A woman, who posed as a beggar, stole a mobile phone from a coffee shop customer with a distraction trick.
The fake down-and-out walked into the cafe and approached two men sitting at a table.
The phoney vagrant, clad in a grey coat and white woolly hat, spots one of them as his phone is on the table.
As she starts talking to him and asks for money, she places a piece of paper down.
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The sheet, which explains her made-up plight, covers up his phone in front of him.
She chats to the male friends for 12 seconds before using the paper as a disguise to slide the mobile into her hand.
The other man then finds a few coins in his pocket and hands them to the woman who then backs away from the table.
She quickly leaves the coffee shop in case the victim realises his phone is missing.
The scary crime was captured on CCTV in the coffee shop in North Finchley, north London.
The thief was then seen dancing down the street and getting into a waiting car outside moments later at 1:50pm on Friday (26 Jan).
The owner of the cafe has reported it to the police.
The fake beggar had a female accomplice, it’s understood.
Local, Channel Lilley said: “This happened to me in Wood Green.”
Another, named Bella, said: “This is why I don’t help people anymore like this.
“I just say no move away.”
Kamran added: “This better not happen to me.
“Or else whoever that person is to even think about trying to thieve me in a way, won’t be living.”
The Met Police has been approached for comment.
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