"Gangs are using Snapchat to advertise a menu of cash rewards for different models of stolen mobile phones, enticing children as young as 15 on bikes to act as thieves. Gangs offer the most money for the newest Apple phones, which the Met believes are less protected and thus easier to ship overseas and to reactivate for markets in the Gulf and China."
"Bonuses of an extra 100 are offered if 10 or more stolen phones are handed over in one drop. In one recent case, police said a teenager was heading out on a bike early in the morning to attack commuters around a main London transport hub before heading to school. One Snapchat flyer recovered by police offered 380 for an iPhone 16 Max, 220 for an iPhone 15 and as little as 20 for an iPhone 12."
Gangs recruit children, sometimes as young as 15, via Snapchat by advertising cash rewards for stealing different models of mobile phones. The highest payments are offered for the newest Apple iPhones because the Met believes they are less protected and easier to reactivate and ship overseas, particularly to markets in the Gulf and China. Child thieves message handlers on Snapchat to arrange drop-offs, with bonuses for bulk handovers. The Metropolitan Police report thefts fell 12% to 71,000 last year and are deploying drones and Surron ebikes to pursue suspects. The commissioner urges technology companies to make phones harder to reactivate.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]