Emerson College warns of cell phone thefts near Tremont Street

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Campus police at Emerson College released a warning on Wednesday about two cases in which pedestrians had their cell phones stolen right out of their hands on Tremont Street.

The first incident occurred on March 27 at about 11:30 a.m. on the sidewalk in front of 180 Tremont Street. Investigators say a Emerson contract vendor was talking on his phone when a man claiming to have a knife demanded he hand over his cell phone. The suspect fled from the scene on foot with the victim's phone.

A second incident involving an Emerson student occurred just before 6 p.m. Monday. A female student was looking down at her phone as she waited for the light to change at the corner of Boylston and Tremont streets when a bicyclist grabbed the phone out of her hands. The suspect in this case is described as a white man in his 20s. He fled toward Stuart Street, police said.

Emerson College Campus Police released the following tips to protect against similar crimes:

- Be aware of your surroundings

- Do not use your cell phone in public

- Download a security app that will assist in tracking it down in the event it is stolen

- If you are a victim of a similar theft, do not struggle with the thief. As campus police say in their campus alert, "The phone is replaceable, you aren't."

Cox Media Group