Phone snatching has become one of the most common forms of theft, up 150% in the year to September 2024, according to government figures. This is addition to the £3.2 million lost to scams per day.
But what actually happens when your phone is stolen? One reader tells us how thousands of pounds were wiped from his investment apps and bank apps as criminals closed his trades and moved money to a crypto account within just a few hours of having his phone snatched.
Worse still, he explains how hard it was to get through to customer services for a number of his banks and financial service providers, as he desperately tried to protect his accounts.
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He even faced chat options and OTP codes being sent to his stolen device. Locked out of accounts and desperate, he spent hours waiting on customer service lines.
He also ended up registering with Cifas — a fraud protection service — knowing just how much personal information was actually on his device. When his phone was stolen, it was not just the new iPhone that he lost, it was money, identity, photos of family — an entire life that we all know too well sits on our devices.
The following is written as first person, as told to Kalpana Fitzpatrick. Further edits by Marc Shoffman.
The moment my phone was stolen
It was a Friday night and I had met up with a few friends to watch boxing in central London. We visited a few bars before going our separate ways to go home at around 3am.
I decided to get an Uber and took out my phone to use the app. As I was doing this, a man approached me asking if I wanted a cab. Around him were several other people and it suddenly became very crowded.
Anyone out in central London on a Friday night knows a taxi ride is hard to come by, and at that moment, I tried to take the number of this man’s cab firm. As I was doing this, the other individuals started to invade my personal space and the next thing I knew, my phone was no longer in my hand.
The offer of a cab service was a mere distraction and the individuals were working as a team to take my phone as I unlocked it.
It was taken at speed, yet so smoothly. At the same time, there was a sense of chaos around me and it took me a minute to realise what had happened. Did I put my phone in my pocket? Did I drop it? Where is it?
I went into panic mode, feeling vulnerable and scared. I tried to get help from people around me, but no one at 3am in London was feeling helpful. Violated and alone, panic struck.
I felt like I was under attack and feeling very anxious – I didn’t know what was going to happen next – I just wanted to get home fast.
I managed to find a cab; I had a bank card in my pocket to pay him.
As soon as I got home, I reported the crime to the police. I tried to locate my phone using iCloud but saw that whoever had my phone had already logged me out and locked the account. My phone was untraceable.
There was nothing I could do as it was now past 4am; I closed my eyes, stressed and worried and fell asleep, unable to keep my eyes open at this point.
But, little did I know, this was just the start of a long nightmare. I had become a victim of a well-organised crime, which has resulted in tens of thousands of pounds stolen from me.
What happened next was not about retrieving my phone, but about the ways the banks and investment firms treated me in helping keep my money safe.
Etoro, Starling, Monzo were just some of the banks that let my money slip into the hands of criminals – and while they were taking money, I was still trying to get hold of a person on the other end of the phone.
How the banks failed me
When I woke up, I used a family member’s phone to call my device. No answer, but I could see my WhatsApp had been accessed.
That’s when it really hit me – they have accessed my face-ID protected WhatsApp – what else will they have access to?
I panicked, as this means they can get into my banking apps, email, photos, and private messages.
They would even know what car I drove, where I lived, where I worked, when and where I was going on holiday and so much more.
I booted up my laptop and started to look at every bank and investment firm I have dealings with.
I went online to access my accounts and it was almost impossible without my phone.
Every account I tried to access wanted me to put in the OTP code, and guess what? All the OTP codes went to my stolen phone! I was going round in circles.
So, the thieves would have been able to get to those accounts by resetting passwords and blocking me out.
I’m sure the criminals deliberately did this on a Friday night knowing too well how difficult it can be to get help fast on the weekend.
It took me hours to call all the banks. I roped in family members to help me as we all sat on hold. Banks always say to report theft as soon as possible but when your phone is stolen, it takes hours to make all the calls.
Etoro is where I lost most of my money – thousands – as the phone snatchers accessed my account, closed my trades, and then used my eToro Money account to shift it all to a crypto account, which the criminals had opened in my name using my credentials.
While they were doing this, I was unable to get hold of eToro. Where is the customer helpline? I could not find it anywhere on Google or the site.
Go to the website and you are asked to use the chat service to contact customer help, and to do this, you need to log into your account – but guess what, to log into my account, I need the OTP code, which guess what? The code kept going to my mobile. No alternative measure to make contact or a way to receive the code was in place.
I was very frustrated at this stage, and asked my brother-in-law to login to his eToro account to see if he could get in touch with someone via his account, and while he did get through to chat, he was told customer service would get back to him in 48 hours and a ticket had been raised. Was this a joke? How can there be no way of having the choice to talk to a human? I was literally unable to contact eToro at speed.
While I could not contact eToro, I got help from O2, my mobile network provider that gave me an eSIM, which enabled me to start to get access to my phone number and get those OTP codes.
The horror of what really happened unfolded.
All my trades from eToro had been closed and my account wiped clean. Thousands, gone.
The thieves closed my trades and moved the money out. I did wonder – surely, eToro would have noticed unusual activity if a string of trades were closed in a short space of time on the weekend?
No red flags were raised. Nothing. I was not protected. It’s worth noting I have an investment account with another provider which they could not access.
I eventually managed to talk to eToro on the following Monday and it confirmed the money was taken.
A few months later, eToro gave me back the actual amount that was taken, but in reality I lost more. These were investments and my returns were not in profit.
Etoro was one of the hardest to deal with and to this date, I still do not understand why I was unable to get into my account or speak to an actual person. More importantly, why is it so easy to access someone’s account? I think eToro should have had stronger security and every customer should be forced to have various log-in options.
Digital banks Starling and Monzo
Etoro was not alone. My accounts with digital banks Monzo and Starling were also accessed and money was moved out with ease. I had face ID access on these but I believe my face ID was removed and the password was changed.
Starling did not believe it was their fault, even though I was a victim of a crime. And it took me days to be able to talk to someone at Monzo; I had to deal with around 12 people before someone actually dealt with my case.
Impersonating me
The criminals didn’t stop there – they started to impersonate me to unblock transactions that the likes of Halifax and Barclaycard blocked due to suspicious activity.
At Halifax, they opened another account in my name, started moving money around and then tried to move it to a crypto trading platform.
When Halifax blocked the transaction, they spoke to someone at Halifax to get the transaction unblocked. Halifax did not let the transfer go through.
They also managed to buy a Samsung Galaxy using my Barclaycard. After buying one, the second attempt to buy another triggered a red flag and the transaction was blocked. They spoke to Barclaycard but did not pass further security checks.
Taking responsibility
What is shocking is that the banks that resulted in my losing money are not taking responsibility. I was a victim of a serious crime and I have had to fight my own corner.
While I have replaced my phone, I do not trust banks or phone manufacturers to truly protect me.
Apple, which now has theft protection measures, made it all too easy for the thieves to access and change passwords – and log me out of iCloud at such speed.
It’s common to have banking apps, but the banks need to protect you from this crime.
I was made to look like this was all my fault, but I am like any other person, I use digital banking in a digital world. They have a responsibility to protect me. No one protected me during this horrendous crime and I will have to live with the financial loss forever.
“We are committed to continuous improvement of security measures as fraud evolves and new trends emerge.”
eToro
MoneyWeek contacted eToro for a statement, which said: “Security is a top priority for us. Both the eToro and eToro Money apps use multiple layers of authentication, giving users the option to use one-time verification codes and biometric authentication to ensure that only authorised users can access their account. Both of these offer a level of protection in the case of a phone being stolen. In addition, the apps automatically log out after periods of inactivity, requiring re-authentication to further safeguard user information.
“On eToro Money we implement daily and monthly transaction limits, which cap the amount that users can transfer or spend within a set period, with the cap depending on geography and the eToro Money programme that they’re on. In this case, the user’s daily spending cap was £10k.
“Additionally we have a sophisticated system of fraud detection alerts and security measures in place to protect users. For security reasons, we cannot disclose the specifics of these systems. While our alerts play a key role in detecting and preventing fraudulent activity, no system is completely foolproof. We aim to balance effective fraud prevention with maintaining a seamless user experience, by carefully managing risk and minimising unnecessary friction.
“We are committed to continuous improvement of security measures as fraud evolves and new trends emerge.”
Commenting on the difficulty of contacting eToro to speak to a person, it said: “Our live chat service is available Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 18:00. Outside of these hours, users can report a lost or stolen card by calling our toll-free helpline, which they can find in our help centre. Users can also open a ticket through the app or our website, with any fraud-related tickets prioritised to ensure prompt attention and resolution. Users opening a ticket will receive a response every day of the week except Saturday.
“Together with industry peers, we are continuously improving our systems to detect and prevent fraud, and we are committed to providing a safe and secure banking experience for all of our customers,”
Starling Bank
A Starling Bank spokesperson, said: “‘Shoulder surfing’, where thieves try to steal your PIN or other personal information by looking over your shoulder while you’re using your phone in public, is a growing problem.
“Banks and device manufacturers alike are working hard to detect and prevent this type of fraud, but there are steps that customers can take to limit the damage of device theft.
“If you’re targeted in this way by criminals, report it to your bank immediately so that they can remotely lock you out of your app and bank cards – Starling’s call centres are 24/7 and our number (0207 930 4450) can be found on the back of your physical card. To protect yourself, use strong, unique passwords and PINs for devices and banking apps – and never write them down. Better still, enable biometric authentication like fingerprint or facial recognition if your device allows. It’s also important to be aware of your surroundings when using your phone in public and to shield your screen from view.”
MoneyWeek has contacted Monzo asking for comment.
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