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vladvasiliutoday at 8:51 AM1 replyview on HN

I wonder if phone theft specifically hasn't (somewhat) gone down now that most are encrypted and tied to some online account by default. Maybe criminals have heard about this, and they focus on other things.

Where I live, people still carry cash (though not absurd amounts) and credit cards, and I understand that's what most pickpockets are after. Especially since, after covid, the limit for contactless payments has increased.


Replies

microtonaltoday at 10:55 AM

Burglars recently broke into my parents' house and they left the MacBook and iPads. Most informed thieves probably know that they are bound to an account, can easily be blocked, and there is no use trying to sell them.

I would assume its more and more the case with phones as well. ~10-15 years ago I heard often about smartphones getting stolen out of people's pockets, etc. Not so much anymore.

Non-Apple laptops is probably a different game.