So sorry to hear of this! The talent of the pickpocket is much like the illusionist--get the people focused on something else while they enact their plan without being noticed. The guy probably worked down his routine practicing it over and over again... as one hand makes a quick move for the inside pocket (he probably observed how your jacket was sagging slightly on one side, indicating a smart phone), while the other hand impacts firmly in a place that will startle you, causing you to shift focus to that and not even realize what the other hand had just done. This is why it is SO important to button up your pockets with valuables. Granted, the more professional pickpockets know how to deal with those, but the chances of being caught are much greater. I knew a guy who worked in the police force and they learned how pickpockets work. Some even carry a specially designed hidden razor that allows them to cut a button off quickly, without much of a tug at all. Lastly, with a new smart phone that has high value, it's best to put an electronic RFID chip on it that will set off an alarm on your key chain when the phone is beyond a certain distance. Anyway... the iPhone tracer function is very useful and hopefully you'll eventually get the phone back and without any damage. just call yourself and leave this message Ummm... no. "I will kill you" is the wrong approach. You DO want them to know you have money and you'll pay him $200 to get it back. No resale risk and hassle for him this way--quick money. You just want your phone back. Arrange a meeting place in public. Of course, you can plan things to be not so innocent. Definitely have a buddy as backup, if you can't get the police to assist you on this. Anyway, none of this will work if he can't break the phone code. And of course a hard reset means he can't get access to your voice mail, so leaving a message won't accomplish anything.
The police came to talk to me last night, and basically told me there's little to no chance of a resolution, and that the phone is probably already sold on or on its way to Taiwan or something. I pretty much assumed as much. It's reported as stolen though, and I told the phone company the specific ID number of that handset, and they locked it down, which they said means that whoever has it now, it's basically a block of metal in their hand and useless to anyone. I guess that's the best I can hope for. When I told him where it happened, he basically rolled his eyes and agreed that it's one of the worst areas in London for that. There's gangs of them roam the streets and it's all highly organised. But I have a case report number and I can get proof of purchase from the phone company, so hopefully that will be enough to claim on the home insurance, because I didn't have insurance on the phone itself. Silver lining - the phone was so new that I hadn't actually got rid of my old phone yet. So I just transferred the number back over to the old phone, and away I go. Still pissed off, though. .