Phones stolen and dropped in plant pot. Why?

Posted by MoreChange2856@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 20 comments

Someone close to me had two phones pickpocketed from them tonight in Central London. The phones were both found 10-15 mins later in a plant pot by a shop worker outside his shop. He called me and we got them back. I can't wrap my head around why this would be - the only thing I can think of is that the thieves were dropping them for someone else but something went wrong. I'm just intrigued more than anything else, anyone have any thoughts as to why something like this might happen?

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20 Comments

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PatternWeary3647@reddit

Coincidentally I saw this article today. Thought it might answer your question. Basically, stolen phones are left somewhere to see if they have any tracking software. If they have, someone usually comes to pick the phone up. https://open.substack.com/pub/londoncentric/p/london-phone-thieves-bury-devices-in-flowerbeds-phoenix-garden?r=y77at&utm_medium=ios

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AdExtension917@reddit

Simple stash it collect later If the police find them no evidence no crime

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Any-Skill-5128@reddit

How did shop keeper call you ?

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BollockOff@reddit

Emergency contact most likely.

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Any-Skill-5128@reddit

Didn’t realise was a thing !

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tapesandadhesives@reddit

Drop it in the pot. Accomplice comes along later and ‘finds’ them in the pot. It’s a way of minimising possibility of arrest as minimal chance of charge for theft. ‘I found it’ is the defence.

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South_Leek_5730@reddit

My guess would be "Le Stash" or the stash. Stash it and collect later. Why? If you get caught with one phone it's bad but if you get caught with 10 you really are in the shit. That leads me on to a good tip. Burglars and those that steal out of cars that don't have access to a car will stash whatever they stole nearby. Getting stopped in middle of the night with your property is an instant charge so they stash it and collect it the following day. I know this because my parents got burgled and I got all their stuff back from a nearby cricket pitch.

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L9GTX@reddit

Growing an iPhone tree.

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AskUK-ModTeam@reddit

A top level comment (one that is not a reply) should be a good faith and genuine attempt to answer the question.

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Big_Engineering3842@reddit

Shit is a great fertilizer after all

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SamVimesBootTheory@reddit

Could be stealing them to steal data from them, could also be after bank cards as some people store those in their phone cases

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Otherwise-Run-4180@reddit

Increasingly theives want what is on the phone, not just the phone itself. If the phone is locked and security on the phone is good enough they can't get access to your banking and other apps, so (apart from valuable new phones) they get dumped. A very quick search brought up this article; there may be better explanations out there! https://www.switchedoninsurance.com/blog/happens-phone-stolen/

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Unfair-Equipment6@reddit

Check your bank accounts. They might’ve got to them

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Eoin_McLove@reddit

Yeah, probably just a preagreed collection point with an accomplice.

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MoreChange2856@reddit (OP)

This is what I originally thought, but it was such a terrible hiding place that I think the theory they just weren't worth enough is probably the right one

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johnnyjonnyjonjon@reddit

Not valuable enough to bother with?

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MoreChange2856@reddit (OP)

I guess so, but they were both iPhones - albeit moderately a few years old - I guess they'd be worth at least a couple of hundred each - but maybe you're right. I guess they nick a lot of them and are waiting to pick up on the new models.

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Laescha@reddit

Yeah, typically they only want recent model iPhones, they tend to dump anything else.

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MoreChange2856@reddit (OP)

V helpful, thank you!

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