CASE STUDY: ‘IT HAPPENED SO SWIFTLY’

YOUSRA IBRAHIM, 20, is a student at Nottingham Trent University studying International Business with Mandarin. Two years ago, during Freshers’ Week, she was the victim of an opportunistic theft.

Whilst attending an off-campus event at a popular student venue, she discovered her possessions were missing from her bag.

‘I had my phone, my bank card and my ID all in that bag,’ she says.

‘I realised later when I wanted to check what time it was so I could go home that my phone was gone. I then did a check of my bag and realised that the three things were missing.

‘I was just new to university; it was all fresh for me so for an incident like that to happen in the first week was quite daunting.’

The thieves used Yousra’s bank card to buy drinks at the bar of the venue where they had taken her card. They even

treated themselves to a McDonalds in Nottingham city centre afterwards.

While the damage done to her debit card was minimal – less than £80, which was covered by Youshra’s bank – she was less fortunate with her mobile phone, which was a birthday present from her father, who had taken it on a two-year contract.

As it wasn’t covered under any insurance policy, they had to buy out the remainder of the contract at a cost of more than £1,000. ‘That was really painful for me because I felt responsible,’ Yousra says. After the theft, she took out her own contract on a new mobile, this time with insurance. ‘Looking back, I have learned a lot. It was a case of the venue being so crowded and these people are professionals at what they do, and it happened so swiftly without my realisation at all,’ she says.

‘I am very thankful for the support I got from family and friends.’