Ntsiepe Masoetsa
Cellphone theft has increased by more than 23 per cent from January to June this year. This is according to insurance company, Dial Direct.
Spokesperson Bradley du Chenne says the figures are taken from the insurance claims data and may be a good indicator.
He says it is important for mobile phone users to take precautionary measures and not leave their phones unattended in the workplace or in public places.
Du Chenne says based on their information it seems that the number of phones taken by force, as in a smash-and-grab or mugging incident, are becoming less frequent while cellphones are increasingly being taken by opportunistic criminals under less aggressive circumstances, such as pick-pocketing, off people’s desks at work, or from counters and tables in public places.
According to Nielsen Southern Africa, some 29 million South Africans use a cellphone. With this in mind, cellphone thieves don’t have to look very far or hard to find a target.
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