A man has urged all iPhone users to follow three steps to help protect their bank accounts if their phone is stolen, after his friend had his phone snatched and his life savings drained.
Declan Bransby, who makes personal finance videos on social media, shared the story of his friend's ordeal in London, where thieves not only stole the phone but also drained the victim's bank accounts. The incident prompted Bransby to review his own phone settings to prevent the same thing happening to him.
Rising phone thefts in the UK
Phone thefts across the UK have soared in recent years, with London being the main hotspot. Organised crime gangs and criminals are believed to be behind the surge, snatching devices from people on the street within seconds before escaping on e-bikes or mopeds. British Transport Police has revealed that a mobile phone is stolen every 44 minutes on UK rail networks.
While the Metropolitan Police has urged tech firms to make stolen phones harder to reuse, individuals can also take steps to protect themselves beyond just the device.
Step 1: Hide banking apps
Bransby advised iPhone users to hide banking and money apps, making them harder to find without Face ID. In his video, he demonstrated: "So if it's a banking app, I want you to long-press click require Face ID and then hide plus require Face ID. 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."
This feature is available on Apple devices running iOS 18 or later, moving apps to a locked Hidden folder in the App Library. The folder only opens with Face ID, the facial recognition system on modern iPhones and iPad Pros. Bransby also recommended requiring Face ID for messages, emails, and anything that could block two-factor authentication or password resets, as well as Instagram and TikTok to avoid blackmail or ransom.
Step 2: Turn on Stolen Device Protection
Bransby's second tip is to enable Stolen Device Protection in Settings under Face ID and Passcode. Apple recently made this feature switch on by default for iPhones in a system update (iOS 26.4). It adds a layer of security when the handset is away from familiar locations, requiring Face ID or Touch ID with no passcode fallback and introducing a 1-hour security delay for critical actions like changing the Apple Account password.
Bransby added: "And personally, I'd make sure you have it turned on to always."
Step 3: Turn on Find My iPhone
For the third tip, Bransby said: "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." Find My is Apple's tracking service that allows users to locate a lost or stolen device on a map, trigger an alarm, lock it remotely, or wipe all data. If the phone is stolen, users can log in to their account on another device and remotely delete everything.
Bransby also shared a bonus tip: "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."
