One in three UK adults have had their phone stolen, study reveals

29 May 2025, 07:17

Nearly one in three UK adults has had their mobile phones stolen, a new study has revealed.

29 per cent of Brits were victims of phone theft in 2024, up from 17 per cent in 2023, according to Nuke From Orbit, a fintech start-up.

It comes as the Government and police look to crackdown on the growing phone theft crisis.

“The current solutions — and the police response — simply do not match the scale of the problem,” James O’Sullivan, the start-up’s chief executive, said.

Read more: Police to deploy high-speed e-bikes in London to combat phone snatching

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“Thefts are rising, personal security is lacking and users are stuck in risky habits,” he told the Financial Times.

As many as half of Brits were also concerned about criminals illegally accessing their bank accounts and phone wallets.

Nuke From Orbit was launched after its founder had his own phone stolen, seeing him dedicate his time to improving phone security.

His new product will add a “kill switch” to phones, which will allow users to remotely turn off their devices and freeze their accounts if their phone is stolen.

O’Sullivan added: “The only reason people go to the police is if it’s required for getting their money back from the bank. Being proactive, where you’re reducing the window to potential fraud is much better than trying to get back the ultimately quite replaceable device.”

Watch police arrest footage as three sentenced as Met crackdown on mobile phone theft in south east London

High-speed e-bikes will be used by police officers in London to "beat criminals at their own game" in their war against phone snatchers.

The lightweight off-road vehicles, produced by Sur-ron, have been unveiled by the City of London Police in the latest move to combat the mobile stealing crimewave.

Countless numbers of thieves have been using these bikes to whizz around the city and pinch phones out of people's hands, before speeding off in the blink of an eye.

Using the Chinese-made bikes, which cost £4,9000 a piece, the criminals have then been able to flee along pavements and weave through traffic, leaving pursuing officers on the road in their wake.

But now these criminals cyclists will be chased by a new electric fleet of cop bikes - which have their distinctive force logos, flashing lights and sirens.

In January, the Metropolitan Police purchased five Chinese-made Surron 'high-performance electric bikes' for their new elite unit, which was set up to target the gangs.

And now the City of London force has followed suit, as Commander Umer Khan told the Standard: “We will tackle phone snatching using all available tactics.

"We want the City to be a welcoming place of national and historic significance for visitors, workers and the people living here.

“We also want it to be a hostile environment for anyone thinking of coming into the Square Mile to commit criminality. We will get you one way or another - and bring you to justice.”