3<\/p>\n In Central London thieves are using new tactics to steal people’s phones on the streetCredit: Alamy 3<\/p>\n Tom had his phone stolen on Wednesday night after what he thought was an innocent interactionCredit: Simon Jones 3<\/p>\n These thieves get your passcode and then have access to everything, even your moneyCredit: Getty<\/p>\n Forget balaclava-clad youths whizzing by on a bike, swiping your mobile out of your hand while you\u2019re unawares.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve learnt that this new breed of thieves<\/a> are sophisticated, coordinated and as good at sticking to a script as any Hollywood actor.<\/p>\n But it also taught me how supposedly oh-so-easy digital banks<\/a> \u2014 the type whose adverts are stuffed with grinning simpletons \u2014 can leave you trapped in a dead-end maze of QR codes and AI<\/a> chatbots.<\/p>\n You may come away reading this thinking I\u2019m an idiot.<\/p>\n But if this helps just one person to avoid the same ordeal, then I\u2019ll have put my gullibility to good use.<\/p>\n It\u2019s late, but being close to busy London Bridge station, I\u2019m far from the only one heading back from the pub.<\/p>\n As I wait for a bus, up walks a young guy wearing trendy shades and a jacket, along with a friend.<\/p>\n We get chatting. <\/p>\n He\u2019s friendly, welcoming and, not before long, asks me if I want to check out his clothing designs on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n I like to think I\u2019m friendly, too, so I have a look \u2014 and good on him for trying to make his own path in life, I think.<\/p>\n Moment TikTok star has phone stolen during live-stream <\/p>\n But what I didn\u2019t know was that I was at the receiving end of a \u00adcarefully rehearsed script.<\/p>\n \u201cGive me a follow, give me a \u00adfollow,\u201d he begs.<\/p>\n I tap in my iPhone<\/a>\u2019s passcode, reach for the app with my thumb \u2014 and the handset is snatched.<\/p>\n At least I know now why he was so keen.<\/p>\n It was the friend who took it, and in an instant it\u2019s handed over to a third person sprinting past that I hadn\u2019t even noticed.<\/p>\n Not a second later, he\u2019s down the other end of the road, out of sight \u2014 and the others had scarpered, too.<\/p>\n Ironically, his \u201cfashion brand\u201d was called Expensive.<\/p>\n Yes, I know what you\u2019re thinking: I am a pillock. And you\u2019d be right.<\/p>\n Thinking someone wanted me \u2014 dressed in my bog-standard office attire \u2014 to give feedback on their sweatshirt designs?<\/p>\n Agreeing to give them a follow, and then moronically typing in my iPhone passcode right under their nose?<\/p>\n ‘HARSH LESSON’<\/p>\n I\u2019d been thoroughly, thoroughly duped.<\/p>\n Though I grew up in sleepy Christchurch, Dorset<\/a> \u2014 the UK\u2019s most geriatric town \u2014 where phone thefts are rarer than teenagers at the bingo, I still know to keep it hidden away in public and to stay wary of pickpockets.<\/p>\n But this smooth talker had made me completely let my guard down, and I\u2019d paid the price.<\/p>\n At least he gave me a cigarette as part of his spiel.<\/p>\n So, where did that leave me?<\/p>\n With no phone to pay the fare, it took a sympathetic bus driver to get me home.<\/p>\n Then came the emails. <\/p>\n First, it\u2019s Apple<\/a> \u2014 account password changed and Find My iPhone<\/a> disabled, so no hope of tracking the thieves down.<\/p>\n \u201cCongratulations!\u201d, starts the next message, which let me know they\u2019d now managed to set up Apple Pay<\/a> and start using the debit cards on my phone.<\/p>\n If they hadn\u2019t known my passcode, the phone would have just been a brick for them to wipe and sell on for a few hundred quid.<\/p>\n But they did \u2014 and it felt like my entire life now belonged to the robbers.<\/p>\n I was about to learn a harsh lesson about why clever, convenient tech can become a gift to criminals.<\/p>\n Phone theft facts<\/p>\n Your phone is constantly pushing you to stop using passwords and to set up FaceID<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n But if your face isn\u2019t recognised after a couple of tries, it lets you use the phone\u2019s passcode. <\/p>\n All it took was a six-digit number to give the thugs access to my banking apps.<\/p>\n Heading into the bank branch first thing in the morning, I blocked my card and had Apple Pay disabled. <\/p>\n Guttingly, a printed balance sheet revealed how the thieves had shifted all the money in my Revolut<\/a> account into another\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009<\/p>\n And then moved it back again after Santander detected suspicious purchase attempts.<\/p>\n But with only my passcode, they were in my Revolut app and all my money was theirs to spend.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t say I was impressed with their choice to splash \u00a3699 at Argos<\/a> but, either way, that was where next month\u2019s rent had ended up.<\/p>\n Not that it was easy to find this out. <\/p>\n Turns out, Revolut \u2014 despite appearances \u2014 isn\u2019t even a proper bank.<\/p>\n It\u2019s what they call an \u201celectronic money institution\u201d.<\/p>\n ‘CRASHING DOWN’<\/p>\n Oh, so great when you\u2019re clicking away on an app. <\/p>\n![\"Nighttime](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/entrance-london-bridge-underground-station-999760740.jpg\")
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