Phone Thief Unwittingly Gives Previous Owner a Photo Tour of His Life

This is Hafid. About 4 months ago, Hafid stole a phone from a German tourist who was vacationing on the island of Ibiza, Spain. Hafid didn’t, however, delete the original owner’s Dropbox app or disable the automatic upload feature.

So ever since the phone was stolen, she has received periodic updates about Hafid’s life in Dubai, which she has kindly uploaded to a Tumblr blog, complete with humorous commentary.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a thief caught on camera. You might remember the camera that was shooting a time-lapse and captured its own theft in progress. This is, however, the first time we’ve heard of a previous owner using the photos to provide the Internet with a continuous source of entertainment.

Here’s the description from the top of the Life of a Stranger Who Stole My Phone blog, which now enjoys a readership in the tens of thousands:

This is the inspiring story of Hafid from Dubai, the douchebag who stole my phone. He forgot to switch off the camera upload function, that’s why we will enjoy a deep insight into his life. Start on the first page.

The owner started the blog last month, and so far has uploaded everything from photos, to GIFs, to videos of Hafid going about his daily life. Here are just a few of the photos Hafid has taken thus far:

It doesn’t look like the owner will be getting her phone back anytime soon (if ever), but in lieu of legal action, this is the best approach she could come up with. Besides, given enough press, Hafid might eventually see his own face pop up on a website he frequents. We just hope he’s taking a selfie when it happens … something tells us his would be a pretty priceless reaction.

Life of a Stranger Who Stole My Phone (via DPReview)