Police say technology helps, but it's best to be wary to avoid a cellphone grab-and-drain robbery

While technological precautions are useful in protecting revelers from being robbed of their cellphones while out on the town and having their cash apps accessed, the most effective deterrent, say those most closely watching the phenomenon, is old-fashioned wariness.

Twin Cities members of law enforcement, operators of cash apps and banks say the identity protection tools are in place, but it's up to smartphone users to take all necessary precautions if they don't want to be victimized like the dozens who were targeted by a band of thieves roving for months in downtown and elsewhere in Minneapolis before they were arrested and charged with felonies.

Law enforcement said these street bandits used many forms of persuasion, sometimes including violence, to separate unsuspecting and often intoxicated victims from their cellphones, then drain their transaction apps of thousands of dollars.

The criminal complaints filed against members of the 12-person ring laid out a variety of tactics — some simple, some crafty and some outright violent.

One man gave up his phone to someone who wanted to make a call. Another was asked for his phone so he could be added to social media accounts. His willingness cost him his phone and $1,200.

Another victim handed over his phone on a downtown street and when he asked for it back, he was assaulted and left on the pavement bleeding from his head.

By the time the long-running scheme was busted in September, it had siphoned more than $275,000 from accounts and the phones were routinely sold to "iPhone Man," who then shipped them to buyers overseas, the charges read.

"A majority of these victims came out from the bar and engaging in a conversation with a stranger they meet on the street," said Donald Cheung, a state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) special agent in charge who oversees the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force. "These individuals are very cunning in various types of situations."

Minneapolis Police Lt. Mark Klukow, who is based in downtown's First Precinct, said the victims of this kind of crime are "mostly young men in the 20s who are alone, not elderly people or women."

"That's the person we need to communicate with," he said. "We have a hard time getting to them unless it's in a TikTok video."

Klukow said drinking to excess can give these young men what he called "liquid courage" that washes away their cautionary barrier.

"Women have always understood that it's not safe to walk alone," he said.

Not waiting for a resurgence of cellphone grab-and-drain, the BCA and police are warning bar patrons to be alert to avoid becoming an easy mark for robbers prowling for an app-based payday.

"Minnesotans have a good nature and want to trust and help people," Cheung said. "[But] we can all be a little more guarded while talking to a stranger and especially handing over your phone."

Specifically, Klukow said, people out for a good time should "avoid inebriation and stay in populated areas. If alone, keep your phone hidden and your eyes up.

... You don't need to carry your phone in your hands."

Not using a smartphone after leaving a nightspot can present a challenge for someone who has messaged Uber or Lyft for a ride, then tracking the driver's progress to the pickup spot.

Cheung sympathized but advised iPhone users waiting for a ride to be ready to activate the phone's SOS mode should they sense an imminent threat. Samsung's phones have a similar feature.

To prevent monetary theft, spokespeople for apps urge users to employ all available sign-in protection measures: double authentication, longer and more complicated passwords.

However, for example, Venmo users don't need a password to go about their business.

For victims robbed via their bank app, Cheung said, "if you alert them on time, some can reverse the transfer."

To keep stolen photos, contacts and other data from being misused, he said, victims "can get in touch with their cellphone providers, and they can send out what's called a kill signal, and you can have your data erased."

Yes, erased, as in gone, the BCA agent said, "so back up your cellphone data regularly" on your laptop or elsewhere separate from your phone.

The ring's arrest appears to have kept others from taking up where its members left off, Klukow and Cheung agreed.

But Klukow said he has been a cop long enough to know better than to celebrate just yet.

"The robberies have gone down, and that's wonderful news," he said. "But I'm nervous that the market is there. It's not over."