In major cities, bike bandits are snatching phones from the hands of unsuspecting pedestrians. A security expert tells IE how to keep your cell safe.
It all happened in an instant: a woman is about to be robbed in broad daylight.
A bandit on a bike snatched her cellphone and sped away. She bravely chased after him. Her whole life is probably on that cellphone. A Good Samaritan on a bike even joined the chase.
The drama was all caught on dashcam video.
The robbery happened in a Manhattan neighborhood where lots of single, young professionals live. The 29-year-old woman in the video never did catch the bandit on a bike. She's not alone; police say there is a nationwide epidemic of similar robberies.
It's happening everywhere. In another incident, a man was texting on the sidewalk when a bandit on a bike snatched his phone.
A bike bandit comes from behind one woman, swung around and suddenly crossed in front of her and snatched the phone right out of her hand.
Security expert Bill Stanton told INSIDE EDITION you should never hold your cellphone away from your body in the street.
He said: “You can't expect to be holding your phone out, looking like you're texting, or on social media without expecting a bad guy seeing that and looking to take advantage of it.”
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He was asked, “How do you protect your phone?”
“First thing I’m going to do, I’m going to hold it close to my body. I’m looking around wherever I am and it takes two seconds,” he replied.
Stanton then texted and gave advice: ‘I’m five minutes away. Be there,’ so click [my phone] back in my pocket. Very simple.”
He continued: “Every day you can cross a city street and I guarantee you half the people aren't even looking left and right. Where are they looking? They're looking in their phone at what they're going to do. Be in the moment at what you're doing now. Concentrate on your surroundings.”
Other helpful tips include:
- You should install apps that can track your phone in the event of theft.
- You should always keep your phone protected with a hard-to-guess password.
- Back up important data in the event of loss.
- Don't go chasing after criminals by yourself.
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