Are you a target? Expert pickpocket shows just how easy it is to steal mobile phones from unsuspecting victims as he chats to them in the street

A ‘professional pickpocket’ who makes his living stealing people’s belongings has taken to Piccadilly Circus to steal mobile phones in broad daylight – before returning them to their astonished owners.

Lee Thompson, a security expert who acts as a ‘pickpocket for hire’, is seen distracting Londoners during a publicity stunt for a mobile phone network.

In the footage, Thompson effortlessly reaches into the pockets of unsuspecting ‘victims’ and pulls out the expensive devices without them realizing – in some cases pulling the stunt twice on the same person within seconds.

After robbing the phones, he asks his ‘victims’ to show him their device – and then the penny drops. As someone pats their pockets, he pulls out their belongings and jokes, “How would you feel if I had your phone?”

Speaking to a girl in a green jumpsuit, Magic Circle member Mr Thompson says: ‘Go ahead, get your phone out’ – and when it dawns on her that it’s gone, he pulls it out of his own pocket, causing her to exclaim : ‘Oh my God. ‘, as she covered her mouth with her hand.

The stunt was filmed as part of a marketing campaign for Virgin Media O2, but it is not the first time professional pickpocket Thompson from Solihull has been recruited to demonstrate how easy it is to separate Brits from their prized possessions.

In 2015 he was hired by Nationwide to prey on unsuspecting Londoners on the South Bank, and later appeared on The One Show on the BBC, where he stole presenter Matt Baker’s phone, wallet, watch and even his tie.

His talent for craft has seen him work with the likes of Cirque du Soleil, but his most recent role, as ‘the Piccadilly Pickpocket’, was filmed as part of an advertisement for the telephone network campaigning against excessive contract costs.

As he offers to return the phones of his targets in Piccadilly Circus, he asks them if they want to pay to get back something they already own – which Virgin Media O2 says consumers will do if they continue to pay for expired contracts.

The network estimates that Brits are paying £530 million in extra contract costs every year, with millions overpaying for smartphones for deals that have expired.

It’s estimated that the average consumer pays £200 more than they should every year for expired deals – a quarter of the cost of buying a new iPhone 15.

With phone contracts, the cost of the device is fixed for the minimum term (usually 24 months) and when that expires, the phone is paid off.

But unless people switch to a new deal, or switch to a SIM-only contract that only covers service costs, they’ll end up paying for a phone that’s already theirs.

Mr Thompson jokes in the video: ‘It’s a daylight robbery.’

Research commissioned by Virgin Media O2 shows that more than a quarter of Brits think they pay too much for their deals, while a similar number of people have been with the same network for ten years.

It has launched a online overpayment calculator that can tell consumers whether it is time to change their contract.

Rob Orr, Chief Operations Officer at the network, said: ‘Every day millions of people unknowingly pay for phones they already own when they could be saving a fortune.

‘Our research shows that millions of telephone users are rightly dissatisfied with the fact that they are asked to pay twice for their telephone.

‘We continue to highlight this pernicious practice to ensure that the British stop paying for what is rightfully theirs.’

Some of the network’s respondents even said they had had the same phone for a decade, suggesting that if they had never switched contracts, they might have paid for their phone two or three times over.

But 30 percent of Brits say they rarely check their phone bill to see if their contract is coming to an end, despite two-thirds saying they would be unhappy if they found out they were being charged for a phone they paid for in full .

Virgin Media O2 boss Mr Orr added: ‘Over the past decade, O2 has been the only network operator to automatically and completely reduce customers’ bills once their handset is paid off.

‘But unfortunately millions of people on other networks are being scammed without even realizing it.

‘At a time when three-quarters of Britons have had to make cuts, it cannot be right that other mobile network operators continue to charge their customers hundreds of pounds for phones they have already paid for.

‘That money could go a long way at the moment, so we’re urging everyone to check they’re not paying too much using our online calculator, which will show you in seconds if they’re at risk. ‘

Not every pickpocketing victim is so lucky, especially in London, where a mobile phone is reportedly stolen every six minutes.

The Met Police say 57,000 were stolen in the capital in 2022, with thieves using tactics such as distraction to make off with devices.

Snatchers have even taken to running through the streets on mopeds, ripping devices out of people’s hands as they scroll or make phone calls.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Chief Constable Sir Mark Rowley have challenged smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung to ‘dodge’ robberies by making phones less attractive to thieves.

Earlier this month, a summit involving civic chiefs and phone bosses took place, with Mr Khan calling on companies to come up with new ways to secure mobile phones so they cannot be reused and resold.

The mayor said: ‘Right now it is far too easy and profitable for criminals to reuse and sell stolen phones. That has to change.’