A filmmaker installed spyware on a decoy phone to spy on smartphone thieves

Ever reached into your pocket to find your phone had been snatched? Dutch film student and former iPhone owner Anthony van der Meer experienced that awful feeling first-hand while having lunch in Amsterdam. Unsatisfied with the response from the Amsterdam police, who register an average of 300 stolen phones per week, Meer decided to find out what kind of person steals a phone. He downloaded spyware software on a decoy Android phone, intentionally got the phone stolen, and was able to spy on his