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Smartphones a growing target of thieves on CTA

The robber had to time it just right.

Snatch the iPhone as the train pulled up to the platform and the doors opened, creating a quick getaway.

It’s among the most common crimes on the CTA, with the exploding popularity of smartphones that command high prices on the black market.

But this time, in a deadly turn, the fleeing robber hit Sally Katona-King, 68, who was walking up the stairs to the platform at the Fullerton Avenue ‘L’ station, knocking her down the steps. She died from the fall the next day.

Chicago police detectives Wednesday continued to scour the area around the Lincoln Park train stop — a hub for three CTA train lines frequented by hordes of riders — for more witnesses to the incident and possible surveillance video images of the robber.

Smartphones can be an easy and lucrative target for thieves, as commuters are often distracted by listening to music or checking email or the Web. Some smartphones with a contract that sell for less than $100 in stores can be sold on the street for $200 because they’re activated, said John Graeber, commander of the Chicago Police Department’s public transportation section.

While police say smartphone thefts are on the rise in Chicago and nationwide, investigators are able to track and arrest criminals by tracing calls made with a stolen phone or using a phone’s GPS to locate the device. In one recent case, records from a cellphone stolen from a man found beaten and sexually assaulted in Grant Park last weekend led police to a parolee who was charged in the crime, prosecutors said.

Thefts of iPhones and other small electronic devices have become prevalent on the CTA, Graeber said. While crime on the CTA rose 7.5 percent in 2010 compared with 2009, robberies soared 17.4 percent. Neither the CTA nor Chicago police track how many electronic devices are stolen.

Police said the suspect and the robbery victim in Monday’s incident were on a northbound Brown Line train that stopped at the Fullerton station about 4:20 p.m. When the doors opened, the suspect snatched the woman’s iPhone out of her hand and ran away after a brief struggle, police said. He knocked over Katona-King while racing down the stairwell.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office said Katona-King suffered multiple injuries and ruled her death a homicide.

Undercover officers riding CTA trains and buses look for thieves trying to steal smartphones, Graeber said, but he advised commuters to be aware of their surroundings. Criminals often work in small groups and target people standing or sitting near a train’s doors, he said.

Users can protect personal information on a smartphone by locking the devices with a PIN, using unique passwords, and backing up email accounts and contacts on a computer, said Steven Ostrowski, spokesman for the Computing Technology Industry Association.

Users should also enable features that allow all data on a stolen or lost phone to be deleted remotely, said Nikki Junker, social media coordinator and victim adviser at the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Several apps are available that allow smartphone users to find their phones with GPS, display a message on their phone’s screen or make the phone emit a loud sound for minutes at a time.

A person whose smartphone has been lost or stolen should act as if their wallet was missing and contact their bank and credit card companies, and notify police, Junker said.

Tribune reporter Annie Sweeney contributed.

rhaggerty@tribune.com

jgorner@tribune.com