I don’t know about you but my cellphone is akin to my wallet – if it is lost, I am panicked! The following story about a rash of cell phone thefts makes me want to hold my precious mobile phone even tighter.

Part of the problem are the smart phones and iPhones that have become pay-as-you-go phones.

In the first quarter of this year, according to the LA Times, thefts of cellphones increased 32% in the downtown area of Los Angeles.

Statistics in a recent study revealed individuals reported 54 cellphones taken in crimes within skid row in the first three months of 2012, compared with 115 during all of 2011.

This is frightening. If that stat continues at the same pace they will see a 144% increase in cell phone thefts!

A crook can snatch an iPhone, replace the SIM card with one from a pay-as-you-go phone and have a brand-new, latest-generation phone for himself.

In past generations of phones, the service could be turned off and the phone, for the most part, would be useless. On newer phones, if a pay-as-you-go SIM card is put in, there is no record of the user with a service provider.

The crazy thing is that the phone companies don't really care about this flaw because if the phone gets stolen, the victim will buy another phone, and [the] crook will keep using the one he stole.

Some of the most common theft locales include restaurant tables, libraries and nightclubs as people leave them unattended.

These days losing your phone is like losing your computer or wallet. Cell phones contain very valuable information that we all want kept safe. A California theft class could keep more people from stealing which would keep our cell phones safe.