Unlock free Digest editor
Roula Khalaf, editor of FT, chooses her favorite story in this weekly newsletter.
My trip to the office last Wednesday was unexpectedly dramatically. As the pipe carrier door closed, a mobile phone was drawn from the front passenger. As the train retreated, she could do nothing but watch the thief run away from the platform.
The so -called installation theft increased by 150 percent last year. I became a victim on my own Last spring, as I waited to board a London bus and watched the Government and the efforts in the industry, I did not manage to slow down this wave of crime.
Abroad trade stolen mobile devices is one driver. Apple’s “Find my iPhone” software eventually showed that mine in a Chinese container port. However, access to digital wallets, financial applications and personal data on our phones is a more immediate and more lucrative goal of organized crime. The loss of expensive device is a blow. But to become a goal of later attempts to fraud and extort and lose thousands are worse.
This week, powers In order for the police to violate the real estate in which the stolen items are geolocating as part of the new British Crime and police law. But distracting the nets behind this complex, cross -border crime requires a multiple approach to international legislators and technological and telecommunications industries.
My own case was closed on the same day, even though I could see my phone Ping from multiple stores and addresses – which is a common frustration for victims. However, even if the police had resources to chase after all these stolen mobile devices, we should not solve, it would solve the problem.
It can take less than 10 minutes for the criminals to get money and data if they grabbed a unlocked phone or covered victims who enter their screen passage, says Tony Sales, a reformed fraudster who founded the Crime Prevention Counseling Counseling We fight with a fraud.
“The gangs behind this will have everything lined up, with Mule money accounts Ready to transfer the stolen money, “he says, calling for those – often very young – who allow stolen funds to be diverted through their accounts, with a small fee. Heads thieves can be trained from more famous gang members at a distance, making it difficult for authorities to catch kings.
“As the street begins to understand the wider potential of fraud, this problem will grow,” it foresees sales. Most people are worried about their digital wallets and bank accounts are threatened – but not their e -hast. This is the next limit, from phishing e -Mail and fraud for redemption of malicious software to an increase Fraud “Email of the Boss” How corporate contacts are sold on a dark web.
Passengers represent an attractive target. 5g connection on most of the London pipe network means that it is common to paste the entire passenger carriage for their phones. On my recent trip, no one could describe what the phone shows up.
Technical companies come with impressive antiteft innovations to make it difficult for criminals to compromise the device – although they will only protect consumers when activated.
On Android, Google’s locking theft detection Using AI to feel sudden movements that could point to the phone, automatically locking the screen. The “private space” feature allows users to create a separate area for sensitive apps, locked PIN. Both Apple and Google have increased the security features of a passing code – such as restricting any changes to Famous locations. All of this buys victims more time for remotely login and lock or delete stolen devices.
Banks also add new layers of app security. Even if criminals have compromised passwords and information about biometric face recognition, the revolute is aspiring aspiring “Protection of wealth” A feature means attempts to transfer money from the savings of a customer, cryptocurrency or investment will be launched by a fresh check for selfie.
Establishing a balance between the ease of use of your device from ease access to criminals is a very personal call. After my own phone was installed, I transferred many financial apps to the iPad at home. I disabled the “messages of messages” to make the thieves harder to review one -off passage codes and set the shortest possible time before my screen automatically concluded. Slightly boring, but nothing compared to stress over the loss of the phone.
Others favor physical restrictions, such as telephone ribbons and bandolier. Not using the phone in public is probably better – it’s easier to say than to do.
Given the growing amount of personal, financial and medical data on our phones, last week Conflict between the registry office With Apple, which led to the withdrawal of its safest services to encrypt clouds from the UK, it is incredibly bad. Yes, we have to break the gangs for fraud. But it should not be at the cost of compromising safety for millions of consumers.
Claer Barrett is FT -O’s consumer editor and author of FT -A Sort your financial life A series of newsletters; claer.barrett@ft.com; Instagram and Tictok @Claerb
