I wouldn't personally trust the Economist with this kind of thing, at least not compared to publications by technically-minded experts that have been shared elsewhere on this thread, such as the Register. The phone-snatching is real, but the effectiveness of this theft in creating usable spare parts, or of the efficacy Apple's software in reducing said theft, is much harder to determine.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255110862?sortBy=rank

> Stolen iPhone is in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; what can I do?