Police are urging the public to take steps to protect their devices and finances.
The Metropolitan Police said its officers have responded to a number of cases of organised gangs gaining access to victims’ mobile banking and financial apps.
In some cases, the gangs have cleared their victims’ accounts and taken out loans.
The Met said there would be increased patrols in hotspot areas, with a recent two-week crackdown on this type of offending having resulted in 292 arrests across London.
Kush Chaudary had his phone stolen by a group of men outside a bar in the Soho area of the city on 9 September 2023.
The group started speaking to Mr Chaudary and waited for him to unlock his phone before they took it from him.
“With my phone unlocked, they targeted anything they could gain immediate access to including my bank and crypto accounts,” he said.
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‘Exposed and vulnerable’
Within minutes, the gang had changed his passcode, transferred £5,000 from his crypto wallet and stole several thousands more from his bank accounts.
They also took out fraudulent loans of £22,000 and spent around £8,000 on designer clothes and electrical products using Apple Pay.
“Seeing that unfold in front of my eyes was difficult. This was hard-earned savings I had that was being spent by strangers and I felt very exposed and vulnerable as I didn’t know when it would stop,” Mr Chaudary added.
The gang behind Mr Chaudary’s theft was convicted and jailed after a Met investigation.
Its members stole a total of £225,000 in central London between December 2022 and November 2023.
Jacob Raki, 23, was jailed for 33 months for six counts of handling stolen goods, two counts of attempted fraud and one count of robbery; Joseph Serry-Kamal, 19, was jailed for 24 months for one count of robbery; and Herman Solomon, 33, was jailed for 31 weeks for handling stolen goods and fraud.
Smon Tecle, 27, received a suspended sentence for one count of theft and two counts of fraud.
The Met Police are urging people to follow three steps to protect their phones – to turn on “stolen device” or “anti-theft” features on their mobile, use strong separate passwords, and watch out for people looking over them when using their phone.
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Detective Sergeant Isabella Grotto said the Met had “stepped up its work to prevent and tackle phone theft in London”.
“By intensifying our efforts we are catching more perpetrators, but we know it’s still a serious problem and I encourage everyone to take these simple steps which could help prevent significant financial loss and fraud,” she added.
