There is currently an epidemic of phone thefts in our area, and London in general.

Please be on your guard, especially against moped riders who will mount the kerb to snatch your phone.

Advice to thwart the thieves:

1. Try not to use your phone when walking through the streets. Thieves on stolen mopeds and cycles are expert at spotting expensive phones and often work in pairs.
2. “Hugger muggers” are affectionate strangers who flatter you, or pretend to be drunk and throw themselves at you, but in reality they’re whipping your phone out of your back pocket.
3. Take care when summoning an Uber or seeing how close it is. That’s a perfect moment for a thief to pounce.
4. Don’t put valuables on the front seat of your car when you’re driving.
5. Café theft is common. A friendly looking stranger comes to your table to ask for directions or local advice and meanwhile hides your phone under a map or menu and then sneaks off with it after the conversation is over.
6. Bored at the bus stop and checking your phone? That’s an ideal time for an opportunist to grab hold of it.
7. Utilise Find My Phone and immobilise.com
8. Don’t store personal details on a phone which a thief could use.