Pretend to be selling the cards while stealing mobiles

Chiswick locals are being targeted by gangs who are stealing mobile phones by using the latest distraction technique.

The suspects are visiting pubs, cafes and shops where people are at tables with their phones on view beside them.

They then approach the person and put some greetings cards on the table pretending to be offering them for sale, but what they are doing is placing the card over the item they intend to steal, usually a phone.

When the person says "no", they simply pick up the card and the object it was concealing and walk out.

The police say that many of the stores in Chiswick are aware of this and are good at deterring the thieves, but they are still active and there have offences all along the High Road.

The police have arrested one team, who are currently on bail pending a court hearing, but they travel in from other areas to target streets like the High Road.

The advice is to keep property in view or safe and never allow somebody who is hawking goods to get in to your personal space or place anything near you.

September 11, 2015