Thummer

By Michael Harlow · Published November 9, 2026 · About 6 minutes to read

Phone Theft in Bogotá and Medellín: A Traveler's Guide

You squeeze onto a TransMilenio bus, or step out of a café in El Poblado and pull up a ride app. In Colombia's two biggest cities, those are the moments phone thieves wait for. Most trips to Colombia go smoothly, but phones are a prime target, and a few habits make a real difference. Here's what the official numbers show, where and how phones are taken, and what to do in the first minutes if it happens to you.

How big is the problem?

Bogotá. Figures from the city's Secretaría Distrital de Seguridad, obtained by a city councilwoman and reported in July 2026, show 14,274 phones reported stolen in Bogotá from January to May 2026, roughly 95 a day by our math. Only 1,649 were recovered in that period.

The trend is hard to read. The Bogotá police reported a 24% drop in phone theft in the first half of 2025 and a 15% drop from January to the first week of February 2026, but reported cases are only part of the picture. Experts told El Tiempo in 2024 that phone theft is among the most underreported crimes.

Medellín. The city's crime-data office, the SISC, publishes weekly reports built on Policía Nacional complaints. They count hurto a personas, all street theft from people, not only phones. From January 1 to November 28, 2025, Medellín logged 21,690 such thefts, down 9% from 2024. In 2026 the numbers turned up: 16,129 through August 28, an 8% rise over the same period of 2025.

Where phones are taken

TransMilenio, Bogotá. Police statistics show 3,372 thefts of all kinds, not only phones, on the TransMilenio system from January to March 2026, up 38.6% from the same months of 2025. Most (2,150) happened on buses rather than in stations. Bogotá police named Guatoque Veraguas, Portal Norte, Calle 76, Portal de las Américas and Calle 100 as the most problematic stations.

Bogotá neighborhoods. The Secretaría's January–May 2026 data put Suba (1,414), Engativá (1,409), Chapinero (1,376) and Teusaquillo (1,246) at the top for phone theft. The UK government says British nationals have been robbed at gunpoint in the Candelaria area, Bogotá's historic center.

El Poblado and Provenza, Medellín. Street thefts in El Poblado, a district popular with visitors, rose 32% in 2026, to 2,537 through August 28. In May 2026, the city announced the arrest of four people accused of robbing tourists and called areas such as Parque Lleras and Provenza one of the main hotspots for crimes against tourists. Medellín's downtown district, also called La Candelaria, has even more cases: 4,353 in the same period.

Metro de Medellín. In August 2026, the city announced the arrest of nine people accused of stealing phones from passengers at the San Antonio, Poblado, Parque Berrío and Prado stations by surrounding riders at crowded moments.

How thieves operate

Habits that help

  1. Set up your phone before you fly. On Android, turn on Find Hub and theft protection, including Theft Detection Lock and Remote Lock (our guide to Android's theft protection walks through it). On iPhone, turn on Find My and Stolen Device Protection.
  2. Write down your IMEI. Dial *#06# and keep the number off the phone, along with your bank's and carrier's numbers.
  3. Step inside before you check your phone. The U.S. Embassy's advice: don't use it on sidewalks or near the street; step into a shop first. That includes ordering a ride.
  4. Keep it out of sight on public transport. The UK advises against displaying valuables such as phones, especially on buses.
  5. Meet dates in public, tell a friend your plans, and never leave a drink unattended.
  6. Use app-based or hotel-booked taxis, not ones hailed on the street, per the UK.
  7. Cover the moment it's grabbed while unlocked. Built-in tools mostly help after a phone is gone. If you use your phone a lot on the street, an extra layer for the seconds it's snatched from your hand, such as Thummer (made by us), is one option among several. A thief with an open phone can reach your bank apps, as our guide to how thieves drain accounts explains.

If your phone is taken

Never resist. The U.S. Embassy warns that victims who resist robbery are more likely to be killed. A phone can be replaced. Get somewhere safe and borrow a phone. (Our first 10 minutes checklist covers the basics anywhere.)

  1. Call 123 if you're in danger. It's Colombia's police and ambulance number, and Bogotá's city government says you can call it if you are the victim or witness of a robbery.
  2. Lock the phone remotely. Use Find Hub, or Google's Remote Lock at android.com/lock, where you enter the phone number. It must be turned on beforehand, and Google says it requires an active SIM and internet. On iPhone, turn on Lost Mode at iCloud.com/find.
  3. Call your bank to freeze cards, then change your email and banking passwords.
  4. Block the SIM and the handset. On a Colombian SIM, call your carrier and ask it to block the line and the IMEI. Bogotá's city government lists Claro *611, Movistar *611 and Tigo *300. Under CRC rules, phones reported stolen or lost to any Colombian operator go into a negative database of blocked IMEIs. On your home SIM, call your home carrier.
  5. Report the theft. The U.S. Embassy says to file police reports for all crimes and expect language barriers. The Policía Nacional runs A Denunciar, a virtual reporting system; Publimetro says to choose "Hurto," then "Hurto de celular." The police's 2017 launch note says the form asks for a Colombian ID number and doesn't mention passports, so it may not work for visitors. Keep your report number for insurance.
  6. If your passport was taken, contact your embassy. The U.S. Embassy in Bogotá is at +57 601 275 2000. The State Department's lines are +1-888-407-4747 from the U.S. or Canada and +1-202-501-4444 from abroad.

The bottom line

Bogotá still sees close to a hundred phone thefts reported every day, TransMilenio thefts rose sharply in early 2026, and street theft in Medellín's El Poblado is up this year. The risky moments are predictable: on crowded buses and trains, at the curb, and with people you've just met. Set up remote locking before you land, keep your phone out of sight in public, and if it happens, let it go and follow the steps above. Heading elsewhere in the region? See our guides to Mexico City and Lima and Cusco.