New research released by Loveit Coverit, a mobile phone insurance company, discovered that Manchester is the second university town most at risk of mobile phone theft above cities such as Nottingham, Birmingham, and Liverpool.
As university freshers across Greater Manchester are settling into their new homes, there is concern that they will become the prime target of mobile phone theft. In second place behind London, Manchester had 3,896 reported phone thefts in 2022. To calculate the risk this has to students, Loveit Coverit divided the number of reported phone thefts by the total population of the study area. They then multiplied this risk factor by the student population. This revealed that 850 students are at risk of having their mobile phone stolen.
With many freshers already anxious about the start of their university experience, worrying about their prized possessions whilst on campus and around the city is something that should not be an issue. But what can students do to make sure they avoid falling into these statistics?
Marketing co-ordinator at the University of Salford students union, Luca Hughes-Piper, said it’s a surprise to hear Manchester is one of the worst, and ‘The first step has to obviously be making freshers aware that this is an issue and aware that this is a threat and it does happen.’
As a previous student at the University of Salford, Luca understands that students always have their phone out especially when it is the only way they communicate with other students, staff members, but also the students union itself. He said to avoid becoming a victim to phone theft, students should keep their phones in a safe pocket out of reach of thieves.
If you do find yourself in that unfortunate position, the students union says they are able to provide help and support for students via their website.
‘We can start having those conversations about how it got stolen, how we might be able to report it, and obviously the end goal to hopefully recover because I know there’s a lot of find my iPhone and stuff like so we’ll be able to help you through those steps and get that phone back in your pocket’
To read more about the research or look into insurance https://www.loveitcoverit.com/mobile-phone-insurance/