A TikTok influencer accidentally caught the moment a ‘serial thief’ stole her phone from under her nose using a cunning distraction technique; dozens of people claimed to be victims in London. Content creator Aminah Ali was filming her latest clip with a friend outside Asian fusion restaurant Jikoni in Marylebone, London, when a woman came ‘out of the blue’.
The 25-year-old claims the woman asked for money, but as she did so, she waved a piece of paper and secretly allowed it to land on Aminah’s device so she could collect it. The Londoner only realized her phone was missing a few minutes later and her ‘heart dropped’ when her friend Iryna Leterova revealed she captured the moment the alleged thief placed the paper so he could swipe the device.
The content creator quickly took to TikTok and shared a clip titled ‘attention’; This clip has now gone viral and has been viewed over three million times. In the footage, a woman is seen approaching Aminah’s table and the content creator carefully grabs her bag but forgets to take her phone. The alleged fraudster begins placing a piece of paper on the phone to distract it.
In the follow-up video, Aminah shares a powerful message to help others take precautions: ‘Your phone can be taken away at any time.’ Dozens of TikTok users flooded the comments section to say the ‘same thing’ happened to them, with many even claiming the woman had pulled the same scam on them.
Other users branded Aminah ‘crazy’ for leaving her phone out in the open in central London. Aminah, from London, said: “It was shocking that something could happen so close to you but you don’t realize it at the time.
“Everything happens so fast. Even now it seems like a blur. They are very, very good at what they do. Even if you are aware, it can happen to anyone. My friend was taking a video of me, so I put my photo. I think the lady saw my phone on the table and came over to me.
“He suddenly came out from behind a car. Obviously I was the target. He was watching me for a while. My friend who was recording me stopped when the woman started filming. She was asking me for money. Then she put the gun away. It was on paper in front of my phone, so I forgot it was there.
“I was making sure he didn’t take my bag without realizing that my phone was still there. At that moment, I completely forgot about my phone. When I got up, I looked around and my phone was not there. My heart dropped because… I knew he had taken it, but I realized after two or three minutes.”
“When I watched the video again, I felt my heart sink. My friend who was recording did not broadcast the video either. Normally, I am very careful about my surroundings. I was not in a busy area. I did not think about it. At that moment, this would happen to me.”
Luckily, the 25-year-old man was with Iryna, 34, who helped him contact his friend’s parents and find the nearest Apple store for help. Aminah said: “If my friend hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to use her phone to reach my family.
“Being alone in this situation can be very scary. I’m so grateful to be with a friend. In my industry, I use my phone a lot to create content and check emails. It can feel so bad when it’s taken away. I’m confused right now. I’m very sensitive when it comes to my phone.” , so when it gets stolen it really teaches you a lesson.”
The content creator admitted the terrifying experience made him more ‘vigilant’ and wanted to help others take precautions as he wasn’t aware of ‘how prominent’ phone theft was in London. In the video warning, he advises others to ‘make sure you have insurance’ and explains a useful ‘stolen device protection’ setting on Apple products.
Once enabled, the setting activates extra security measures if the iPhone is removed from its familiar location to prevent thieves from making changes to the device and accounts. Aminah said: “As this is the first time this has happened to me, I didn’t realize it was so prominent in London. It happens all the time.
“This has been happening for years, but I think it’s been happening very frequently in the last year. Now that I’m in this situation, I’m much more alert. That’s why I posted the video, because this can happen to others.” It can raise awareness, especially among people who do not live in London.
“Lots of people from across the UK have messaged me saying they didn’t know this was happening. Many people in the comments say they know the same woman. Some said she stole their phones.
“When you feel like this 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 most people don’t do that.” I do not know this.”
The 25-year-old young man announced that he reported the incident to the police and although his stolen device was not returned, he managed to buy a new phone thanks to his insurance. Aminah said: “I came home and reported it to the police. It’s really important to report this. They won’t realize how often this actually happens.”
“It took me a while to get everything back on my phone. Now, thankfully, I was able to get a new phone thanks to insurance. I want people to know how important it is to have insurance.”
Many users shared similar experiences in the comments. One user said: “Same thing happened to me, we were upset and gave him £10.”
Another user said: “This happened to me last year and as soon as he left I noticed and ran after him. He gave it back hahaha.”
A third user said: “This happened to me three years ago and I’m still traumatized.”
Other users criticized Aminah for leaving her phone exposed on the table.
One user said: “Never put your phone on the table.”
Another user said: “Leaving your phone on the table in London is crazy.”
The Met Police confirmed it had been notified of the incident.