Hello, this is an image of a pub table on which there are several pints of beers, and it appears that there are 4 or more people sitting around the table, with their mobile phones in their hands (a great social gathering!) Also on the table are a few pairs of glasses and some snacks in the middle. Across the bottom of the image is a red band with white lettering over the top that says 'Stolen Device Protection on?'

iPhone Security Risk

Did you know that on average over 350 phones are stolen every day in the UK?  Pick pocketing and table surfing are the most popular methods of theft, with thieves targeting people who have high end devices. 

The Met Police say a phone is stolen once every 6 minutes in London, and someone we know was out for the evening in London, stepped out onto the pavement with their phone in their hand and it was snatched away by a person on an electric scooter.  Shortly afterwards, their Apple ID was changed giving the thief access to their entire digital life, credit /debit cards in the wallet, text verification messages, photos, bank accounts, authentication apps, email accounts, social media, Find My, everything.  His bank accounts were emptied, and he was unable to change his Apple ID because the password had already been changed. 

HOW IT HAPPENS

How did this happen?  Thieves target people in places like pubs where you might leave your phone on the table and be a bit distracted, or maybe leave it to go to the bar.  A simple pinch of the power and volume down button and the phone is switched off.  This means you are forced to input your PIN number to open your phone again, which the thief is either watching, or filming.  Knowing the PIN allows them to open your phone and it also gives them the ability to change your Apple ID which then locks you out.

HOW TO AVOID IT

In response to an increase in iPhone thefts as described above, Apple released a new update (iOS 17.3) to address the issue in the form of ‘Stolen Device Protection’, where changing your Apple ID requires authentication using Face ID.  However it is only available for iPhone X and above, and because it’s so recent, we don’t yet know how effective it is.

YOU HAVE TO SWITCH IT ON – IT IS NOT AUTOMATIC!

Update your phone to iOS 17.3 by going to:

Settings > General > Software Updates and making sure to download it.

To Activate Stolen Device Protection go to:

Settings > Face ID and Passcode, then scroll down to the bottom to find Stolen Device Protection and the option is there to turn it on.

Once it is activated, you will be unable to change your Apple ID password without Face ID, and if you are in an unfamiliar location (or more importantly, phone if stolen) there will also be a time delay of 1 hour before the password can be changed, stopping thieves changing your ID quickly.  

We will be writing about more ways to keep your phone secure in future posts.