by A TikTok influencer inadvertently noticed the moment a ‘serial thief’ used a crafty distraction technique to slip her phone from her nose – as many other victims across London claim. Content creator Aminah Ali was filming her latest clip with a friend outside an Asian fusion restaurant called Jikoni in Marylebone, London, when a woman appeared ‘out of nowhere’.
The 25-year-old claims the woman asked for money, but as she did so she was waving a piece of paper, which she sneakily let fall over Aminah’s device so she could take it. The Londoner only realized a few minutes later that her phone was missing and her heart sank when her friend Iryna Leterova revealed that she had been caught when the alleged thief sent the paper so she could swipe the device.
Taking to TikTok quickly, the content creator shared a clip titled ‘beware’, which has now gone viral and received more than three million views. The footage shows a woman approaching Aminah’s table and the content creator carefully picks up her bag but forgets to pick up her phone, and the alleged crook starts throwing a piece of paper as a distraction.
In a follow-up video, Aminah issues a strong message to help others take precautions because ‘your phone can be snatched from your hand at any time’. Thousands of TikTok users flooded the comments section to say that the ‘same thing’ had happened to them and many even recognized that the woman had done the same scam to them.
Other users branded Aminah ‘crazy’ for leaving her phone exposed in central London. Aminah, from London, said: “It was really shocking how something can happen so close to you, but you don’t realize it at the moment.
“Everything happens so fast. Even now it’s like a blur. They are very, very good at what they do. It can happen to anyone, even if you are aware of the situation. It was my friend was taking videos of me so i put my phone on the table i think the lady saw my phone was on the table and came up to me.
“She came out of nowhere behind a car – of course I was a target. For a while she was watching me. My friend who was recording stopped me because the woman came into the shot. She was trying Then she put the paper in front of my phone so I forgot it was there.
“I was making sure she didn’t take my bag without realizing my phone was still there. In that moment I completely forgot about my phone. When I got up I looked around and my phone wasn’t there .My heart dropped because I knew she took it.
“When I looked back at the video I felt like my heart dropped. My friend who was recording didn’t shoot either. I’m usually very aware of my surroundings. I wasn’t in a busy area. I didn’t I thought that this was going to happen to me at that moment.”
Fortunately, the 25-year-old was with 34-year-old Iryna, who helped her friend contact her parents and find the nearest Apple store for assistance. Aminah said: “If my friend hadn’t been there I wouldn’t have been able to use her phone to get through to my family.
“It can be very scary to be alone in that situation. I’m so thankful I had a friend. In my industry I use my phone a lot to do content and check emails. When taken from you it can feel really discombobed at the moment I’m really into it when it comes on my phone so when it’s taken it really teaches you a lesson.”
The content creator admitted that the terrifying experience made her more cautious and she wants to help others take precautions because she ‘didn’t realize how prominent phone theft was in London.’ In her video warning, she advises others to ‘make sure you have insurance’ and explains a helpful ‘stolen device protection’ setting on Apple products.
When enabled, the setting applies additional security measures if an iPhone is removed from its known location to prevent thieves from making changes to the device and accounts. Aminah said: “Because it’s the first time it’s happened to me, I didn’t realize how prominent this is within London. It happens all the time.
“It’s been happening for years, but I think in the last year or so it’s been happening a lot. Now I’m in this situation I’m a lot more careful. That’s why I posted the video because it might this can happen to other people and it could raise awareness especially for people who don’t live in London.
“Many people have messaged me from different parts of the UK saying they didn’t know this was a thing. In the comments so many people say they recognize that same woman. Some people said she stole their phone too .
“When you feel it will never happen to you, you never take precautions. It’s really important to protect everything. There are many features that will prevent a thief from taking your phone but many people don’t” you know about it.”
The 25-year-old revealed that she reported the incident to the police and although her stolen device was not returned, she was able to get a new phone thanks to her insurance. Aminah said: “I came home and reported it to the police. It’s really important to report it. They won’t realize how often it actually happens.
“It took me a while to get everything back on my phone. Now, thanks to God and insurance, I was able to get a new phone. I want people to know how important insurance is.”
Many users shared their similar experiences in the comments. One user said: “Same thing happened to me, we were sorry and gave her £10.”
Another user said: “This happened to me last year and I realized as soon as she left and ran after her. She brought it back lol.”
A third user said: “This happened to me three years ago and I’m still traumatised.”
Other users criticized Aminah for leaving her phone exposed on the table.
One user said: “Never put your phone on a table.”
Another user said: “Leaving your phone on the table in London is crazy.”
The Met Police confirmed that the incident had been reported to them.
