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Recently we were contacted by a lawyer in Istanbul, he told us his girlfriend’s phone was stolen in Central London. Its location was pinging up all over the capital and he was curious to know, with all the security measures in place, why would anyone want to steal a phone and what would happen to this particular one?

We have some pretty good ideas about why and where it might end up and we couldn’t help ourselves, so join us for a deep dive into this rabbit hole.

This particular phone, an iPhone 13 Pro Max, 256GB - valued new at £1,199 RRP, on the second-hand market, you’ll probably get one for £800 at a reputable reseller and £700 in a private sale (mates rates, you know the drill).

Everyone knows about network locks these days, it’s the first thing your provider does when you report a stolen phone, we’ll look into network locking in a little more detail later, so keep it in mind for now. What some people don’t know is that on top of performing a network lock, victims of stolen phones should also use the Find My features to completely lock the phone and protect their personal information. So, now you must be thinking, how on Earth does a stolen phone hold any value? It’s just plastic and glass at this point.

Network locks

If your phone is ever stolen, the first thing you should do is call your network and let them know. They’ll perform what’s called a network lock which blocks your phone's unique IMEI number on all networks and renders the phone practically useless. Payback for the scumbag who stole your phone right? Unfortunately for us, it has its limitations:

• It only blocks them on UK networks, so, if the phone was shipped to France, for instance, it would work without any issues
• Phones such as the iPhone 13 Pro Max have 2 IMEI numbers, one for the physical SIM card and the other less commonly known one, for the ESIM (an electronic SIM which is built into the phone). In most cases, a network will only lock the physical SIM IMEI number so, even if the network was blocked, the thief can just go around using the ESIM and all major networks support them.

iCloud

iCloud works by activating the phone to a specific user, it works as a great authentication tool - even if you completely wipe your phone and restore it, before it can be used again, you’ll need to login to the iCloud account that is associated with that iPhone. iPhones MUST be connected to the internet to register this check and it has to be done online so there’s no way of getting around it.

Again, however, this also has limitations:

A standard iCloud password can be bypassed for £90 on average on the grey market without any long-term implications, it just removes the need for the user to log in to the phone to be able to activate it… sneaky. 

A good thing to note, if your phone is ever lost or stolen, log into your Apple iCloud account and mark your phone as lost or stolen using the “Find My” feature. Thieves don’t have a way of by-passing this, so remember to do it!

So, what if your phone is fully locked and can’t be used as a phone, how does it still hold value for thieves? 

Parts!

Components for devices are not cheap, its often the case that new genuine components aren’t readily available, so the market relies on reclaimed (removed from device) or high-quality aftermarket parts. With the latest phones like the iPhone 13, aftermarket parts generally don’t exist yet so, the only option is to purchase reclaimed parts.

To give you a taste of how much some components in a new iPhone 13 Pro Max cost, here are the parts we stock on our site (don’t look at us like that, our parts are responsibly sourced!).

£310 for the rear housings assembly that includes all small parts, £420 for a reclaimed screen assembly and that doesn’t include the other components such as the battery (£30 at least for one that’s in good health), the camera, at least £45, even the practically bricked motherboard still holds value as donor components or scrap metal.

The market is huge for stolen phones, on eBay you can search for “iCloud locked” iPhones and openly buy stolen phones. Gangs in Central London openly target high end devices. Some stores we’ve spoken to, in and around the area where our friends iPhone 13 Pro Max was last pinged, openly admit that they are offered stolen phones almost daily.

Is it all grim in the end?

So, what’s the conclusion? Stealing phones is big business but there are preventative measures you can take in public to ensure your phone doesn’t end up in the hands of thieves:

• Be aware of your surroundings, react to any suspicious activity and keep a tight grip
• Use a handsfree kit. Yes, we know it looks stupid when you’re talking to an imaginary person but it’s better than having your phone snatched from your ear
• Don’t leave your phone unattended. When you’re sitting at a roadside café for instance, don’t rest your phone on the table, it makes the perfect target for a snatch and grab
• For the love of everything, don’t walk and text at the same time. This one is obvious.
• Put your phone away when you’re not using it. Preferably in a pocket that you can feel against your body, not loose in a bag or purse

These are just some of the physical measures you can take to keep your phone from being stolen but really it just comes down to common sense and situational awareness.