Early one April morning, Akara Etteh’s routine commute turned into a nightmare when his iPhone 13 was snatched outside Holborn Tube station in London. In a matter of seconds, a thief on an electric bike vanished into the busy city, leaving Akara without his phone. Despite immediately enabling the “Find My iPhone” feature and tracking its movements around London, Akara found himself powerless to recover the device.
His phone’s journey ended not in the UK, but across the globe in Shenzhen, China, a known destination for disassembled stolen devices. Akara’s story is just one of many. He is among the 78,000 victims of phone snatching in England and Wales over the last year. Unfortunately, the chances of retrieving a stolen phone are slim, as criminals swiftly sell the phones or dismantle them for parts.
In Akara’s case, police closed the investigation due to the difficulty in identifying the thief. This highlights the broader issue: despite increased patrols, authorities often struggle to combat such crimes effectively. Even more frustrating for victims is the emotional and financial toll, with many like Akara losing personal memories and photos stored on their devices.
The rise in phone thefts has put pressure on manufacturers to introduce better tracking and security measures. While current tools like “Find My iPhone” and Android’s “Find My Device” allow tracking, the technology isn’t always precise enough for real-time recovery. Policymakers are now urging tech companies to make it easier for stolen devices to be permanently disabled, reducing their resale value and deterring theft.
The growing market for second-hand phones, both locally and internationally, only fuels this issue. Until better solutions are developed, victims like Akara are left with frustration and lost memories, unable to retrieve their stolen devices.
