NYPD Investigates Two Queens Cellphone Thefts Linked to Social Media Meetings

NYPD Seeks Suspect in Queens Cellphone Theft Pattern

By Staff Reporter

Queens Voice

October 8, 2026

QUEENS, N.Y. — The NYPD is asking for the public’s help identifying a person wanted in connection with a pair of cellphone thefts in Queens that investigators say followed a similar pattern.

Police say both incidents involved women who had arranged to meet an unidentified individual through a social media application. In each case, investigators say, the person allegedly asked to use the victims’ phones under the pretense of adding credit card information before fleeing with the devices.

The incidents occurred in the 110th and 115th Precincts.

According to police, the first incident happened around 2 p.m. Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at the mezzanine of the Junction Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue subway station.

An 18-year-old woman met the individual after connecting through a social media app, police said. The person allegedly asked for her cellphone, claiming he needed it to add his credit card information.

After receiving the phone, the individual allegedly ran from the station and fled on foot.

The stolen cellphone was valued at approximately $1,199, according to the NYPD. No injuries were reported.

Second Queens cellphone theft

Police say a similar incident occurred around 3:20 p.m. Saturday, August 22, 2026, near 103rd Street and 41st Avenue.

A 26-year-old woman had also arranged to meet the unidentified individual through a social media application, according to investigators. Police say the person asked for both of her cellphones, again claiming he wanted to add credit card information.

The individual allegedly took the phones and fled on foot. The two devices were valued at approximately $2,200 combined, police said.

No injuries were reported in that incident either.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, on X @NYPDTips.