Almost two in five phone theft claims throughout Europe happen in UK
(MENAFN) Data from the US insurer SquareTrade reveals that the United Kingdom accounts for nearly 40% of all mobile phone theft claims reported across Europe, despite British customers making up just 10% of the company’s European client base. London alone is responsible for almost half of the phone pickpocketing incidents within the UK.
The study, which analyzed claims from twelve European countries, shows that phone theft in Britain has surged by 425% since June 2021. Of these thefts, 42% occurred in London, representing 16% of all incidents recorded across the region. Birmingham ranks second in the number of reported mobile phone thefts.
The data indicates that thefts tend to rise during summer and Christmas seasons, correlating with increased travel, festivals, and holiday shopping.
These trends align with official figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which recorded a 50% rise in “theft from the person” crimes during the year ending December 2024, totaling 483,000 incidents. Mobile phones were identified as the most frequently stolen item in these offenses.
Additional research conducted earlier this year by Compare the Market estimated that over 70,000 phones were stolen in London in 2024, averaging 1,349 thefts per week. The replacement cost for these stolen devices could reach up to $90.3 million USD if all were upgraded to the latest models.
According to the Metropolitan Police, nearly 40% of phone thefts in London happen in the Westminster and West End areas. The police estimate that mobile phone theft now supports a criminal industry worth around $64.5 million USD, annually.
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