There’s one smartphone model thieves will not steal — and it ain’t Apple

Widespread theft is a critical challenge through the holidays in lots of cities around the globe, however particularly in vacationer hotspots. Vacationers are repeatedly warned to not go away valuables like wallets and smartphones unattended, and to keep away from locations the place robberies are widespread.

London is one such place. Based on statistics from the Metropolitan Police, over 100,000 cell phone thefts had been reported in 2024. Nonetheless, these cellphone thieves are apparently solely focusing on sure fashions, studies London Centric.

Based on the report, there have been repeated incidents of smartphones being stolen and returned after a short while with an surprising remark: “Don’t need no Samsung.”

In January, a 32-year-old Londoner was attacked on the road by eight males who took every thing from him underneath menace of violence, together with digital camera, cap, and cellphone. When the thief realized that it was a Samsung gadget, he rotated and gave it straight again.

One other man seen too late {that a} passing bicycle owner had stolen his cellphone out of his pocket. A short while later, nevertheless, the cellphone ended up on the bottom—the thief didn’t need it as a result of it was a Samsung gadget.

What’s flawed with Samsung telephones?

It stays to be seen whether or not these are curious particular person instances or a wider sample. Nonetheless, it’s astonishing that thieves are so reluctant to steal Samsung smartphones that they’d reasonably give them again or go away them behind on the bottom.

There aren’t any official figures on the “reputation” of sure smartphone producers amongst thieves. Nonetheless, thieves presumably goal units which have a very excessive resale worth. Which means iPhones could be significantly fashionable, as they’re nonetheless price rather a lot even when used. Nonetheless, many would most likely dismantle stolen units into particular person elements and solely then promote them.

Though Samsung units aren’t precisely low cost, they do have just a few further safety mechanisms akin to Theft Detection Lock, which mechanically locks the gadget as quickly because it’s taken out of your pocket. This may occasionally additionally act as a deterrent to thieves who assume that these smartphones aren’t definitely worth the problem.

Additional studying: The way to discover misplaced devices (and keep away from shedding them)