Suspected Harlem muggers accidentally send selfies to police

The images, taken on a stolen phone, were automatically uploaded to the victim's photo-sharing account

The series of muggings took place in New York's Harlem district last year (Getty Images)

These days, it seems there’s never a wrong time to take a selfie – unless you have just stolen someone’s phone that is.

A pair of suspected robbers unwittingly sent selfies to police from a mobile phone they stole during a spate of muggings in Harlem, according to the NYPD.

The duo pretended to have a gun when they stole the phone from an 18-year-old man, who was walking near Seventh Avenue and West 117th Street at around 8.30pm on 24 September last year.

But when they later posed for photographs on the robbed device, the images were automatically uploaded to the victim’s photo-sharing account, police said.

In the photos, released by the NYPD, the two men can be seen wearing black Lacoste hoodies.

Investigators have linked the phone theft to three other robberies in Harlem, in which mobile phones, money and a MetroCard were stolen.

On 29 July, the suspects told a 55-year-old man they had a gun before mugging him as he was walking into his Harlem apartment building around 3.45am, according to the NYPD.

On the same day, around 11pm, the pair acquired a real gun and robbed a 29-year-old man near Eighth Avenue and West 116th Street, police said.

The duo is also suspected of mugging a 17-year-old outside his Harlem apartment building on 19 September around 8pm.

None of the victims were injured in the muggings, police said.

The suspects are described as being in their late teens or early 20s and between 5-foot-9 and 6-feet tall.