It seems that an astonishing 1 in 20 Brits are willing to make a "phoney" claim that their phone is stolen or lost in order to get their hands on the latest handsets on offer. This figure rose at a very suspicious rate of 11% between last May and June alone with the release of the new iphone 3g according to life assistance company CPP. With 1 in 5 Brits believing it is easier to steal a phone than buy a new one, this figure is no longer seen as too shocking.

With the release of the iphone 4g handset in June 2010, fraudsters would cash in their old 3g handsets, unlocked worth around £300.

Of course not all claims are fraudulent, but mobile theft remains a huge problem across the UK. With Sheffield and Edinburgh topping the list of the phone theft hotspots, they should be extra vigilant seeing as 20 percent of people collectively had fallen victim to these thieves. London follows with 8 percent of victims, then trailing just behind them are Cardiff and Liverpool both with 6 percent.

According to the report, mobile users should be extra wary on Tuesdays as it seems this is the day that most phones are reported "missing".

Out of the unfortunate victims, a quarter of them had their phones pick-pocketed (24%), a fifth had their handsets taken in pubs or restaurants off their tables as their backs were turned and one in twenty victims had their phones pinched from their work desks showing that even some work colleagues are willing to steal a phone(4%).

59% of mobile owners acknowledge that their phone can be easily sold on, therefore is a target but a further 24% admit to their own carelessness when it comes to their phones.

63% of this figure has no insurance on their phones, despite the latest handsets costing hundreds of pounds, leaving them out of pocket it the worst should happen. With 84% of victims never getting their phones back once lost or stolen, this is particularly worrying.

Danny Harrison, Head of Mobile at CPP, said: "The fact that we’ve seen a spike in claims when the iPhone 3G hit the market confirms that for some, making a fraudulent claim is an easy way to get their hands on the latest handset.

"It may be tempting to submit a false claim, especially when so many new valuable handsets are hitting the market. But people need to be aware that it is illegal to report a lost phone as stolen property and it could result in a police conviction. We urge all mobile users to be alert to the methods that desperate criminals can resort to, to keep their mobiles secure when going out to prevent theft and avoid being careless and losing them unnecessarily."

Key statistics:

• The no. of phones reported lost or stolen rose by 11 per cent between May and June 09

• 20 per cent of Brits believe it’s easier to steal a phone than buy one

• 4 per cent of mobile users admit they’d be prepared to file a dishonest claim to get their hands on a new phone

• 13 per cent of phone victims come from London and Manchester

• 24 per cent of mobile theft victims were pick-pocketed

• 20 per cent of mobile theft victims had their phones taken from pub or restaurant tables

• 5 per cent had their phones stolen from their office desks

• 25 per cent of Brits admit their own carelessness with phones

• 59 per cent of Brits say it’s very easy to sell-on a stolen mobile phone

• 21 per cent of Brits have had their phones lost or stolen more than once

• 63 per cent of Brits don’t have phone insurance

• 84 per cent of victims didn’t get their phone back once lost or stolen