All iPhone users are urged to follow three steps incase their phones get stolen (stock image) (Image: Getty)
Mobile phone thefts across the UK have surged significantly in recent years. The rise in crime is driven by organised crime and criminals on e-bikes or mopeds who can grab devices in seconds. Hundreds of thousands of incidents are reported annually, with London serving as a major hotspot, though recent police crackdowns have begun targeting international smuggling rings and black-market storefronts.
While the Metropolitan Police have urged tech firms to make stolen phones harder to reuse and prevent criminals from profiting from them, there are also things you can do yourself to protect yourself from being scammed by more than just your phone.
Taking to social media, a man named Declan Bransby, who often makes videos about personal finance, told viewers that his friend had recently had his phone stolen and that the thieves also drained his bank accounts.
“A friend of mine had his phone snatched in London, and they drained his life savings, and since then, it put the fear of god into me,” Declan told viewers in his video, explaining that the event had led him to look over his own phone settings to prevent a similar thing from happening to him.
He went on to share: “So here’s exactly how I protect my money on my iPhone so you can too.”
1. Hide your banking apps
For the first step, Declan urged iPhone users to hide any banking or money apps on their phones, making them harder to find without Face ID.
“So if it’s a banking app, I want you to long-press click require Face ID and then hide plus require Face ID,” Declan explained as he demonstrated the process in his video.
“This is going to move all of those apps into a hidden file that needs Face ID, and you cannot search for them on your phone,” he explained.
This process is available on devices running iOS 18 or later and moves the app from the home screen to a locked Hidden folder at the bottom of your App Library. The folder in question will only open if you use Face ID, the facial recognition system built into modern iPhones and iPad Pros. It lets you securely unlock your device, sign in to apps, and authorise purchases with a quick glance at your phone.
“People miss this, but I would also require face ID for messages, emails, anything that could block two-factor authentication or password reset. And I would also do Instagram and TikTok to avoid any blackmail or Ransom,” Declan added.
2. Turn on Stolen Device Protection
“Okay, now for the big ones,” Declan said. “In settings, it’s obvious to some, but in Face ID and passcode, you’re gonna turn on Stolen Device Protection.”
Apple recently enabled an existing security setting, Stolen Device Protection, by default for iPhones in a system update (iOS 26.4). It adds an extra layer of security when your phone is away from familiar places like home or work.
The setting requires Face ID or Touch ID biometric confirmation, with no passcode fallback, and introduces a 1-hour security delay for critical actions such as changing your Apple Account password.
“And personally, I’d make sure you have it turned on to always,” Declan added.
Turn on Find My iPhone
“And it goes without saying, but make sure Find My [iPhone] is turned on and enabled across all your devices so that you can remotely erase that device if needed,” Declan said for his third tip.
Find My is an Apple-built tracking service. It lets you locate a lost or stolen Apple device on a map, make it ring out loud, lock it remotely, or wipe your private data to keep your personal information safe. So if it’s stolen, you can log in to your account on another device and remotely delete everything on your phone, preventing information from falling into the wrong hands.
It’s also a great option if you have misplaced your phone and need to find it again.
Declan also shared a bonus tip, by sharing: “Bonus tip in Face ID and passcodes is to make sure that you turn off access to the control centre when your phone is locked.
“This basically prevents anyone from putting your phone into flight mode, which then blocks Find My iPhone.”
