More than one in eight students, which is around 209,000 in the UK, have been a victim of theft while at university in the last year, according to new research from Santander Student Current Accounts .
The most habitually stolen student possession is money, with 37 per cent of victims having had cash stolen from them and one in four victims (24 per cent) have had their mobile phone stolen in the past year. Other gadgets that are also popular targets for thieves are cameras, MP3 players and laptops .
Helen Bierton, Head of Santander Current Accounts, said: “Students are unfortunately often seen as an easy target by would-be thieves and they should ensure they take precautions to protect themselves and their possessions from crime. They should ensure their possessions are covered by an appropriate insurance policy so that if they are unlucky enough to become a victim of theft they can make a claim .”
She added that Santander’s Student Current Account includes mobile, gadget and laptop insurance worth over £240 a year.