The new trick that Oxford thieves are using to steal mobile phones
Mobile phone thefts are on the rise in Oxford
Thames Valley police have registered a 30% increase in ‘theft from the person’ crimes across Oxford.
Since October 2022, incidents rose from 460 reported cases to 596 in 2024.
Caffe Nero on Oxford High Street reported an attempted mobile phone robbery against a customer earlier this week.
Manager of the store, Lesley Li, described how the thief used ‘a trick where they have a printed piece of A4 paper asking for directions to a fake address.’
‘The paper is covering the phone and the thief is taking it whilst distracting them.’
The victim of the robbery, Fares Chebil, a student at Oxford Brookes, revealed that his phone alarm went off as the thief attempted to steal it, meaning the thief put it down and fled.
Instances of these robberies have been occurring all over the country, particularly in London. ‘Snatch thefts’ increased by 150% over the past year, with 74% of these occurring in London.
Manager Li urged customers to ‘remain vigilant.’