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

• ‘Professional pickpocket’ Lee Thompson targeted unwilling victims in London
• READ MORE: Sadiq Khan and Met Police ask phone firms to ‘design out’ theft

A ‘professional pickpocket’ who makes a living out of stealing people’s belongings has taken to Piccadilly Circus to swipe mobile phones in broad daylight – before handing them back to their astonished owners.

Lee Thompson, a security expert who performs as a ‘pickpocket for hire’, can be seen distracting Londoners in a publicity stunt for a mobile phone network.

In the footage, Thompson effortlessly slips his hand into the pockets of unsuspecting ‘victims’ and extracting the pricey devices without them realising – in some cases, pulling the stunt twice on the same person in a matter of seconds.

After filching the phones, he asks his ‘victims’ to show him their device – and that’s when the penny drops. As one pats down their pockets, he produces their property and quips: ‘How would you feel if I had your phone?’

Speaking to a girl in a green jumpsuit, Magic Circle member Mr Thompson says: ‘Go on, get your phone out’ – and as it dawns on her it’s missing, he pulls it from his own pocket, making her exclaim ‘Oh my God,’ covering her mouth with her hand.

Professional pickpocket Lee Thompson took to the streets of London to show how easy it is to lift phones from the pockets of unaware victims

In the video, he can be seen deftly slipping phones out of his targets’ pockets – without them ever being aware

He then offers to give them back – for a fee. The stunt was filmed for Virgin Media O2, which claims consumers are overpaying for their phones to the tune of £530million each year

READ MORE: Could you be at risk? Expert pickpocket steals £2,000 worth of iPhones, purses and wallets in four hours in shocking video showing how easy it is to be robbed 

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

In 2015, he was hired by building society 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 sleight of hand talents have 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 ad for the phone network as it rallies against excess contract charges.

As he offers to return the phones of his targets in Piccadilly Circus, he asks them if they’d pay to get back something they already own – which Virgin Media O2 claims consumers are doing when they continue paying for expired contracts. 

The network estimates that Brits are paying £530m in excess contract charges every year, with millions overpaying for smartphones on deals that have run their course.

It estimates that the average consumer is paying £200 more than they should each year on expired deals – a quarter of the cost of buying a new iPhone 15.

Phone contracts see the cost of the device folded in for the minimum term – usually 24 months – and when that comes to an end the phone has been paid off.

But unless people either swap to a new deal, or change to a SIM-only contract that covers the cost of service alone, they end up paying for a phone that’s already theirs.

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

Lee Thompson ‘pickpockets’ another phone from an unsuspecting victim – but thankfully he handed it back after showing just how easy it was to steal

Thompson’s sleight of hand skills have seen him recruited by the likes of Cirque du Soleil

Brits admit they don’t realise they’re being overcharged for phones

Virgin Media O2 says most customers of phone networks don’t realise they’re being overcharged for contracts that have run their course. 

Polling carried out by OnePoll for the operator found:

• 52 per cent of Brits admit they don’t know how much it would have cost to buy their phone outright
• 30 per cent say they rarely check their phone bill to see if their contract has lapsed
• 48 per cent say they would never have signed up for a phone deal if they had known they were at risk of being overcharged
• 82 per cent say phone networks should do more to stop customers being overcharged at the end of their contracts
• 43 per cent say they would switch networks if they found out they were paying for a phone that they already owned outright
• 16 per cent of people believe that all phone providers are the same, deterring them from switching 

Research commissioned by Virgin Media O2 found that more than a quarter of Brits believe they are overpaying for their deals, while a similar number of people have been with the same network for a decade.

It has launched an online overpayment calculator that can tell consumers if it’s time to switch up their contract.

Rob Orr, chief operations officer at the network, said: ‘Every day, millions of people are unknowingly paying for phones they already own when they could be saving a fortune.

‘Our research shows millions of phone users are rightly unhappy they’re being asked to pay twice for their phones.

‘We’re continuing to shine a light on this pernicious practise to ensure Brits stop paying for what’s rightfully theirs.’

Some of those surveyed by the network even said they had owned the same phone for a decade – suggesting that, if they never switched to a different contract, they may have paid for their phone twice or three times over.

But 30 per cent of Brits say they rarely check their phone bill to see if they’re out of contract – despite two-thirds saying they would be unhappy to find out they were being charged for a phone they’ve paid for in full.

Virgin Media O2 boss Mr Orr added: ‘For the past decade, O2 has been the only network operator to have been automatically and fully reducing customers’ bills once their handset has been paid off.

‘But unfortunately, millions of people on other networks are getting swindled without even realising.

‘At a time when three quarters of Brits have had to cut back on spending, it can’t be right that other mobile network operators are continuing to charge their customers hundreds of pounds for phones they’ve already paid for.

‘That money could go a long way right now, so we’re urging everyone to check they’re not overpaying using our online calculator which reveals in just seconds if they’re at risk.’

Not every victim of pickpocketing is quite so lucky, especially in London where a mobile phone is said to be stolen every six minutes.

The Met Police says 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 charging along streets on mopeds and pulling devices from people’s hands as they’re scrolling or making calls. 

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley have challenged smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung to ‘design out’ robbery by making phones less appealing to thieves.

A summit involving the civic heads and phone bosses took place earlier this month, with Mr Khan calling for firms to devise new ways of securing mobile phones so they cannot be repurposed and sold on.

The Mayor said: ‘Right now, it is far too easy and profitable for criminals to repurpose and sell on stolen phones. That must change.’ 

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