“Don’t want no Samsung”: London’s phone thieves get picky
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Sam was walking past a Royal Mail depot in south London in January when his path was blocked by a group of eight men.
“I tried to move to let them pass, but the last guy blocked the path,” the 32-year-old told London Centric. “They started pushing me and hitting me, telling me to give them everything.”
The thieves took Sam’s phone, his camera and even the beanie hat off his head. After checking Sam had nothing else on him, they started to run off.
What happened next was a surprise. With most of the gang already heading down the Old Kent Road, one turned around and handed Sam back his Android phone.
The thief bluntly told him why: “Don’t want no Samsung.”
“If anything I feel a bit rejected”
Anyone who has had their phone snatched knows it’s a crime that it can be over in a few seconds and leave you feeling completely helpless. One minute you’re walking down Oxford Street checking WhatsApp, the next you’re watching helplessly as your device starts its tinfoil-wrapped journey to markets in Algeria or China, possibly via an overnight stint in a flowerbed.
While it might feel like London’s phone thieves will indiscriminately take any device they can get their hands on, there are a growing number of indicators that many of them are only interested in Apple iPhones.
Multiple capital-dwelling Android users who shared their stories with London Centric said they had been on an emotional journey after they were mugged — only to have their device handed back.
One of them was Mark, who was sitting outside his workplace in Hackney when he heard the sudden whoosh of an e-bike coming from behind him at speed. Suddenly his Samsung Galaxy was lifted from his hand by a young man on the bike.
“I didn’t realise what happened immediately but as soon as I did, I went after him.” But with little chance of catching the thief on foot, Mark ultimately gave up — only to be amazed by what happened next: “I saw him stop, look at my phone, then throw it on the floor. He cycled off and I retrieved my phone.”
As the thief didn’t throw it with force there was “no damage”, he said.
That is, other than the harm caused to Mark’s ego: “If anything I feel a bit rejected. My poor phone.”
“The resale
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