A mugging victim had his iPhone stolen after a work Christmas party before waking up to the sound of the thief taunting him through his Ring camera.
Michael, a technology executive from East London, was left feeling ‘violated’ when he heard the criminal saying ‘Michael, Michael’ as he lay bleary-eyed in bed.
The 33-year-old later discovered the thief had hacked his phone and used his credit card to blow £600 on JD Sports, Asda and Uber credits.
The bungling crook even changed his Gmail password before providing a recovery email in which he apparently gave his own name.
Michael told MailOnline: ‘I thought it was some kind of prank alarm clock initially, but it took me three or five seconds to realise who it was.
Michael, a technology executive from East London , was left feeling ‘violated’ when he heard the criminal saying ‘Michael, Michael’ as he lay bleary eyed in bed. File photo
‘The realisation that he was able to speak to me and see me in my bed – my most personal space – was so violating. I’d never experienced anything like it.
‘He started saying ”wake up” and making crude comments. It went on for about two minutes before I was able to unplug the cameras.’
Michael, who works for a leading media company and asked for his full name not to be used, had enjoyed a Christmas night out with colleagues in central London on Tuesday, December 19.
At 2.45am he was in Leicester Square trying to get an Uber home using his iPhone 15 Pro – that costs up to £1,200 new.
Describing what happened next, he said: ‘I was trying to get a taxi so had my iPhone in one hand before someone suddenly grabbed it off me.
‘My immediate reaction was confusion. I didn’t realise what was happening until the person who took it had sped off around the corner nowhere to be seen.’
The executive was forced to get a lift from another member of his team to get to his home in Bethnal Green.
‘I went to sleep before waking up at around 10am to the sound of someone saying ”Michael, Michael”,’ he said.
‘He was trying to sound scary. Then he started saying ”wake up”. It seemed like a relatively standard London accent. It was hard to gauge his nationality.
‘I screamed ”give me my phone back” – I was trying anything I could and was confused, particularly because I had the hangover from hell.
‘My flat is small with two rooms, so I went from my bedroom into the living room but he kept speaking to me and asking what I was doing.
‘He must have guessed my password and logged into my Ring camera, which I use to keep an eye on my dog when I’m out. His voice only stopped when I unplugged the cameras.’
The executive uses Ring cameras similar to the one pictured to keep an eye on his dog
At 2.45am, Michael was in Leicester Square trying to get an Uber home when a thief grabbed his phone
Michael began ringing his bank and credit card providers and found the thief had spent £400 on Uber credits, £100 in Asda and another £100 in JD Sports.
‘By that point he had changed every password I had, so I couldn’t get into my Apple ID or emails,’ he said.
‘I had to go to the nearest EE store and sit through a few hours of getting my old phone turned off and a new one set up.
‘It was only Christmas Day when I eventually got access back to everything. You keep your whole life on your phone.’
Michael reported the incident to police using an online form but was told there was no CCTV of the thief.
He even managed to find the crook’s email in which he had apparently provided his own name – Ali Hassan – but was told the case would be closed.
‘When the robber changed my Gmail password he put his own email as the recovery address and that included his name,’ Michael said.
‘I told the police this but they said geolocating an email address was not possible.
‘They said there was no CCTV on the street – which was surprising – and that it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
‘I thought considering I got a call back from the police within 24 hours it was a decent response.
‘Had I been of sound mind on the night I would have tried to find police there. At the time I just got a taxi home.
‘I was always aware it would be very hard to follow up on unless they had a face shot of the criminals.’
Michael described the incident as ‘awful’ and remained concerned the thief could still have access to some of his private information.
The phone that was stolen was a iPhone 15 Pro, which costs up to £1,200 new
‘It wasn’t enough to have £600 or more taken from me, they wanted to rub salt on the wound and violate them while they were at home,’ he said.
‘The whole experience was awful. I was filled with a mix of anger and regret.’
A Met spokesman said: ‘On Wednesday, December 20, police received a report about the theft of a mobile phone in Leicester Square at around 2.45am on Sunday, December 17.
‘After assessing whether there were any viable investigative leads, including potential CCTV, a decision was made to close the investigation. The victim was informed of this.
‘Any further information that comes to light will be assessed and investigated accordingly.’
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