Bob and I visited the Barcelona police station for information and found the usual line of victims reporting thefts. I asked a young Norwegian couple what had happened to them.
They’d been outside Los Caracoles, a popular restaurant, after dinner (and yes, drinks). He had held up his iPhone and taken a few photos.
“They must have targeted me,” the man said, “because as soon as I put my phone in my pocket, a guy bumped into me. The phone was gone in one second and so was the thief.”
“From those tight jeans?” I asked him.
“Yes, from this front pocket.”
“And the iPhone had a rubbery case. It doesn’t slide easily,” his wife/girlfriend said. “The phone will be erased after ten wrong passwords are entered, so I’m not worried about the information on it. I’m most upset about losing the photos of our whole trip.”
Pretty typical, so far. But here’s what amazed me (and I was right there!). The Barcelona police officer behind the counter refused to take the victims’ report! That’s right—refused to file a report! Because the victims could not provide the serial number of the stolen iPhone, they were turned away. The phone was stolen! Who carries around a note with serial numbers?
In a non-ridiculous world, the Barcelona cop would have said “I’ll take your report, but you’ll have to call in or email your serial number before I file it.”
Or perhaps, “I can’t file a report without your serial number, but you can file one online here once you obtain it.” Did the Barcelona policeman tell the polite victims that it was even possible to report theft online? No, he did not. I told the victims and provided the link. (More ridiculousness: victims who file online must still visit a Barcelona police station within 72 hours of filing in order to sign the report. So if it’s your last day, like the Norwegians, you’re cooked.)
[5/15/17 edit: In the comments below, Jon pointed out that for a stolen iPhone, “you can log onto http://appleid.apple.com, where you can view all devices linked to your Apple account as well as their IMEI and serial numbers.” Great suggestion, though this only works for devices that are logged into your Apple account.]
Next in line at the police station was a woman whose iPhone was stolen off a cafe table. The technique was an improvement on The Pickpocket’s Postcard Trick about which, coincidentally, I just posted. She was at her hotel’s restaurant, using the hotel’s wifi. She, too, was unceremoniously turned away from filing a police report because she did not have her phone’s serial number.
Strangely enough, we watched a few thieves attempt this technique just a few hours later. We were just leaving after a rest and coffee at a cafe on La Rambla. Bob spotted the thieves moments before they struck. I filmed them. They will be my next post.
Another couple I surveyed in the police station: stolen iPhone. As predicted in Summer Scams to Avoid, smart phones are the target of choice this summer. (Not that a wallet is out of danger.)
Three facts that surprise a pair of veteran thiefhunters:
1. A pickpocket stole from the tight front pocket of a man’s jeans (I saw the jeans).
2. Barcelona police refuse to file theft reports if the victims lack the stolen item’s serial number! (Stat-tampering.)
3. Barcelona police do not volunteer to victims that it is possible to file theft reports online.
I think there’s going to be more on this issue…
15 Comments
I concur with Ren. Fuck this shithole city.
Even when super careful they snatch it. I went to the police immediately with the GPS in the middle of that garbage shithole raval to the Mossos D’Esquadra station and even when I said look it’s two blocks away from where we stand, didn’t two police offers want to do anything. Spaniards are lazy and the leftist government (Colau) here is out of control. Very naive, lazy and out of touch leadership in the city.
Im not going back to Barcelona ever again! My phone got lost and I have 3 theories: It slipped out of my coat pockrt because the Pakistani or Indian driver was so reckless fast driver; the driver pick pocketed me coz he suddenly was closed to me when I was about to hop out of the cab, he literally was from left to the middle of the car (his body) as if he was reaching something & I was just so tired I forgot my phone was on my left pocket, making it visible to the driver: lastly, when I get in to the elevator in Hilton, a guy who will stop at the 7th floor touches his body to my left side because he was pressing his floor number & i was holding my cappucino with my left hand that I again become oblivious of my left coat pocket.
The hilton hotel & mcdonalds nearby where we exactly hopped out didnt gave us the CCTV footage so atleast we could take a look at the plate numberbecause we just hailed the cab in Colon Circle so we have no yaxi records & paid with cadh, even give the driver a good tip.
Thieving in Barcelona becomes a welcomed Pandemic/plague.
Police said they will just wait for my phone’s IMEI number to popped out of their system but by then my files are already wiped out! Police in Barcelona do not conduct physical investigation, they are as good as clerk, sitting around to think that therr should be more police visiblity in Cataluna as it is the capital of thieving & tourism!
Barcelona will be wiped out of the map, if they dont stop this madness!
I even have my DIPLOMATIC ID inside the phone’s casing, & the thief is not bothered. I introduced myself to the police as a member US diplomatic mission visiting Spain from our original post, and the police are just non-sense documented my case and not taking notr of what I said could possibly help in their investigation because there were CCTVs on the route we took!
Police said, we will just email you once our system located your IMEI, thats when the thief will use the phone.
The only reason why they do not accept the report without serial number is that, according to the law, if a pickpocket is arrested carrying phones, without the serial number informatically entered it cannot be identified as yours, so the phone will be given back to the thief.
The online report is not valid, it only helps make the process faster, but won’t be valid until you go to the station.
Great tip, Jon, thank you for pointing that out! I’m going to add your suggestion into the main article above, to make it more visible. However, note that the iPhone must still be logged in to see its IMEI and serial numbers this way.
My iPhone was just stolen in Barcelona this past weekend. The culprit used the “Rolandinho” trick, and by the time I had realized what had happened, it was too late.
The police station directed me to the nearest Apple store in order to retrieve my IMEI number. Luckily, I figured there was another way to get it. By logging onto http://appleid.apple.com, you can view all devices linked to your Apple account as well as their IMEI and serial numbers.
Hope this helps anyone with the unfortunate circumstance of needing to file a police report in Barcelona for a stolen iPhone. Perhaps there’s something similar available for Android users as well.
Thanks, Michele, the short film was great.
Policeman are the right hand of thifs in Barcelona.We must cut the thifs ,no ather way.Take alltimes a knife with you!
my iphone was robbed by two kids as well on 16th, November. I immediately reported it to the police station and the police station accpeted it. but the point was that I didnt have the IMEI at that time.the police said that only did i got the IMEI could there’s any possibilities to find back the phone. I really dont care about the phone, but the photos i took in it. and now, I got the IEME now and I hope to update the report so that I can get back my phone. and how can i get contact with Barcelona police station. the police station is around the Sagrada Familia. 🙁
If you now have the phone’s serial number, you can call the Barcelona police department to add it to your report; however, the police assured me that they will not provide a copy except in person. It is said that you can file your theft report online here (site in Catalan), but even through GoogleTranslate I cannot find how or where (though I once did, years ago. Perhaps they have removed the function.) Another option, just to get your theft documented somewhere, is to post a report at the bottom of this page.
This exact same thing happened to me. I was mugged and the next morning had to take a flight – no chance that I could get the serial number in time. Im now in Budapest, What do I do!?
[…] recently coming to understand the high numbers of smartphone theft in Barcelona, the manners in which they’re stolen, and the strategic refusal of Barcelona police to file a […]
[…] and I had paused for coffee at a Barcelona cafe. We had just left the Norwegian victims at the police station, along with all the other stolen-iPhone victims who wouldn’t be allowed […]
A very interesting and discouraging story. Also very interesting comments from Michelle and Craig.
I wonder if the police would have filed the report even if the victims had the serial number. Perhaps they have a long list of impossible questions to use as backup in the event of an (over-)prepared victim. For example, most people aren’t even aware that all phones have an IMEI number which uniquely identifies it and (probably) makes it possible for a mobile carrier to locate the phone and/or block it from the network.
This short film will give you an idea of what Spanish bureaucracy is all about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXWZ3uAEKsw
If they can find a way to avoid the paperwork and make life difficult, they will. We went through it as we applied to get married in Barcelona.
Dealing with Catalunyan offices, on the other hand, is almost a joy in comparison to any department which answers directly to Madrid. :.)