Safety slides · 26 May 2026
Staying secure on public transport
Doors, platforms and crowded carriages, where a phone can leave without its owner.
What actually happens
The classic is the door snatch: someone stands near the doors, waits for the closing tone, takes the phone from a seated or standing passenger and steps off as the doors shut. The train leaves with you on it and the phone on the platform.
The moment it turns
The tone. If you are holding a phone within reach of the doors when it sounds, you are the target the whole carriage offers.
If it happens to you
Let it go rather than be pulled towards a closing door: people have been dragged onto the platform or against the doors holding on to a phone. Tell the driver or a member of staff at the next stop, and report it to the British Transport Police by texting 61016 or calling 999 if it has just happened.
Phone just stolen? Emergency stepsHabits that lower the odds
- Sit or stand away from the doors when you have the phone out, and put it away as you come into a station.
- On the platform, keep the phone away from the platform edge and away from the doors as they open.
- Use a wired or over-ear set rather than holding the phone up to read while standing.
- Zip the bag and wear it in front of you in a crowded carriage.