Phone snatching in Dhaka: how to avoid it, and what to do if it happens

Updated: 4 October 2026 · Nirapod

Snatchers in Dhaka mostly go after mobile phones and handbags, often from a motorbike or on foot near busy roads, bus stops, flyovers and footbridges. Dhaka Metropolitan Police has listed hundreds of mugging hotspots in the city, and newspapers regularly report snatching on rickshaws, CNG auto-rickshaws and bus windows. A few habits cut the risk a lot.

Before: habits that make you a harder target

• Don't use your phone at an open window of a bus or CNG auto-rickshaw, or on the traffic side of a rickshaw. Most snatches happen in a second from a passing bike.
• On a rickshaw, keep your bag on your lap, on the side away from traffic, with the strap around your wrist, not hanging off the seat.
• Walk facing the traffic so a bike can't come up behind you, and keep the phone in a front or inner pocket.
• Be extra careful late at night and at dawn, on empty footbridges, flyover ramps and dark lanes, and at bus stops when buses are crowded.
• Check the area on the Nirapod live map before you go: red zones show where incidents were reported recently.
• Set a screen lock and turn on Find My Device (Android) or Find My (iPhone). Dial *#06# and write down your phone's IMEI number somewhere else.
• If someone threatens you with a weapon, let the phone go. A phone can be replaced.

After: a checklist for the first hour

1. Get safe first. If you are hurt or still in danger, call 999 (free, 24/7).
2. Lock or erase the phone from another device: google.com/android/find or icloud.com/find.
3. Block your SIM by calling your mobile operator, then get a replacement SIM at an operator centre with your NID.
4. Lock mobile money (bKash, Nagad, Rocket, bank apps) through the provider's official helpline, and change the passwords of your email and social media accounts.
5. Report it to the police. File a GD at the nearest thana, or online through the Bangladesh Police Online GD service (you need your NID). Include the IMEI. For a snatching or mugging you can ask the thana to record a case, not only a GD. See how GDs and cases work.
6. Warn your neighbours on Nirapod. Report the time and place (you can stay anonymous). It helps others avoid the same spot and shows where patrols are needed.