Snapchat Offers £380 for Stolen iPhones

London police have revealed a concerning trend where criminal gangs are leveraging Snapchat to offer substantial cash rewards, up to £380, for stolen iPhones. These illicit operations are reportedly recruiting children, some as young as 15, to carry out the thefts before they attend school.

The Metropolitan Police are deploying advanced resources such as drones and Surron electric bikes to enhance their pursuit of phone snatching suspects. Despite a reported 12% decrease in phone thefts last year to 71,000, the force is pushing for greater responsibility from technology firms, particularly Apple, to make stolen phones harder to reactivate and resell internationally.

Information shared by the Met indicates that gangs advertise varying prices for different phone models on Snapchat, with newer Apple devices commanding higher rewards due to perceived ease of resale in markets like the Gulf and China. Samsung phones, conversely, fetch lower prices as they are considered more difficult to reactivate for overseas use.

In response to the escalating issue, the London Mayor's office is allocating an additional £4.5 million towards a new command center aimed at dismantling these phone gangs. The initiative seeks to target not only street-level robbers but also the ringleaders orchestrating these criminal activities. The police are also advocating for stricter bail conditions for repeat offenders, highlighting instances where suspects allegedly returned to stealing phones shortly after being released.

Live facial recognition technology is also being employed in the fight against phone theft, with a particular focus on high-risk areas like London's West End. The enhanced policing strategies aim to disrupt the networks and reduce the incidence of mobile phone theft, which carries significant personal impact for victims beyond the financial loss.