A strange pattern is starting to show up on the streets of London, and it says a lot about what phone thieves actually want. More and more people have shared stories of being mugged, only to have their Android phones handed right back to them. If you are carrying a Samsung in London, it seems the thieves do not think it is worth the effort.
As reported by London Centric, Sam, a 32-year-old Londoner, experienced this earlier in the year. He was walking near a Royal Mail depot in south London when a group of eight men surrounded him. They pushed him, hit him and grabbed everything within reach, including his phone, his camera and even his beanie. But just as the group was running away, one of the men turned back, gave Sam his Android phone and said, “Don’t want no Samsung.”
Sam walked away with nothing but a bruised ego.
He is not the only one. Mark, who works in Hackney, had his Samsung Galaxy taken by a thief on an e-bike. He tried to run after him, but quickly realised there was no point. Then something unexpected happened. The thief stopped, looked at the phone, placed it gently on the ground and rode off. The device was not damaged, but Mark admitted that the rejection stung more than the theft attempt.
Stories like these are appearing again and again. People across London are noticing the same thing. Thieves want iPhones. They do not want Android phones.
Cybersecurity expert Jake Moore says the reason is simple. iPhones have a much higher resale value. That makes them attractive to organised criminal groups that depend on quick sales. “Fundamentally, the resale value is what thieves are most interested in,” Moore said. Security is strong across both Android and iPhone now, so it is not about which device is easier to unlock. It is about which one brings in more money.
Police say they are cracking down on these gangs, although they do not yet have clear data on which phones get stolen the most. What they do see is that older or cheaper phones are often dropped at the scene because carrying them is not worth the risk.
Some situations are almost funny. One Londoner, Simon, was nearly caught in a scam that began with a friendly chat about music. The moment the man saw Simon’s Samsung Galaxy, he lost interest. He simply walked away and said, “Phone’s dead, innit.”
For Android users in London, this might be the strangest sense of comfort. Your phone may not be the most wanted device, but that is exactly why it is the safest.
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