This is the moment an ‘influencer’ caught on camera an apparent attempted phone snatching on the streets of London.
Ayoub Alouane, a self-described ‘international speaker’ in the tech industry, was livestreaming with a pair of smart glasses when a masked cyclist flew past him and apparently attempted to take his phone.
In the video, Mr Alouane can be seen speaking into his phone while filming himself on what appears to be a pair of Ray Ban Meta sunglasses- a type of virtual reality glasses that retail for as much as £329.
All of a sudden, a cyclist hurtles past him and appears to reach out to snatch the phone.
Reacting to what has seemingly just happened, Mr Alouane exclaimed: ‘What the f***.’
Mr Alouane is not the first influencer to have caught on camera an apparent attempted mugging in the capital. In March, TikToker Sophie Hockings – known online as The One With All The Pink – was recording herself on a street in Highbury Fields, Islington, London.
Ayoub Alouane was livestreaming with a pair of smart glasses when a masked cyclist flew past him and apparently attempted to take his phone
All of a sudden, a cyclist hurtles past him and appears to reach out to snatch the phone. Reacting to what has seemingly just happened Mr Alouane exclaimed: ‘What the f***’
Mr Alouane is not the first influencer to have caught on camera an apparent attempted mugging in the capital. In March, TikToker Sophie Hockings also caught on camera an alleged attempted phone snatching
Just moments into her video about smear tests, a stranger on a bicycle rapidly approached Sophie from behind and swiped the phone.
Despite the initial panic, the thief appeared to change his mind after Ms Hockings politely requested that he give her the mobile back. The video shows the culprit pause while running away, before they allow the 28-year-old to take her phone back after she asked nicely.
Speaking to MailOnline, Ms Hockings expressed her relief at getting her brand-new iPhone 15 Pro back, which she only upgraded to last month.
She said: ‘Lots of people were getting in touch saying it had happened to them, and in the same area which is mad. I always thought it was a safe area.
‘Someone said that maybe he thought I was on Facetime and they may have seen his face which is why he might of dropped it. Or maybe it locked, I don’t know.
‘I didn’t report it to the police, but I probably would have if it had been stolen. But he had these huge latex gloves on and a face mask so I’m not sure what good it would be.
‘It is so scary. My friend had her phone stolen on a night out and had to change all her bank details. It’s scary how much we have on them.
‘I had my phone stolen a few years ago in the same area, but it was only an old one.’
In another video posted on TikTok, Aminah Ali was filming outside a London restaurant in April this year when the content creator claims a woman swiped her phone.
She claims the lady asked for money, but as she did so was waving a piece of paper, which she sneakily allowed to drop over Ms Ali’s device so she could take it.
In another video posted on TikTok, Aminah Ali was filming outside a London restaurant in April this year when the content creator claims a woman swiped her phone
Ms Ali only realised her phone was missing a few minutes later and her ‘heart dropped’ when her friend Iryna Leterova revealed she had captured the moment the alleged thief positioned the paper so she could swipe the device.
Footage posted on TikTok shows a woman approaching Ms ALi’s table and the content creator cautiously grab her bag but forget to pick up her phone, which the alleged crook begins to place a piece of paper over as a distraction.
In a follow-up video, Aminah issues a strong message to help others take precautions as ‘your phone can be snatched out of your hand at any time’.
Dozens of TikTok users flooded the comments section to say that the ‘same thing’ happened to them and many even recognised the woman as having allegedly done the same scam to them.
Other users branded Ms Ali ‘crazy’ for leaving her phone exposed in central London.