Well now, we all know that when it comes to mobile phones they are an attractive item for thieves, and there are many pickpockets out there in the big wide world that would causally lift your smartphone from your pocket and be on their way with you oblivious to losing your device. However it appears that over in China at least one thief has taken to using a different tool for his pickpocket larks…chopsticks.

What we have for your consideration below is recent video footage of this Chinese thief in action with his pickpocket chopsticks, which comes our way courtesy of the guys over at Newslite and by way of YouTube user Oasisman.

The footage lasts just 48 seconds and shows the thief attempting to snatch a victim’s mobile phone from their pocket, something he does successfully, but is caught in the act when he isn’t quite quick enough at concealing his ill-gotten gains and drops the device.

The chopstick crook targets his victim while he waits at a bus stop, moves behind the unsuspecting guy and adeptly slips the chopsticks into the targets pocket and withdraws the mobile phone albeit taking two attempts.

However when the victim realises his mobile phone is gone the thief makes out that guy had probably dropped the device, and thus the target gets his phone back.

So it just goes to show that you can’t be too vigilant out there when it comes to making sure your smartphone is in a safe place on your person otherwise some lowlife crook will swipe it from you, whether they use chopsticks to snatch it though is another matter.

Having said that, what gets me about videos such as these is, are they actually put up jobs purely for entertainment purposes? The reason I say this is because who actually records such footage, and how do they know? I figure of course that the footage could have been captured on CCTV, which leads me to wonder if the pickpocket was actually apprehended in due course, but that one I guess we’ll never know.

Anyway, head on down and hit that play button to check out the chopstick toting pickpocket in action, and remember, always keep your smartphone close and away from the thieving eyes of crooks.