Once, losing a smartphone was painful mainly because of the loss of irreplaceable photos. Today, most photos are saved on the cloud. The real problem lies in all the information stored on the device. An unlocked phone is a gold mine for thieves. According to the Financial Times, London is seeing a surge in smartphone robberies — and with them, cases of people losing not only their digital memories but also their money.

From a stolen iPhone to stolen crypto savings

Londoner Christian d’Ippolito was walking near Old Street roundabout in the early morning after a night out. Having worked with disaffected youth and given workshops in prisons, he did not feel threatened when four men started talking to him. But then one of them snatched his iPhone. After a chase, the thieves escaped in a car.

As the car disappeared, d’Ippolito thought he had lost only his phone. But his troubles were just beginning: in the following hours, nearly £40,000 worth of assets vanished from his crypto wallet.

London’s Metropolitan Police reports a surge in crypto robberies. Smartphones have become a gateway for criminals, and the very nature of crypto — with its irreversible transactions and new financial intermediaries — makes law enforcement almost powerless to track stolen funds.

Why multi-factor authentication is not always enough

In the past, stolen phones meant losing private photos. Now, the real danger is thieves gaining access to sensitive apps, including crypto wallets. Criminals can reset passwords or bypass two-factor authentication after observing how victims unlock their devices.

And it’s not just about simple theft. Some of the most brutal crypto crimes are kidnappings, where victims are forced to hand over their tokens. In France, several high-profile holders have been attacked — in one shocking case in January, thieves even cut off a victim’s finger.

But attacks don’t have to be so violent. With crypto now mainstream — one in four Britons aged 18–34 own digital assets, according to a recent survey — robbers increasingly target young men likely to hold some.

The myth of recovering stolen crypto

Many victims still believe stolen funds can be recovered. In theory, blockchain transactions are transparent and recorded. In practice, criminals use advanced methods to launder assets and disguise flows.

For example, North Korean hackers managed to cash out a significant part of the $1.5 billion worth of tokens they stole from a Dubai-based crypto exchange earlier this year.

So how can holders protect themselves? A simple but effective measure is to avoid unlocking phones in public, and to stay aware of surroundings when using them outside. That’s exactly what d’Ippolito does now. “I see people oblivious to their surroundings. I don’t see it like that any more,“ he says.

Sources:

https://www.ft.com/content/dfbc9ef7-9832-4845-8ea3-c7021506447e