A fitness influencer who had her Louis Vuitton suitcase stolen outside London St Pancras has revealed the sophisticated tactics the thieves used to distract her.
Colleen Bankston and her husband were loading luggage into an Uber on Sunday morning when she believes at least three criminals worked together to target her – one of them communicating with the others through a headset.
The 62-year-old was standing next to her Louis Vuitton suitcase containing a large sum of cash, designer handbags and 'sentimental' jewellery her husband had given her 35 years ago.
A stranger suddenly approached the couple and asked where they were going and if he could ride with them.
Seconds later Mrs Bankston, who had just lowered the handle of her case to put it in the taxi, realised the bag - which retails for more than £2,600 - was no longer by her side.
A man across the road caught the entire incident on camera, having allegedly seen the same gang of thieves operating outside the station on multiple occasions.
His footage shows the first man distracting the couple, while a second circles the group and a third grabs the suitcase and scurries off with it, disappearing inside the station.
Mrs Bankston, a personal trainer from Georgia who has 23,000 followers on Facebook, said this would not have happened in America. 'I'm devastated. There were three of them right there; the one guy came up while the Uber driver was loading our luggage up [...] and asked my husband what I thought was a very stupid question,' she said.
'He said "where are you going, can I ride with you?" I was like, "what?" Why would somebody want to ride with us?"
Footage shows a man talking to Colleen Bankston and her husband while a second man bends down to pick up the suitcase. A third circles the group while holding his phone
Colleen Bankston, 62, had her suitcase stolen at St Pancras station in London on Sunday
'He wanted to know where we were going, and if he could ride with [us].'
Mrs Bankston, who had been travelling to a cruise, said: 'I couldn't stop crying, and my husband said "do you want to go home?" and I said "yes." We went straight to the airport and flew home.
'Every night I'm waking up just reliving it. Some of the jewellery I had was very sentimental – stuff I've had my entire marriage that my husband gave me 35 years ago.'
Mrs Bankston said she was extremely precious about the bag and never let it out of her sight.
'I never let an Uber driver touch it,' she said. 'I had just pushed my handle down, and I was getting ready to grip it and take it in the back seat with me. He grabbed it that fast.
'From now on I will research the country and find out what it is that happens there. I don't want to say America is better because it's not, but good grief I could let go of my luggage for two seconds in America.'
She added: 'The guy who filmed the video said the reason he was watching this guy is because he sees him do this all the time.'
Mrs Bankston posted the footage on social media in a bid to catch the thieves.
She captioned the clip: 'Get this guy who stole my bag before he gets someone else or, worse, takes a child.'
He begins walking off with the bag, clutching it to his chest so it is less visible
The suspected thief, wearing headphones and a baseball cap, walks quickly along the outside of the station before turning into the entrance
The men were wearing baseball caps and headphones – the latter often used by thieves to give the impression they are commuters listening to music, it is understood.
Asking to get in someone's taxi is said to be a common tactic used by organised groups before stealing their bag, with social media reports claiming similar incidents have happened at St Pancras before.
Other less discreet tactics include swiping commuters with paint as a distraction before taking their goods. Made In Chelsea's Yasmine Zweegers was a victim of the terrifying paint scam in February last year.
The influencer was in King's Cross when thieves cruelly stole her jewellery, laptop, camera and clothes, totalling around £8,000.
Yasmine believed a man, who had offered the reality TV star a tissue to clean mysterious brown paint from her coat, was simply being a kind stranger but seconds later her bag was snatched while she was distracted.
The wife of legendary former F1 driver Jenson Button, Brittny, was also targeted at St Pancras last year, when the star briefly turned his back to load luggage into a car and a thief grabbed her Goyard carry-on suitcase - speeding away with more than £250,000 worth of jewellery and designer handbags.
Furious viewers reacted to the footage of Mrs Bankston's bag being stolen on social media this week. One wrote: 'He has definitely done this before... He is a pro... I bet he has stolen countless bags from tourists.'
Another said: 'Happened two weeks ago to my friend at St Pancras.'
The suspect who took the bag looked smart in a white polo shirt, blue suit trousers, a black rucksack and glasses.
The British Transport Police, who have since passed the investigation on to the Metropolitan Police, previously said: 'Officers are aware of a video showing a man taking a suitcase from outside St Pancras International railway station on Sunday, August 30.
'Enquiries are ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact British Transport Police by texting 61016, quoting reference 447 of September 1.'
The Daily Mail has contacted the Met Police for comment.