, the Government pledged to crack down on phone thefts after the overall number of incidents soared by more than 150 per cent last year.
The Home Office said at the time that it planned to call a summit with tech companies to discuss ways to combat the issue which would build on existing anti-theft features already available.
An estimated 78,000 people had phones or bags snatched from them on British streets in year to March 2024, according to data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
This represented a 153 per cent rise when compared to the 31,000 incidents of ‘snatch thefts’ in the same period to March 2023.
According to Home Office analysis of the data, there were more than 200 incidents every day across England and Wales in the 12-month period.
Just 0.8 per cent of ‘theft from the person’ resulted in a charge, and 81.9 per cent of police investigations were closed before a suspect was found.
Police intelligence showed this was likely being driven by increased demand for second-hand smartphones, both in the UK and abroad.
Many smartphones already include a range of tools to help users protect their personal data and even track their handset in the event it is stolen.
Apple’s Find Devices tool enables users to remotely lock their iPhone and other mobile devices should they be stolen, while continuing to track their location.
iPhone users can also use a feature called Stolen Device Protection, which when turned on requires additional security measures to access key security and personal data settings if the phone senses it is away from a familiar location such as home or work.
This feature requires biometric authentication through a face scan or fingerprint to get through the additional layers of security, so can protect personal information even if the person with the phone knows the passcode.
On Google’s Android, phone owners can use the Find My Device app to remotely lock or erase their device.
In addition, earlier this year Google announced the introduction of new AI-powered tools, including something called Theft Detection Lock, which automatically locks a phone when the various sensors detect motion patterns associated with theft – such as the jolt of someone on a bike snatching a phone before moving off at high speed.
has contacted London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s office, Transport for London, BTP, Monzo and HSBC for comment.
* Has your phone been stolen on the Tube? Email: [email protected] *