Thieves steal more iPhones than any other handset, warns UK government Apple iPhone owners in England and Wales are the most likely group of citizens to have their handsets snatched by thieves, the UK government warned today. Whitehall published its first Mobile Phone Theft Ratio report (PDF) on Sunday morning. It comes after Home Secretary Theresa May said earlier this week that the government …
The absolute numbers are pointless - using absolute numbers I could show that a Mercedes was far more dangerous to drive on a motorway than a bicycle, because they were involved in more accidents.
So it actually shows that thieves didn't steal as many Android / Samsung phones because they can't find them, because they have lower market share! What matters, from the point of view of the consumer, is that ***given you choose to have one of these phones***, how likely is it to be stolen?
riding a bicycle on a Motorway is not only dangerous but illegal despite what a good few tourists seem to thing (bloody SatNav).
Perhaps you could refine that bit of your choice a wee bit?
Then we will get the iPhone is a cult posts. Not everyone who uses an iPhone could be a member. I know a good few shall we say 'older citizens' who use an iPhone simply because it works for them. They would most likely hit you with their weighty handbags or walking sticks if you suggested to them that they were members of a cult. The only cult they belong to is the one called 'getting old and parts of me don't work like they used to'.
There is obviously a market in stolen iPhones and to some extent Blackberry's whereas there isn't one (or much of one) for Androids. At least they are higher up the list than any Windows Phone.
Me? Well, if someone really wants my 10yr old nokia then they can have it. I have a few more sitting at home waiting to be used.
It shows nothing without other empirical evidence.
For example, any one of these could be a reason:
1) Apple users are more likely to have their phone left in a stealable position
2) Thieves are brainwashed to think that iPhones are the only smartphone worth stealing
3) The 2nd hand market for Android phones is not as hot because they're not overpriced
4) The 2nd hand market for Android phones is not as hot because they're more secure
5) iPhone users are more likely to report a theft than Android users
6) Any other reason you, I or anyone else can think of.
Granted none of these could be the case, all could be, or some could be, but to simply come up with a typical Fanboy response of "Android's are crap, that's why" simply perpetuates the feeling Fandroid folks have that Apple folk are elitest (and yes, there's a shit tonne of Fandroids who are JUST as obnoxious).
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"2) Thieves are brainwashed to think that iPhones are the only smartphone worth stealing
3) The 2nd hand market for Android phones is not as hot because they're not overpriced
4) The 2nd hand market for Android phones is not as hot because they're more secure"
Spot the fan boy lmao
And remind me , how is a generic android phone more secure than an iPHone??
and this is coming and an Samsung s3 mini user!
The thinking on the part of the government here is totally wrong, these morons expect the public to make their buying decisions based on what is most desirable to thieves and therefore the least worth buying for an intimidated customer.
What the customer should have in a country where the ratio of CCTV cameras to people (according to a quick Google) is somewhere around 1 camera for every 15 people and ever increasing police powers, is confidence in the knowledge that the government and the police are proactively trying to prevent crime and protect the public.
Why are Brits paying taxes plus a percentage of their council tax specifically for the police when they are expected to limit their lifestyle because the fuzz and the government can't be arsed to do their jobs.
Who put the numbers together anyway, and what are the ratios of say female 14-24s that would have iPhones in preference to Androids or housebricks. The numbers without anything to quantify them to give them relevance are meaningless.
Additionally young females are a safer bet for a mugger than a fit young male no matter what phone he may be carrying.
The whole thing like Teresa May is just flawed.
Oops, Oh! my screen broke, in the river with you.
Report stolen, replacement on its way.
Since the age group specified might just be more likely to a) have the iPhone b) have the (very expensive) insurance and c) the willingness to commit a fraud, albeit one with virtually no chance of getting caught, it might be true.
Still, seems a lot of effort, I see a *lot* of broken screens suggesting b) or c) doesn't happen too often or that screens break even more often than it seems.
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Seeing as a phone will have its IMEI number barred once reported stolen and there's no way to change that on an iphone and it is possible to do for quite a few android phones it would seem that it would make more sense to steal an android phone as at least it could be possibly used as a phone and not just spare parts to repair another phone.
Although saying that iphone users seem more interested in having their phone on display for everyone to see so makes them more of a target.
From last week - A report saying thieves were more interested in Android phones than iPhones.
From last year - A report saying IMEI is easily circumvented.
Ré reporting a phone stolen when broken - more likely reported when the non removable battery starts to die; although Apple seem to be attempting to stop this by releasing a new model JUST as the battery is due to fail in the old model (assuming you bought it on launch day).
One of previous jobs was working for a very large Fortune 500 company and theft of iCrap was a VERY big problem.
To the tune of over a thousand a year. That's just ONE company.
Only a small percentage were from them being forgotten and left behind. Most were smash and grabs.
There are 5 factors why this should have been obvious:
1) iPhone users have a carefree attitude with expensive things (obviously!)
2) On an average, they have a lower IQ than Android users. (coz they value looks over engineering).
3) Thieves knows that iPhone users are unlikely to be able to track their phones. (See reason 2).
4) iPhone users have a propensity to show off their jewels. (Documented fact).
5) iPhone users are more likely to report a theft because their life seems soooo incomplete without one (and the next version is still N weeks away...)
cya,
Just-another-kernel-hacker.
IOS 7 will be useless to anyone without the Apple ID and associated password now. I've tried everything to make an iPad, won in a poker game by a friend, useable, and despite "hacks" published on the net, without that username and password the device is just a brick! The original owner, bitter at his loss, gave the wrong password and insists it's right!
The report is old data, iPhone has dominated the market for far longer, so obviously it will be stolen more often. It would only be meaningful data is coupled with sales for the region of each model.
Once thieves learn an iPhone is useless, they'll be stolen less often.
I do wonder why so many American's (maybe you are, maybe not), seem to prefer handing over money to South Korea rather than support their own economy. I know if the UK manufactured a good Smart phone, that's the one I'd buy, supporting local industry.
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