Mobile Phone Reviews
 
 
Mobile phone theft costs UK 390 million pounds a year

Tue, 16 May 2006

Thieves steal a mobile phone every 12 seconds in Britain, with the northwest city of Lancaster the worst hotspot, according to insurance company figures.

More than two million phones worth 390 million pounds were stolen in 2005, said Halifax Home Insurance, which collated the figures.

Women are more likely to be targets with 7.6 per cent becoming victims of mobile phone theft compared with 6.4 per cent of men .

Yorkshire-based Halifax Home Insurance, which produced the figures after analysing its claims data, said Lancaster was the worst place in the country, followed by the Wirral, Chester and Coventry .

Ipswich is the safest place to have a mobile with the fewest number of phones stolen there, followed by High Wycombe and Oxford .

The most expensive phones were stolen in Romford and Ilford in Essex, where the average claim was for £300, double the national average of £150.

Vicky Emmott, of Halifax Home Insurance, said, "Mobile phones are constantly getting lighter and more compact, which makes them easier for opportunistic thieves to swipe.

"Phone users should avoid 'walking and talking' and keep their mobiles out of sight whenever possible," he added.

"New technology means that many of us use phones for more than just calls and text messaging. Mobile owners should make sure that all contact numbers, diary entries, pictures, downloads and ring-tones are backed-up and saved elsewhere if they don't want to risk losing them completely," Vicky Emmott said.
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