Buses and trains are considered one of the hot spots for mobile theft, particularly when waiting at the stations or when approaching a stop; both of these times offer quick getaways for opportunistic thieves. Visit: http://lojack.absolute.com/ to recover and track your stolen laptops & smart phones.

1. ©2013 Absolute Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
Eyes Up, Phone Down: Can You Change Your Habits?
The average person now spends two hours a day using their phone, causing some to
wonder if we've created a culture of "digital distractions" that can turn deadly. Tom
Kaneshige recently wrote about this, noting:
Smartphone theft and muggings in the San Francisco Bay Area have been booming,
made possible because people are staring into screens rather than paying attention to
thieves getting ready to rob them of their gadgets.
In a San Francisco train filled with commuters, a man pulls out a pistol, raises the gun,
points it across the aisle, then tucks it away. He does this repeatedly, even using his
gun hand to wipe his nose. There are dozens of passengers around him, but nobody
notices him or the gun. Why? Because they all have their eyes focused on
smartphones and tablets.
In San Francisco, over half of cellphone thefts in 2013 have been violent in nature
(punching, kicking, intimidation) and a quarter of mobile thefts included guns or knives.
Thefts of cellphones or tablets accounted for 41% of all serious crime. In order to tackle
this considerable increase in violent crime, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation
Agency partnered with Mayor Ed Lee, District Attorney George Gascón and the Police
Department to increase the security in the Muni system, including on-site discussions
with people seen using the phones as well as an Eyes Up, Phone Down campaign to
encourage people to put away their phones while taking transit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-wBAULHWWE
Buses and trains are considered one of the hot spots for mobile theft, particularly when
waiting at the stations or when approaching a stop; both of these times offer quick
getaways for opportunistic thieves. Many thieves will see a device in your hand and do
a quick snatch & grab, making a quick exit into a busy area or a waiting car.
Despite this knowledge, it's hard to curb the 'always on' culture. James Robinson wrote
about how 25 people being robbed within a mile of his apartment was still not enough to
change his behavioural choices. We hope to add pressure to your decision to change
your smartphone behaviour.
We encourage you to read up on how to avoid being a mobile device robbery victim.
More specifically, check out our device safety tips for trains and transit - if this is the one
high risk area you pay attention to security, you're going to better your chances of being
a mobile theft victim. And since we know that it's hard to keep your phone away all the
time, be realistic and give yourself a fighting chance at device recovery – use Absolute
LoJack.

2. ©2013 Absolute Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Arieanna Schweber has been a part of the Absolute Software writing team since 2007.
Arieanna was Canada's first female professional blogger and has been professionally
blogging since 2006, speaking at leading blogging conferences including BlogHer and
Northern Voice. Arieanna has a joint degree in Business and Communications from
Simon Fraser University and continues to build communities for Vancouver-based
clients.
About the Company
Absolute Software(@Absolutecorp) helps businesses and consumers track, manage,
secure and recover mobile computers and devices using our patented persistence
technology. We license the name "LoJack" from the LoJack Corporation to highlight the
similarities between our consumer product, LoJack for Laptops (@LoJackforLaptop),
and their stolen vehicle recovery service. Currently Absolute Software has recovered
over 30,000 devices in over 100 countries around the world.