Fake blue plaques have been spray-painted onto pavements in the Square Mile to mark where mobile phones have been stolen.
City of London Police said the aim was to raise awareness of the £50m-a-year trade in snatched handsets across the capital.
Officers had recovered more than 1,000 devices in the last two years, but said less than half could be returned because owners couldn’t be found.
See also: How to protect yourself from phone theft?
It is advising Londoners to set up the medical ID contact on their phone, allowing police access to next of kin details if needed.
People must also turn on facial recognition settings, use 2-Step Verification and must not to keep passwords in unencrypted notes.
London has become the phone snatch capital of Europe with criminals taking 70,137 devices last year - 192 a day or one every seven-and-a-half minutes.
New figures show in three months of 2025, more than £7,000 a day was defrauded from victims following the theft of their mobile.
Action Fraud, the reporting service for cyber crime, said it has become more widespread with scammers most commonly gaining access to banking, cryptocurrency and credit applications.
It warned that money or funds are then transferred out of victims’ accounts or purchases made using installed apps.
As part of its crackdown on phone snatching, the City force has seized more than 500 illegal e-bikes and powerful scooters since July 2023.
London’s most notorious phone snatcher Sonny Stringer, 28, was jailed last year for stealing 24 phones in one morning.
Officers used their unmarked Volvo XC90 to knock Stringer off his e-bike as he fled after terrorising victims in the West End.
Commissioner Pete O’Doherty said: “We are committed to going the extra mile to ensure the safety and security of all those who live, work and visit the City.
“We’re an extraordinary police force serving the historic City of London and being the national lead force for fraud, working with police forces nationally, as well as banks and technology companies to reduce the money stolen fraudulently following phone thefts.
“Our determination is to reduce the harm caused by high-volume crimes like phone snatching. Our prevention measures run alongside our specialist units who catch prolific criminals and our investigation teams bring them to justice.
“By marking phones, raising awareness in at-risk areas, and targeting those who enable crime, we are taking a proactive approach to protect our city.”
