Moment London moped thief mounts pavement and snatches phone from unsuspecting victim's hand in SECONDS

• Moped-riding thief mounts pavement and drives up behind unsuspecting victim
• Thief snatches phone out of the pedestrian's hand and flees scene in seconds
• The incident reportedly along Old Street in London just after 1pm on April 19This is the shocking moment a moped-riding thief snatches a phone from an unsuspecting pedestrian before fleeing the scene.

  CCTV footage shows the thief mounting the pavement and driving up behind the victim as he pushes a bike along.

  The thief then appears to snatch the phone out of the pedestrian's hand before swiftly driving away. 

  The incident, which took only a few seconds, reportedly occurred in Old Street in north east London just after 1pm on April 19.

  

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  The moped-riding thief scopes out their next victim as they drive along Old Street in north east London just after 1pm on April 19

  

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  The thief mounts the pavement and begins to drive up behind the unsuspecting victim At the end of the clip, which was shared this month on social media, the victim watches on helplessly as the thief flees.

  The scenes come just weeks after a man, identified only as Max, had his phone snatched near Old Street roundabout by a youth riding a bicycle.

  The thief pulled onto the pavement and looped round before riding at speed towards his victim and grabbing his handset.

  However the youth dropped the phone as his victim began to chase after him and fled the scene without the device.    

  

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  The thief snatches the pedestrian's phone as he walks along the pavement with his bicycle 

  

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  The rider grabs hold of the phone from the unsuspecting victim and flees the scene on his moped

  In 2017, a gang of moped thieves were filmed careening down the pavement and snatching a mobile from a lone pedestrian on Junction road in Tufnell Park, north London.

  Also that year Jeremy Corbyn's son Tommy told of how he was mugged by a thief on a moped as he walked through Holloway in Islington. 

  In November 2018, the police revealed they would use 'tactical contact' manoeuvres using their cars to stop suspected criminals on mopeds.  

  Commander Amanda Pearson, of the Met's front-line policing unit, said the approach was needed to stop dangerous chases. 

  MailOnline has approached the Metropolitan Police for comment.

  Met Police provides advice on avoiding mobile phone theft 

  The Met Police said mobile phone theft is a major problem in London with thousands of devices taken each year. 

  Traditionally, thieves would pickpocket their victims or use table surfing. 

  However, over the past couple of years the number of thefts involving criminals using mopeds or bicycles has increased dramatically. 

  The Met advises mobile phone users to be aware of their surroundings to reduce the chance of having their handset stolen, especially in high threat areas. 

  According to Scotland Yard: 

  • If you need to call or use your phone on the street, look out for anyone on a bike or a moped near you. Look up, look out
  • Make it quick so you don't become distracted
  • Don't text while you're walking – you won't notice what's going on around you
  • If that's not possible, stand away from the roadside, close to a building or wall, so no one can come up behind you
  • Going hands-free can prevent a thief from snatching your phone out of your hand

  Scotland Yard insists it has a specialist team, Operation Venice, tasked with targeting moped and bicycle crime. 

  They are also monitoring stores that sell secondhand electronics to prevent them from dealing in stolen phones.   

  The areas around Camden, Islington, Westminster, Hackney and Haringey have the biggest problems of mobile phone theft. 

  Other advice includes: 

  • You must switch on your phone's security features to protect your phone
  • Use the keypad lock so that thieves cannot immediately access your phone, or use the biometric authentication if your phone has it (finger print or facial recognition)
  • Your phone may have other security features you can use – these could allow you to wipe data, lock your handset, or prevent a thief from restoring a phone to its factory settings from another internet device
  • Consider installing an anti-theft app. These can be an effective way of helping police trace your phone and identify the thief

  Source: Metropolitan Police