How pickpockets steal from inside jacket pockets
byHow pickpockets steal from inside jacket pockets usually involves the application of something disgusting, much like the pigeon poop pickpocket does. Occasionally, they use…
Thieves
Bangkok theft from tuk-tuk passengers
byBangkok theft has gotten bad enough that police have posted warnings about theft from tuk-tuk passengers. The convenient little auto-rickshaws, ubiquitous on the streets…
Pickpockets prefer women. Why and what to do.
byPickpockets prefer women! It’s not that we’re any less savvy. It’s the darn handbag. It’s simply easier for a pickpocket to slip his fingers…
Theft-proof vacation travel
byTheft-proof vacation Just about now, millions of people are thinking about summer travel. For many, it will be foreign travel. Novice or expert, it…
The Unattended Purse
byJust a little reminder to women… A thief needs only a few seconds to assume ownership of unattended riches. Those few seconds are easily…
Interview in an Opium Den – Pickpockets in Morocco
byIn a dim, smoky opium den, we faced the backlit profile of the Moroccan pickpocket. He barely looked at us, concentrating instead on our…
Pickpocket beggars
byOn the heels of the Louvre pickpocket debacle, here’s a profile of two exuberant Roma women pickpocket beggars who tell us how they do…
Pickpockets in the Louvre
byPickpockets running rife in the Louvre—nothing new there. Pickpockets acting aggressively: in our 20 years of active street crime research, we’ve been flipped off,…
The Thieves of Naples—part 8
byNAPLES, ITALY, the week before christmas. After his demonstration of hard bargaining, pickpockets Angelo and Luciano smoke on the narrow balcony while we chat…
The Thieves of Naples—part 7
byNAPLES, ITALY, the week before christmas. Michele arrives promptly at Circumvesuviana station with his brother Lucca. Lucca’s nice to have along, and also helps…
The Thieves of Naples—part 6
byNAPLES, ITALY, the week before christmas. Leaving our hotel at 12:30 to meet Michele for our 1:30 appointment with Luciano, we pass by the…
The Thieves of Naples—part 5
byNAPLES, ITALY, the week before christmas. At the Piazza Garibaldi bus stop outside the main train station Michele goes to buy a bus ticket…
The Thieves of Naples—part 4
byNAPLES, ITALY, the week before christmas. We take the tram to Circumvesuviana train station to meet Michele, with whom we intend to go find…
The Thieves of Naples—part 3
byThe Thieves of Naples NAPLES, ITALY, the week before christmas. At Osteria Tonino, a small family restaurant, we were seated with friends of the…
The Thieves of Naples—part 2
byNAPLES, ITALY, the week before christmas. Everywhere we go, people recognize Bob from the film. They stop in cars in the street (1:30 a.m….
The Thieves of Naples
byNAPLES, ITALY, the week before christmas. POURING rain. 3:30 p.m. and it’s already dark, with gushing rivers flowing through the streets. Our luggage didn’t…
Why Pickpocketing Continues
byHow Laws Tie Hands, And Cut Them Off Sharif spat a mouthful of blood as he laid his right arm across a wide tree…
Salvador Dali theft prevention
bySalvador Dali knew about lurking lobby luggage thieves.
Portrait of a hanger thief
byThis man had weighed his bag and was now shedding stuff when I saw him at the check-in counter in Pisa airport. What he…
Child phone thieves answer questions
byFlorin and his 13-year-old pal emphasize that they are not pickpockets—they are phone thieves. They steal phones from tabletops, not from people. The distinction…
Bob Arno pickpocketed in Bali—video
byWhat kind of monkey business is going on when the thief rejects cash and throws bills taken from the pocket onto the ground? Watch…
Bag tag sabotage
byFor various reasons, my luggage is hard to steal from. I take hundreds of flights every year, and so far, thank goodness, nothing has…
TSA thieves
by“New figures out today show 381 TSA officers have been fired for stealing from passengers and their luggage, and members of Congress think that…
Bag theft epidemic at Atlanta Airport carousel
byAtlanta Airport Police tell a business traveler that luggage theft from the carousel is currently an “epidemic” and “out of control.” The busines-traveler-victim plays…
Pickpocket steals from jacket on cafe chair
byA strategist thief is one who creates his own opportunity, one who operates on a specific plan, one who steals with malice aforethought. The…
Smartphone theft and police response
bySince recently coming to understand the high numbers of smartphone theft in Barcelona, the manners in which they’re stolen, and the strategic refusal of…
How a stolen credit card number makes cash for a fraudster
byAll this talk of stolen credit cards and “skimming.” Then what? What happens after you’ve swiped your card through a tampered-with ATM, gas pump,…
Barcelona bag-snatch and the lucky victims
byBarcelona police are eager to report a theft when they catch the thief and return the victim’s property—if the following story is any indication….
Barcelona’s Ronaldinho pickpocket technique
byThieves who operate on the principles of stealth, motion, or impedence strive to minimize contact with their victim. Zero face-time is their preference. Minimal…
Beach bag theft
byI met the elderly British victim moments after her bag was stolen. She’d been sitting on the beach in Alicante, Spain, eating potato chips….