NYC: Hold on to your iPhone

Business travellers, watch your iPhones! Apple’s smartphone is now officially the most popular item to steal in a robbery in New York city. Nearly a fifth of 2013 New York City thefts involved Apple devices. So if your Apple device is dear to you, hold on to it and pay attention, especially when travelling the subway!

Apple products, such as iPhones and iPads, accounted for more than 18% of New York's grand larcenies in 2013, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal that cites the New York Police Department. In 2013 more than 8,000 Apple devices were stolen, leading to a 13% increase in grand larceny arrests compared with 2012.

The NYPD said thieves usually snatch the gadgets while on public transportation -- where users have their devices out and aren't paying close enough attention to their surroundings.

While most crime went down significantly -- such as murders decreasing by 43% and vehicle thefts decreasing 72% -- grand larceny fell just 1%. And since 2010, grand larceny has been steadily increasing. Some advice to business travellers: make sure the ‘Find My iPhone’ feature is enabled on your devices. It is a free Apple service that allows users to track their gadgets using GPS.