UK commuters be warned – hold on tight to your phone

Commuters are being urged to hold on tight to their mobile phones after recent figures revealed more than 100 devices go missing each day.

According to Crucial.com, who obtained the statistics from freedom of information requests, about 150,000 phones have been lost across the Transport for London network and 11 Network Rail managed stations in the past four years. Out of 154,816 phones lost across the UK, roughly 130,000 went missing in London.

More than 5,000 laptops have also disappeared in the same four-year span. About 3,700 of the laptops were lost in London.

Crucial marketing manager Jonathon Weech warned UK residents of the dangers of losing a digital device. "These figures highlight the danger of accidental data loss which can happen to anyone.

"All data, whether personal or corporate, is vulnerable in the event of accidental loss and can be (a) prime target for data thieves if it hasn't been protected properly.

"Lost laptops that aren't protected means that your data can easily land in the hands of criminals who could access personal information such as email logins, passwords, personal records and maybe even critical business data," Weech said.

The stations covered in the figures include: Birmingham New Street, Edinburgh, London Euston, Glasgow, London Kings Cross, Leeds, Liverpool, London Liverpool Street, Manchester, London Paddington and London Victoria.

According to TFL, 34,222 phones have been lost in the last year but almost half (42.4%) managed to be reclaimed by the owner.

A TFL spokesperson told IBTimes UK that anybody who has lost an item on public transport should visit the lost property section of the TFL website. If a lost item is not claimed within three months, it becomes the property of TFL.

On Monday (20 November), London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that the Night Overground would launch on 15 December. The service will run 24-hours a day between New Cross Gate and Dalston Junction. It will extend to Highbury & Islington in 2018.

"The Night Tube has proven such a success with Londoners, I know the Night Overground will help thousands more who are working through the night or out enjoying our capital's nightlife," Khan said.