A report made by the Home Office of the United Kingdom revealed that Apple iPhones are the smartphones that are most likely to be stolen in England and Wales.
The Home Office is the department of the UK government that is responsible for police, drugs policy, counter-terrorism and immigration, along with all related research on the covered fields.
The report, which compiled and analyzed data from August 2012 to January 2014, showed that the Apple iPhone 5 as the most targeted smartphone of all, followed by the iPhone 5C, the iPhone 5S, and the iPhone 4S.
The Blackberry 9790, at the fifth position, is the only smartphone not manufactured by Apple in the top five.
Authorities believe that stolen iPhones are exported overseas to evade the blocking technology that diminishes their worth in the United Kingdom. In some cases, the data contained within the stolen iPhone is extracted and forwarded to other criminals to be used for fraud and identity theft.
The report also discussed the iOS 7 of Apple as a recent example of a manufacturer including security as a significant feature in its devices. Since the release of the iOS 7, the black market value of stolen iPhone units have been affected, leading to a reduction in thefts of iPhones.
The study shows that since the launch of the iOS 7, which was at the same time as the launch of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, there was an initial increase in rates of theft, as is usually the case upon the launch of most new smartphones. However, there has been a significant decline in iPhone thefts afterwards.
According to a spokesman of Apple, the company has always been the leader in the smartphone industry in the protection of lost and stolen devices of customers with the Find My iPhone feature that was launched in 2009. The feature allows users to remotely set a password on a stolen device, or to erase all the personal information contained within the device.
"With iOS 7, Find My iPhone includes a feature called Activation Lock, which is designed to prevent anyone else from using your iPhone... if you ever lose it. This can help you keep your device secure, even if it is in the wrong hands, and can improve your chances of recovering it," said the Apple spokesman.
Other findings reported by the study include that thefts of mobile phones are often made directly from the individual, such as through pickpocketing, or during moments of inattention, such as leaving the device on a table.
The report's findings also revealed that the most vulnerable targets for mobile phone theft are in the age group of 14 years old to 24 years old, particularly women.
