Members of Congress accused Apple and Google of profiting from millions of pounds of phone search operations, which police say were orchestrated by organized criminal gangs in the UK, Algeria and China.
In 2024, 80,000 various mobile phone devices were stolen from London alone, a quarter of the increase from 64,000 people in 2023. The devices have a street value of about £20 million, with iPhones accounting for the majority.
In evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday, Metropolitan Police said they hope smartphone companies will start preventing stolen devices from accessing their cloud services so that they are no longer “smart”, thus significantly reducing their resale value.
Darren Scates, chief digital data and technology officer at the Metropolitan Metropolis, said that although they have not reached a deal so far.
“Apple and Google continue to make profits and continue to sell more phones because they are not removed from the system,” said Martin Wrigley, a member of the committee’s Liberal Democrat. [the companies] It is credited to customers around the world to implement it immediately. No IF, no Buts, just do it. ”
When asked why they didn’t do this, the company’s representative pointed out other security features, especially those that protect customer data.
Simon Wingrove, Google’s software engineering manager, said its system was “strong and well-run.”
Gary Davis, senior director of regulation and law at Apple, said it was concerned about disconnection for fraud, and bad actors wanted to get data and delete the power of ransomware.
Former conservative police secretary Kit Malthouse said it seems that Apple is “a very strong business incentive to sit behind you with her feet.”
“A £50 million call is stolen every year in London – if it stops, it will be £50 million sales, and that will be frustrating,” he said.
He also suggested that Apple benefit from selling services to millions of users who stole their phones worldwide.
Davis replied: “I don’t believe we are making a profit. It’s necessary to dismiss the suggestion that we benefit from users, that we have suffered somehow traumatic events that have stolen phones and disconnected from their lives. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in designing in these protections.”
Metropolitans say all types of thefts fell 15% in April and May, with about two-thirds of thefts related to cell phones. Commander James Conway warned that this was a “tentative decrease” and said it could be the result of an increase in police priorities and that phone users were more cautious. Scottish yard recently purchased a convoy of high-speed ebikes to chase the robbers.
Conway said theft and robbery were “easy crimes” in London, describing “teenagers [high-powered ebikes] Take 10 or 20 thefts or robberies along the A10 and quickly pack these phones into silver foil or Faraday bags to make it harder for us to identify the location, then quickly pass them to the middle market handler and eventually leave the UK. ”
Most of the stolen phones are the most expensive version of Apple, which police believe is specifically targeted on the street, and costs between £300 and £400. Part of the trade is driven by the relatively high cost of mobile phones in low-income countries. It is estimated that more than 90% of stolen phones will be reused and the rest of the parts are stripped off, and the screen is particularly valuable.
The hearing began with Malte, who said he witnessed two young masked men riding their bicycles attempting to steal cell phones while heading to Parliament Tuesday morning.
