Criminals are using a new technique to get access to people's phones, and bank details and drain their accounts. Police say thieves are exploiting human behaviour to get around the safety features of banking apps.
Detective Superintendent John Roch told the BBC thieves now "shoulder surf" victims, watching as they enter their PIN before grabbing the phone.
DS Roch, head of economic crime at the Metropolitan Police in London, said: "It's only a phone... but if you take that out without the right precautions and protections around it you are essentially walking around with a bag of cash.
"If you start to think of it like that, would you walk into a bar, put it down and turn your back on it? Probably not."
He added: "It's not on a massive scale, it's a crime that exists and we do see it... [but] the potential outcome is devastating for victims," he says.
"Because should a criminal be successful in getting into the phone and then getting into the bank apps they have access to have your whole savings, your whole life, whatever it is that you have stored on that financial app".
