The mobile phone was in the jacket pocket of an entire tram in the city center. After distracting a passenger, she disappeared without a trace. Oslo police ask people to be careful.
The short version
- Warunee Bolstad lost his mobile phone on a full tram in Oslo after meeting a passenger.
The summary has been prepared with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and quality guaranteed by Aftenposten journalists.
Waroni Bolstad, 38, bought a ticket with her phone, put it in her jacket pocket, then boarded a fairly full tram at Storgata station on Sunday night. She stood where there was room for strollers with her husband. When the tram started moving, suddenly a girl poked Bolstad on the back and said that her jacket was stuck between two folding chairs.
– I didn't fully understand what happened and how he got stuck so quickly, says Bolstad.
The girl helped her unbutton her jacket and got off the tram at the next stop. Immediately after that, Bolstad put his hand into his pocket to pull out the phone, and then it disappeared.
– I looked for it frantically and wondered if I had forgotten it back at the restaurant. It took a while before I realized it had been stolen, Bolstad says.
While Bolstad and the man tried to get on the phone and check to see if my iPhone was found, they heard from the next seat that two other women's phones had also been stolen on another tram.
– It went by quickly and I didn't notice anything. “Maybe I'm naive if I think this won't happen in Oslo,” she says.
1947 cases in 10 months
Oslo police confirm that they often receive reports of mobile phone theft after weekends. Thefts occur on public transportation, in nightclubs, in queues at nightclubs, and in other places where people congregate and space is often tight.
– These are the arenas where thieves enjoy good working conditions, writes police supervisor Stig Vasbo in Enhet Sentrum in Oslo's police district.
Aftenposten newspaper received figures on mobile phone thefts from January to October last year. The overview shows that the police registered 1,947 cases in this regard during the time period.
The Oslo Police District saw a very significant increase in pickpocketing in 2009 and the following years.
– We shed light on the problem, and for many years we were able to significantly reduce the number of thefts. Mobile profiteering criminals in particular are responsible for many conditions, Vasbo writes.
After the pandemic, the police saw a slight increase in such cases, he says:
– The fact that such thefts occur in a capital like Oslo is obvious.
It will warn others
After Bolstad posted a message about the incident on Instagram, several people who encountered the same thing on public transport in central Oslo in recent weekends contacted her. Some found cell phones for sale online, while Bolstad's phone was switched off and disappeared. I reported the theft.
-It's very frustrating with all you have to arrange with all the passwords and logins. Buying a new phone is very expensive, says Bolstad, who works as a content producer and food reviewer and uses his mobile phone as a work tool.
The police confirm that they are monitoring this type of theft and encourage the public to pay attention to their valuables, be vigilant, and report thefts or other suspicious observations to the police.
Cell phones are particularly easy to trade and are notorious for being stolen, Vasbo writes.
Bolstad wants to warn others about where to put valuables when on public transportation.
– The accident was a wake-up call for me. I will be more vigilant in the future and start putting my cell phone in my bag instead of my jacket pocket.
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