A classic pickpocket maneuver in St. Petersburg, Russia, choreographed by a team and a spotter. Takes place within the tight confines of a cramped convenience store on Nevsky Prospekt.
Continue readingBeware St. Petersburg Pickpockets
Locked bike stripped by thieves? Or…
The bike owner used a massive chain and hefty lock to secure his bike to a pole. He had a delivery to make at the nearby Terrific Tenements. He was only away for half an hour or so as he located the address, dashed up a couple of flights, and got a signature for his delivery.
When he returned, the front wheel of his bike was gone. In an iffier neighborhood, he’d have popped off the front wheel and run the chain through it to prevent just this scenario. Now he was stranded.
Angry at the thief and angrier at himself for his laxness, he pulled out his iPhone and requested an Uber. Four minutes. In New York City, that could mean twelve, with traffic, double parking, out-of-order stoplights. He watched the progress of his ride on the phone.
Wham! He was suddenly viciously shoved from behind. As he stumbled forward, his phone was ripped from his hand. He fell, landing on his face, barely aware that his pockets were rifled. He never saw the thieves. He didn’t hear them, or know how many there were.
His Uber arrived a few minutes later. He dragged himself up, bloodied and bruised, and hobbled to the car.
“What happened, man?”
“Thugs,” was all he could manage, “my phone’s gone. And my front wheel.” He patted his pockets and shuddered, emerging from his shock. “Uh, also my wallet and keys.”
“Aw, brutal, man. Here, catch the blood.” The driver thrust a wad of Dunkin Donuts napkins for the injured man’s scraped face and cut hand.
“Shit, they got my bike lock key. I can’t even take my bike. Or what’s left of it.” The biker stared up at the sky for a moment and blotted his face. The driver waited patiently.
“D’you have a wrench, by any chance?”
“Sure, man, I have a tool bag in the trunk.” The driver popped open the trunk and spilled out his tool collection.
The bike rider picked out a wrench, a couple of screwdrivers, and a set of Allen wrenches. He went to work on his bike, removing first the saddle and its post, then the pedals, chain, rear wheel, handlebars with cables and accessories, the fenders, the rear rack, the kickstand, the seat post, and the brakes. He put each piece of his bike into the trunk, finally wiping his hands on the Dunkin Donuts napkins.
“Maybe I can get another key and come back for the frame,” he said, “or maybe it’s not even worth it. I think I’m done with biking in this city.” He rubbed his face, the unbloodied side, submindful of the time he sped into the opening door of a parked car, shattering the bones in his face. “I’ll sell these parts. Better than letting the thieves get it all.”
…
Or, was the bike stripped by thieves?
Maybe thieves did get it all. I saw this bike, or what was left of it, in the Hell’s Kitchen area of New York City a couple weeks ago. It wasn’t the only bicycle remains I saw still locked to poles, but it was the cleanest.
Wonder about that writing on the sidewalk? It’s a quote from Bob Dylan’s Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power). Improperly punctuated (“where’s”), but has to make you wonder what else happened on this spot.
Scippatori: Italy’s Famous Scooter Thieves Rob Savvy Traveler
Doug Nabhan, a lawyer in Richmond, Virginia, shared his experience:
It was 4pm in Naples’ central government plaza…
Two on a scooter.
Violently tackled from behind.
Stolen: my wallet and Rolex.
I am a very seasoned traveler having traveled to 80 countries, many of them dozens of times. I never go out with my big wallet holding my passport and I never travel with a real Rolex.
This time, in Naples, Italy [of all places! —ed.], I had violated both rules.
I had a real Rolex on because I had been in a business meeting in Rome and I had my big wallet because I was leaving to go back to Rome in the morning. I got up from a little pizza place and walked into the public square where all of municipal buildings are. It was broad daylight and there were army vehicles there.
I had walked only about ten yards from the restaurant when of course I heard a motorcycle coming and thought nothing of it. The next thing I knew he literally ran into me and knocked my feet out from under me. I landed on my face and hip. He grabbed my wallet and threw it to the guy on the bike and then wrestled my watch off. It happened in three for four seconds.
I went back to the Army vehicle where the officer would have seen it but for he was facing in the opposite direction. The officer was very kind and called the police who arrived in 30 seconds. The police were furious. They made some calls and had video of the incident in twenty minutes. I got to see it. The police were very impressive and I was convinced that if they found the guy they would beat him to death!
What really makes me mad is that I actually liked Naples and the people. Everyone thought I was crazy to like the place.
For a couple reasons I was lucky. Everything was insured and I did not get injured worse. I also had a solid gold crucifix on and a huge gold ring on.
This happened Easter weekend this year and I am still very jumpy. I’ve given it a lot of thought. The most important thing is simply not to have jewelry on that is expensive. Obviously they have spotters all over the place.
Why not dress some people like tourists with a wallet and a watch and set them up? Seems like an easy way to solve the crime wave.
Scippatori: Italy’s Famous Scooter Thieves
Oh yes, Doug was so lucky. Sometimes, scooter-theft victims die from their brutal attacks.
Doug had responded to my survey on pickpocket incidents. Yes, he did file a police report after his scooter-theft in Naples. [I haven’t compiled results yet, but the great majority of survey respondents did not file police reports.] An experienced traveler, Doug’s incident shook him so badly that even months later here he is visiting Thiefhunters in Paradise to learn about pickpockets and scippatori, Italy’s famous scooter thieves.
When Bob Arno and I first began our thiefhunting, we too, broke our rules, just like Doug did (and in Naples, of all places!). We were walking in Quartieri Spagnoli during siesta; I had a purse, Bob wore a real Rolex. The streets were deserted. We didn’t hear the silent Vespa that rolled up behind us with the motor off until two thieves jumped off and tackled Bob while the third started the engine. I hit one thug over the head with my lethal umbrella (broke the umbrella—not the head!) while Bob bellowed “POLICIA!” Luckily, the trio absconded with nothing. Even now, more than 20 years later, I still flinch and turn at the sound of a scooter.
Scippatori
Scippatori go for handbags, Rolexes, phones, and any valuables they can quickly snatch. Their speed, desperation, and brutality make them especially dangerous. As Doug concluded, the best defense is to avoid looking like an attractive target. Don’t wear jewelry. Don’t carry a purse. Don’t brandish a phone or camera. Don’t have anything grabbable.
Scippatori are currently flourishing in London, where they’re called “moped thieves.” The bandits maneuver their scooters and motorcycles right up onto sidewalks, sometimes in slow motion, snatch phones and handbags, then weave through traffic to make quick getaways.
Doug suggests a sting operation to solve pickpocketing and scooter theft in Naples. Something of the sort was set up by a German newspaper in, I think, the 90s. They had a journalist walk along a street with a handbag chained to himself (or herself). Predictably, the bait was taken! But the backseat scooter-rider-thief who snatched the chained bag was jerked off the fleeing machine, injured—and sued the paper!
In Naples, the thieves are mostly locals and mostly known to police. Pickpocket has long been just one common—almost acceptable—profession in Naples. Police there, when approached by a victim, usually just throw up their hands and blow a puff of air, as if it’s simply another tourist tax. It’s interesting to learn that the police and army officers were responsive to Doug. Maybe, finally, they’re ready to crack down on low-level criminals. Or maybe Doug found a particularly sympathetic officer. Pickpocketing and tourist theft is so embedded in the culture, I wonder if it can ever change.
I know what Doug means about liking Naples. The people are incredibly warm. Even the pickpockets: first they steal from us (a fake wallet) then invite us for coffee! I call it the City of Hugs and Thugs.
Read How to Steal a Rolex.
Read Where to Carry Valuables
Read about the Thieves of Naples
Read Revelations of a Rolex Thief
Read about Watch-Stealing
Read about The City of Hugs and Thugs
Watch the National Geographic documentary Pickpocket King about thiefhunters Bob Arno and Bambi Vincent, filmed in Naples with professional career pickpockets.
Read about Scooter snatch theft in London Now
London Scooter Snatch-Theft Skyrockets. Going? Read this!
In London, scooter snatch-theft is skyrocketing.
If you’re planning a visit there, you better read on. Simple awareness of this dangerous trending crime could save your skin and bones, besides your purse and phone.
Before I define the crime, listen: if you’re a tourist in London, you’re going to be in the danger zone. One street alone has had more than 240 scooter snatch-thefts. Tourists’ favorite areas are the thieves’ favorite areas.
London scooter snatch-theft
The crime: The bandits are usually two on a scooter, Vespa, moped, or motorbike. They’re often completely covered with jackets and full-head helmets. The victim is standing or walking along with a purse or bag—or most often the target is a mobile phone. The scooter speeds by and the backseat rider snatches the victim’s purse, or the phone right out of his/her hand. The scooter is extremely maneuverable so may even be driven slowly, up onto a sidewalk and right beside the target phone or bag.
The surprise: The scooters often come from behind. They ride onto pedestrian-only areas. The victim is just walking along, or even talking on his phone. There’s no warning.
The risk: The victim can be pulled to the ground, even dragged, as was Kirat Nandra, a 51 year-old woman whose ribs and hand were broken and who suffered a concussion when she was dragged by scooter snatch-thieves who grabbed her purse in September of 2017. She counts herself lucky that she wasn’t dragged into traffic.
Ms. Nandra’s experience is just one of many referenced in the BBC’s recent article, London’s moped crime hotspots revealed. I highly recommend this article to anyone planning a visit to London. The BBC reports 23,000 London scooter snatch thefts in 2017. 23,000!
That’s a three thousand percent increase over the 837 incidents in 2012, which already sounds high.
Police cite the proliferation of motorbike-type vehicles due to high car insurance rates, few parking places, and the increase in motorbike delivery services. People aren’t locking up their two-wheeled transportation machines and the theft of these provide thieves with more vehicles for scooter snatch-theft.
Police want locals to make their bikes theft-proof. Police want pedestrians to “be more aware of their surroundings.” That sounds like blame-transfer to me, but perhaps police can’t do more. The scooter snatch-theft bandits are completely covered so can’t be identified. Police are reluctant to pursue them in high-speed cycle chases through city streets.
But how are we to curtail use of our highly-desirable phones? We use them for everything out on the streets, not just voice calls. We look at maps and directions, bus and metro schedules, notes and address books. We take photos, we text. How can we “be more aware” while using such a Swiss army knife of a tool, an instrument that is basically an extension of our own hand?
If you’re going to London, you better be aware of the risk of scooter snatch-theft.
In the words of a London scooter snatch-theft driver
“We’re looking for people that are looking down, got their phones out, with their headphones in, in particular,” says a London scooter snatch-theft driver in the video below. “Anything that’s not securely wrapped around someone’s shoulder or someone’s back.” Walking with your phone out, “you’re asking for it,” he says. “The best people [to steal from] are the people that are standing up with their phones in their hand. We don’t even have to get off the bike, we just drive straight past, grab their phone and off we go.” Pointing out a pedestrian across the road, the disguised thief continues, “Very easy. I’ll maneuver him from behind. He’s not safe anywhere. As long as he’s distracted, that’s it. That’s all I need.”
Among his other advice (watch the video) he suggests that if you need to talk on your phone while on the street, put the phone away and use your earphones.
The drive-by thefts are widespread in London, but two districts are especially hard hit, as are several streets in particular. See the graphs and map tool in the linked article to learn the riskiest areas, but be on guard all across London. If possible, don’t carry a purse. Instead, keep valuables under your clothing in pouches or in pickpocket-proof underwear. Put away your phone when you’re not using it. Keep your ears tuned for the sound of scooters, and oil your neck for swift swiveling. Or… just try to stop walking when you use your phone on the street, back up against a building, and take a glance around. And if something is snatched, let it go.
Scooter snatch-theft isn’t new. It’s long been the M.O. of handbag and Rolex thieves in Naples, Italy. Unfortunately, it’s one of the more dangerous street crimes. If you’re going to London, read the mentioned above article and watch this video.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5CgeTbJl31w%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den-US%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent
6/6/18 Edit: How police are fighting moped theft crimes: Snatch squads to halt moped menace in London: police squads drag suspects from bikes in new tactic
6/10/18 Edit: Scooter snatch-theft perp had 13 mobile phones on him: Boy, 14, charged over seven moped robberies within one hour
Stolen phone selfies uploaded to victim’s cloud account
When Suzanne and Steve let their old dog out one recent April night, they were excited about their upcoming European vacation. They had arranged everything, they told me, for the trip, their house, and a sitter for the dog. They felt organized and eager. They let the dog back in and went to bed—unaware that the door hadn’t closed securely.
Suzanne arose early in the morning and in the kitchen, found her purse on the floor. Only mildly baffled, she figured it fell of the table. Until she turned and saw Steve’s wallet on the counter—empty. His wallet should have been in the bedroom, and it shouldn’t have been empty. Searching her purse, Suzanne found that her own wallet was missing, too.
“Steve!” she called. “Someone’s been in here!”
“Nah,” he said. They’d never had a break-in, not in their sleepy DeWitt retirement community, nor in their old blue collar neighborhood in Dearborn. They’d not even had a bicycle stolen. But it soon became clear that they’d had intruders.
Suzanne lunged for her phone to call 911, but her phone was gone. Steve’s was gone too. They didn’t have a landline. Then they found their truck was gone, as was its key fob that had been in Suzanne’s purse.
Steve ran to a neighbor’s house, awakening them at the crack of dawn to ask to use their phone. That’s when the neighbor discovered a window half open. But the intruders had backed off when they found a person sleeping inches from the window.
Steve and Suzanne filed a police report. They obtained new drivers licenses, stopped their credit cards, changed their passwords. They had to buy new phones, since they had owned the two stolen ones. Doors to their house lock (when they are locked!) with a digital keypad, so at least the crooks didn’t get house keys.
The couple went through the tedious process of setting up their new phones. Then Suzanne decided to delete some of the photos on her server. She downloaded them to her new phone. Lots of pictures of her little granddaughter. Delete, delete, delete and… what’s that? Pictures of teenagers in… in… hey, that’s Suzanne’s vehicle! Her stolen vehicle. And look at that, another picture of a kid holding a fan of money. Twelve hundred dollar bills! Could they be the intruders? The thieves? Hmmm, they took the photos with Suzanne’s stolen phone… and they’re sitting in Suzanne’s stolen truck…
Whoa. Let’s not jump to conclusions… Maybe they found the truck on the side of the road… with its key… and with the stolen cell phone inside… and they just climbed in and took some pictures, right? It could happen, no?
Suzanne sent the photos to the police. The police stepped up their investigation.
Before the phone’s battery died, its GPS placed it at a Lansing address. Before it could be retrieved, Suzanne had to track down the serial number of her phone.
The tiny DeWitt police department had to apply to big-city Lansing for a warrant with the phone’s serial number. These things took time.
By the time officers knocked on the door at the address (which turned out to be a condemned house), the suspects were no longer there. And the phone had gone dark.
Meanwhile, the credit card alerts started to roll in. American Express was vigilant in declining charges at a grocery store and a gas station. Artificial intelligence had flagged the attempted purchases as suspicious activity due to the cardholders’ spending pattern. Was there surveillance video at either place? It has been requested.
Unbelievably, the burglars returned to the same neighborhood in the stolen truck several days after their first spree, and hit another house or two. Police noticed one of the teens driving the truck. A chase ensued, until the kid plowed off the road and the vehicle was smashed and totaled.
The truck was 11 years old, so Suzanne had only liability insurance on it. It was in excellent condition though, and will cost a lot to replace. The truck had been towed and impounded.
To add insult to injury, Suzanne learned that she was liable for the $270 towing fee and $35 per day. But she wasn’t allowed to dispose of the vehicle because the police hadn’t released it. Impound fees were mounting.
Two boys were taken into custody, one 15 and one 18 years old.
Stolen phone selfies
Look at these photos. This is a proud and confident boy. He’s not a poverty-stricken street kid. He doesn’t look like a gangster. He looks more like a fashion model on that hoverboard. He appears vain and cocky. Grinning, he flaunts a fan of 12 hundred-dollar bills.
The Lansing State Journal wrote that the boys “preyed on the elderly.”
“The elderly!” scoffed Suzanne, a nurse who is only semi-retired. She and her husband, who also works part time, were clearly annoyed by that.
Pigeon Poop Pickpocket in Marbella, Spain
The famous pigeon poop pickpocket of Barcelona has been spotted in Marbella, Spain. Is he enjoying a working vacation in the southern coastal resort town? Is he now living there in order to enjoy the richer pickings of Brits with second homes instead of low-budget holiday-makers? More than one pickpocket has complained to us that Barcelona’s tourists don’t yield the wished-for wealth, though they make up for their cash-poor wallets in sheer number.
So the pigeon poop perp first spotted by us in Barcelona in 1998, then again in 2008, has not retired and is not currently languishing in jail. Where is he now?
“Well, I can report he’s still at large some 8 yrs after this blog thread started,” reports Pete, of Bedford, UK. “I got ‘done’ this morning, 22nd July 2017 in Marbella, Spain. And there’s little doubt from your photos it was the very same guy.”
“I’d been walking and was sitting on a wall separating two pavements in a quiet part of town (Avenida Mercado). I saw a little guy with a several day growth, big glasses, baseball hat, and the same features as in the photos, plus a few years, shuffling along on the lower pavement behind me, as if he was lost. He must have been sizing me up.
“Next thing, I felt some sort of liquid stuff hit my head and shoulders, put my hand round and back it came with bits of a sort of brown porridge on it. Initial reaction was to look up to see if someone had chucked something out of a window. But no open windows above. So then I thought bird shit? But was a bit confused when I sniffed the stuff and it smelt of cocoa drink.”
The pigeon poop perp learned long ago that the yuck factor trumps logic. Any old goop will serve, as long as it’s disgusting and the victim wants it off.
“Just then, the little guy suddenly appeared coming back behind me, and called out ‘Bird? Bird’ to me, as if to say he knew it was a bird that got me. I shrugged, still in disgust at the thought, when he motioned me to come across to see him. I hesitated. He insisted, waving a bottle of water and a packet of tissues. So I approached him. He commiserated.”
The pigeon poop pickpocket has his psychology down. He knows how to behave in order to gain his victims’ confidence. (Hence the word con artist.)
“He started brushing me down, then circled around me and said “You’ve got some on your back, take of your rucksack, go on, take it off”. At this stage I was kind of overwhelmed at his concern to help me. He even got me to circle around whilst cleaning me down, which meant of course that my rucksack was behind me and out of my sight for 20 secs or so. Then, he got me to take off my shirt, indicating it was fouled.”
In his Academy-Award-winning role as good samaritan, the pigeon poop pickpocket performs with aplomb. So convincing is his good-guy cameo, his discombobulated victims trust him like obedient children. Just get the yucky stuff off me, please!
“Looking back, my collaboration with this suggestion was pure idiocy because there I was standing with no shirt on when he suddenly took his leave of me, gesturing to keep the water and tissues he’d given me. Even then, I had no idea of the advantage he’d taken of me. After shaking down my shirt, I put it back on and slowly walked on, partly in disgust at, as I imagined, having had a bird score a direct hit on me, and partly full of admiration for this altruistic citizen.”
…And the Oscar goes to…
“Half an hour later I walked into a small store to buy a cheap tee-shirt to replace the fouled one. I took out my wallet from the small pocket on the outside of my rucksack where I normally keep it, to pay. I opened it and to my horror it was completely empty of cash, whereas only an hour ago it most certainly contained two €50 notes and one £50 note. The penny dropped. This ‘kind citizen’ thief had had the damned cheek to remove, open, drain and replace my wallet whilst he was ostensibly brushing down my back. All in 20 seconds, no problem to a skilled operator.
“My first reaction was to go and hunt him down, as he was most likely ‘working’ Marbella old town that day. My second, that a confrontation, in which I might well have grabbed his bag, could have been turned against me as an attempted robbery on him. So, still in a bit of shock, I decided this was just a painful lesson in life that had cost me €150. Then I thought… next time I’m in Marbella, I will hunt him down, track him from a distance, and get some telephoto shots of him working his con trick on some other poor soul, before shouting a warning to the victim. But then I started my Google search for ‘bird dropping con man’ and up came this blog. All I can say is that this smooth operator needs his picture up in every tourist area of Spain. Thanks for your interest on this site!”
Like 70-80% of pickpocket victims, Pete did not file a police report. I don’t blame him at all—there are many reasons not to. He did complete my survey though, which is extremely helpful in enabling me tally incidences and frequency of reporting. [Thank you so much Pete!]
As I said in my second story of the pigeon poop pickpocket (this is my third):
This is a perfect con. (Con comes from confidence, right?) He plays the good Samaritan. He gains your confidence. He creates a strategy to touch your body wherever he wants to, wherever the disgusting mess supposedly is. A pickpocket can’t steal without touching, right? Why wait for an opportunity? That’s for amateurs. Create one! I call these thieves strategists and they are devious. Look, he makes you grateful to him. He desensitizes you to his touch. And he employs the yuck factor, taking advantage of the truth that bird shit directly triggers the ick region of the brain, a highly effective distraction.
He’s still out there, I’m sure. And he’ll find unsuspecting victims every day. All we can do is spread the word.
Hardworking Paris pickpocket needs $2M for U.S. visa
“I know you!” the girl said when she turned around and got a glimpse of Bob Arno. He and I had followed the girl and her friend because, though we only saw them from behind, their posture and behavior told us they were hardworking Paris pickpockets.
We’d been ready to head home after a long day of thiefhunting in Paris when the sky broke loose and rain fell in buckets. Bob and I dove into the first Metro station we could find, drenched.
And there on the platform, two thieves; a girl-pair of pickpockets. I got my video running as we pushed onto the rush-hour train behind them. The train doors smacked close on my shoulder and opened again. I pressed closer behind Bob and the doors closed. The girls were smashed up against us.
Crowds are ideal for thievery, but this train might have been too sardiney for the pickpockets to plunge their hands downward. Unable to work, they got off at the next stop.
Paris pickpocket pursuit
We followed, which is when the younger one turned and recognized Bob—just as she did in October of 2014. Back then, two and a half years ago, she was part of a swarm of child pickpockets. I thought the youngest boy must have been about ten. She had recognized Bob from the film National Geographic made about us, Pickpocket King, which is on Youtube. Of its millions of views (almost 8,000,000 for the English language version alone), many viewers are criminal pickpockets.
This time, when the girl-thief recognized Bob, her face lit up and she reminded us that we’d met two and a half years ago. She tried to assuage her jittery older partner while dragging us off to dinner at a large pizza joint.
Dinner conversation was jolly, despite the elementary French and occasional phone app-translations. The partner slowly warmed up. Turns out the girl, Gh____, is a woman of 28. She still tells police that she’s 17 in order to avoid jail. Good trick. Common trick. And in her case, pretty believable if you don’t know her from previous arrests.
Our official Paris police source, the Mysterious Monsieur F, tells us that arrestees often claim to be under 18, and of course they often use aliases. When the police doubt the perp’s age, they can ask to do a bone scan, which may corroborate the under-18 claim. But the Paris pickpockets don’t have to give consent. That recently happened, the Mysterious Monsieur F. told me, with a 92-year-old male pickpocket. If they’re lucky, police can match these perps to previous arrest records. (If that 92-year-old has arrests spanning more than 18 years—poof!—busted!)
Portrait of a pickpocket
Gh____ has six children! Right, I wonder why. Police can’t jail perps who are pregnant or carrying an infant. So the pickpockets have lots of babies and share them around. But Gh___ said she truly loves having many children, loves coming home to the commotion with them all swarming around her, and wants to have many more. She’s a Gypsy, and the Gypsy culture truly does revere its children.
Gh____ was first married at 13 and had her first child soon after. Which makes me wonder: were any of the children in the gang we met in 2014 Gh____’s children? They could have been. I regret that I didn’t think to ask her.
We are connected to Gh____ on facebook, but she is completely illiterate. She started pickpocketing at a very young age and didn’t go to school. All her family are thieves, she told us. I wonder now if that includes her kids.
Gh____’s partner that day was V___, who seemed older, and can write. V___ wrote down Gh____’s contact info for us. She has five children and doesn’t want any more.
Gh____ told us that she recognizes all the civilian police officers, and they know her. They can even recognize each other from behind. They also know her distinctive tattoos, which she got in jail. [Aha! So she has spent time in jail!]
Gh____ claims she only takes cash, not credit cards. (We find that hard to believe, given the incredible potential for exploiting cards. But credit card fraud is a higher level crime than cash-stealing, and why should she trust us with all her secrets?) She’s saving up to join other family members in the U.S. She needs two million dollars for a visa, she said. Her family in the U.S. make a lot of money with credit cards, and she wants to join them.
She then displayed her hefty wad: at least $1,300 in fresh U.S. hundred-dollar bills and a few 50s. (All the bills looked new; had she just exchanged a collection of foreign currency? Or was she stalking marks she spotted at cash machines?)
Gh____ insisted on paying for dinner, then got antsy to get back to work. It looks like she’ll get that two million!
Pickpockets look like tourists
Pickpockets look like tourists, and it’s not by accident. Replete with water bottles, backpacks, camera, baseball caps, these “props” are intended to camouflage the pickpockets’ unscrupulous objective. If she looks much like you, a tourist, you won’t think twice when she, just another “tourist,” stands beside you. Her costume elicits trust.
We travelers make subtle, unconscious snap judgments of those around us. One person may cause no reaction, no alarm bells, while another prompts a slight step away, an extra glance, without even thinking. Why? What is it?
Pickpockets in Girona
The two women you see pictured here strolled through the German Garden in Girona, Spain, just like any other visitors. They shouldn’t have raised an eyebrow. But they turned where “BJ” and her husband turned, and they paused where BJ and her husband paused. BJ made a subliminal note of that.
Still, that apparently innocent behavior wasn’t unsettling in the least. Stopping on a lookout balcony, BJ raised her camera toward the beautiful view. It was only seconds later when her husband shouted and grabbed onto one of the women that BJ realized something was amiss. In fact, what flashed though her mind in the first instant was that her husband had saved the woman from jumping.
BJ saw her own purple/pink wallet in the thief’s hand and snatched it back. She can’t recall the woman ever being close enough to touch her, let alone having enough time to open the zipper of her purse. The nearness of these ordinary women was not a threat, not a thought, not even on her radar.
Exactly the reaction, or lack of reaction, that this sort of sneak thief depends upon.
However, they were on BJ’s husband’s radar. He’d kept half an eye on the two as they followed too quickly and stopped when he and BJ stopped. He saw the blond go into BJ’s purse.
“Hubby” held onto the thief and raised a ruckus until the women’s “thug” protector arrived, all chest-thrusting-threatening, though he was a young punk and a foot shorter than Hubby.
Pickpockets look like tourists
The photo that BJ had the presence of mind to capture is wonderful. There is shouting going on, but we don’t see it. Hubby wears an expression of shock and disbelief (I was asked to blur his face.) as he holds onto the thief and looks desperately for help. Meanwhile, the thief smiles beatifically! Her posture shows no distress, no resistance. She looks straight into the camera… relaxed! She’s in the firm grip of a shouting man whose wife she’s just stolen from, and she appears amused!
She knew how this incident would conclude. Probably, she’d been in the same position many times. “You have your stuff, so what’s the problem?” she asked. Maybe she even giggled.
But to BJ and her husband, this was a serious criminal matter. They’d caught a thief in the act, had her in a vice grip, and wanted her arrested. “We didn’t back down,” BJ said, “but what do you do with them when you’ve caught them?” There were no police around.
And there was this very aggressive thug. “Eventually there was this ‘he could have a knife’ moment so hubby let the girl go and they left,” BJ told me.
Both BJ and Hubby had taken all the appropriate safe-stowing precautions. BJ’s wallet had been zipped in and attached to her purse. The wallet contained only a little cash, her driver’s license, and one credit card that could be quickly cancelled.
Unsatisfying ending
BJ and her husband thought they could make a difference. They thought they could put this one trio of thieves out of business, at least for a while.
But the pickpockets walked away, smiling. For BJ and her husband, it was not a satisfying conclusion. They never did find a police officer in Girona, and those in Barcelona were uninterested.
In the beginning of our thiefhunting many years ago, Bob Arno and I thought, like BJ and Hubby, that we could make a difference by bringing video evidence to the police. We received the same reaction our brave travelers got: a laugh, a puff of air, a confirmation that yeah, the police know who they are, what they do, even where they live. But laws are loose and pickpockets make it their business to know the laws. All over Europe thieves tell us: more than anyplace, they like to work in Spain.
Keyless car theft, increasing crime
Keyless car theft is possible even when a car is locked and the electronic fob is away from the car. With a small electronic gadget, thieves can open the car and steal its contents, start the car, and drive it off.
Eve D. wrote to tell me about the recent theft she experienced while traveling by car through Portugal. Eve is well aware of theft risks, and her husband, Jeff, goes so far as to Velcro his wallet. I presume by that Eve means that Jeff keeps his wallet in a pocket with a Velcro closure.
Eve wrote:
We drove from Lisbon to the tiny walled town of Obidos, Portugal.
There, just outside the city wall, our rental car was broken into and all our carry ons, with all our valuables, were stolen. Our car was an SUV so you could see that we had luggage in the car, but the car was definitely locked when we left it.
The thieves just took the carry ons, leaving the big, more obvious suitcases. They used a remote control thing that can open cars with keyless entry.
Keyless car theft
Keyless car theft is a growing crime and a threat to all (it seems) cars with touchless wireless key fobs. Wireless-entry fobs work by proximity; the doors won’t open and the car won’t start unless the fob is quite close to the car. The signals sent between the car and fob are weak, so the two must be close to one another in order to work. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work.
When you’re at home, where’s your car? In the driveway? On the street? And where’s your electronic key (and your spare electronic key)? In the house somewhere, right?, and too far from the car to work.
Car thieves are using an electronic signal booster, or amplifier, to make the car and distant key communicate with each other over a longer distance. When it works, the thieves can unlock the car, start it, and drive away.
In Eve’s case, it’s not clear that her key and car were close enough together, since she describes her car as being parked outside the ancient (thick) city wall. However, a thief with a signal amplifier, good timing, and a lot of nerve would be able to accomplish the boost and get the car unlocked before the fob walks too far away. That is, beyond several hundred meters. Especially if he doesn’t intend to start the car.
We were moving from one town to another and decided to stop at Obidos to have lunch. We were not parked in a secluded spot; there were probably about 15 cars in the lot with us. There were workman inside the walls setting up for a medieval fair. Some of the cars were probably the workers’ so maybe there wasn’t much in-and-out activity. I tend to think the workers could have been involved.
I would guess not. The workers are gainfully employed (in a country with 11-12% unemployment), they were busy working, and they wouldn’t likely risk their jobs.
Keyless-entry car theft
We did file a police report. Thank goodness one in our group was a Brazilian who spoke Portuguese, but I don’t think filing the police report did much good. The police said they would keep a lookout for our things along the road. Obidos is a very safe city, somewhat off the beaten track. But the police said ours was the second incident reported that day.
Sounds like a booster-booster in the neighborhood. (Do I need to point out that booster is slang for thief?)
The rental cars in Europe have stickers on their windshields announcing the fact that the car belongs to tourists. So, please remind tourists not to leave anything in their cars.
Excellent advice, when possible. But how should Eve have behaved differently? It was a calculated risk, a short stop, a quiet town, a happy mood, and everything should have been okay. You have to live, right?
I’m sure that I wouldn’t have taken that chance though. I’d choose a restaurant where I could park my car in full view from a window or patio, or I’d get something to go, or leave a volunteer to stay with the car. But I’m in the steal business and more aware of the risks. I’m not much of a chance-taker. (I lived in Vegas for 20 years and never gambled.)
I think the clicker thing, remote door opener, has been around for a while. We had our whole car taken in Marseille about 10 years ago.
Eve is right. These keyless-entry signal-amplifiers have been around for some time, though they haven’t been seen much by law enforcement. Just this week, European security researchers announced that most cars built by Volkswagen since 1995 can be broken into with a wireless hack. “Our findings affect millions of vehicles worldwide and could explain unsolved insurance cases of theft from allegedly locked vehicles,” the researchers wrote. Millions of vehicles! (Eve’s rental was a Nissan.)
Earlier this month, two men were arrested for keyless car theft, suspected of stealing more than 100 cars and moving them across the border to Mexico. Rather than a signal amplifier, these men used a laptop and software intended for use by dealers and locksmiths. It’s yet another way that keyless-entry systems can be bypassed. A safety-hatch for us car-owners, it’s also a backdoor ready to be exploited by any evil-doers so motivated.
So, why did Eve’s thieves take the carry-ons and leave the large luggage? Maybe they got away on a motorcycle or in a tiny smart car. Maybe they ran out of time. Or maybe they wanted the jewelry and electronics more likely to be found in carry-on bags, and didn’t need the socks and sweaters that would be in suitcases.
So just a reminder…the rental cars in Europe have stickers on the windshield. Do not leave anything in the car, and maybe not get an SUV. Our car was parked in a small lot so maybe not public enough. Also there was a curve in the road so that someone could be looking out. There were work trucks there too.
Try a faraday cage
What else can we do to protect our cars and their contents? You can keep your fob (and spare) in a faraday cage to prevent it from transmitting radio signals. A faraday cage could be your refrigerator or some other metal box. (A refrigerator might not be good for the key fob’s battery.) Or it could be a pouch or wallet made of metal mesh especially for this purpose—many are available.
If you park in a high-crime area or you drive a highly-desirable car (to a thief), and your keyless-entry fob is typically within 100 meters or so of the parked car, it might be a good idea, unless you can secure the car in a locked area. For the rest of us, it might be a step too far. And it certainly cancels the convenience of a wireless fob.
Of course the manufacturers should fix this vulnerability—though they’ve known about it for five or more years already and haven’t. In the meantime, we drivers will lose more cars and more personal items left inside our cars, and find little or no trace of the thieves.
EDIT 8/20/16: In a reverse problem, you might be locked out of your car when your key fob is affected by interference from a neon sign or locked out of your garage due to interference from LED lights in the garage.
EDIT 11/28/17: Watch video of two white-jump-suited thieves steal a Mercedes using a signal amplifier. Takes 19 seconds to get the car door open.
Pickpockets in Rio — Anti-theft rules
Anti-theft Rules for Rio
How to Protect Yourself from Street Thieves and Muggers
“Be more vigilant; be aware of your surroundings,” warn US government agencies to travelers heading to Rio. Be aware of pickpockets in Rio.
But what does it really mean: “be more vigilant”? That advice seems to be given on a daily basis now, whether about visiting France, attending the Olympics in Rio, or a music festival anywhere.
Robbed in Rio
How should the ordinary citizen become more alert, more aware, and more vigilant nowadays? What does that even mean?
Well, consider where you are, first, and the specific risks, whether you’re on a Mediterranean cruise, or in a club in Paris, or on a beach in Rio. There are smart tactics useful for all those places.
[Edited to add: The New York Times reports on 8/8/16 that “there were nearly 11,000 street robberies in June” this year—and that’s only reported street robberies!]
Pickpockets in Rio
Pickpockets in Rio are not seasoned criminals—many are simply street urchins, teenage muggers, and simple pickpockets looking for an opportunity. They are the homeless piraña kids who have little to fear from law enforcement, and behave like pack animals, circling their prey in perpetual motion, looking for a new easy score. They are looking for another uninitiated mark who simply doesn’t understand the risk.
A perfect mark or an inexperienced tourist gives off signals which the perps pick up on. Their internal computer tells them this looks easy, no danger of getting caught, and I can sell that iPhone to a fence in less than thirty minutes. Easy work.
You can minimize the risk of a bad experience by following a few ground rules and understanding who your opponents are. Here are three fundamental rules to put into daily practice, in Rio and elsewhere.
Anti-theft Rules for Rio
1. Don’t give off the signals that identify you as their next meal ticket.
The most obvious behaviors to avoid not just while in Rio, but in many summer destinations:
•Dress down, do not wear an expensive watch or any jewelry, and especially not a gold chain or necklace. Thieves stealing watches do not use tricky moves to open buckles as in a Las Vegas stage show. They grab it and rip it off, breaking the strap. Do not think that a Rolex is safe because of its sturdy metal strap or double latch. Thieves in Rio are experts at twisting a Rolex face to break a pin in the strap, which is the weak point in a Rolex watch strap or bracelet.
•Under no circumstances should you hang an expensive camera around your neck.
•Don’t use an iPhone in public.
•Don’t use an ATM unguarded. If you must use an ATM, carefully analyze the location, and look for scruffy individuals in near proximity.
•Do not carry a wallet or credit cards in a slanted front pants pocket which gapes an bit when you walk. Pickpockets in Rio operate with speed, not finesse. The tighter the pockets, the harder it is for the thieves. Crowded public transportation is common setting for pickpockets almost everywhere during the summer.
•Walk far from the curb on a busy street, to avoid marauding scooter thieves who snatch bags from shoulders or hands. When it’s dark, walk against the traffic and away from the curb. Wise Europeans already know to wear their back packs in front when walking in public.
•Sitting in a public bus, tour bus, tram, or train requires extra care. If you sit next to an open window, watch out. When the bus is still or creeping in traffic, aggressive kids jump up to grab a phone within reach, or leap onto the tire to reach inside the window.
There are tons more travel safety tips, but if you follow these suggestions above you have already eliminated the most common thefts in Rio.
2. Understand how and when to be defensive and when to be passive.
•Should you fend off a bare-chested youth who grabs something from you or attempts to mug you or your significant other? If it’s broad daylight and there are lots of people around, being forceful is generally fine. That means getting into a low position with good balance and watching your back for an attack from behind. The darker it gets the harder it is to evaluate the confrontation. Is it a team mugging you? How many are they? Each scenario requires different advice. A gang of muggers will often have one member with a weapon of some sort, usually a knife. They’re not seeking to harm you physically unless they are cornered or counter attacked.
•Don’t expect bystanders to step in and assist you. There is a dislike in Rio between the wealthy and the street kids—a class conflict between the rich (you, the tourist) and the not-so-rich. The general public will seldom come to your aid or interfere for fear of their own safety.
•Being cut or knifed in broad daylight is not common, but if you do hold on to a thief and shout for police, his buddies may quickly appear to help him. More common are attacks by single operators—a poorly dressed young male with bare chest and flip-flops or bare feet.
•The more sophisticated pickpockets in Rio use entirely different techniques. You avoid them and becoming their victim by using travel pouches hung inside your pants from a loop that your belt goes through. All online travel-accessory stores sell various inexpensive models. Those that hang under your shirt from a string around your neck are not sufficient in Rio.
3. Pro tips: Minimize the risk by identifying the perps early, and getting out of their line of sight.
•Sensing the approach of a mugger is half the battle.
•Try to stay on major streets and don’t deviate into unknown territory. Plan your itinerary and your exact routes. Ask your tour guide or the hotel staff if your route is safe to walk and what to avoid. But realize the scene changes drastically from day to evening to night.
•Muggers will often stand out by moving irrationally and not fitting into the scene. But this does not mean that every poor youngster is a criminal; it just means that you must observe your surroundings all the time, especially behind you. If you sense that a suspect (or a gang) is closing in on you—think National Geographic animal kill documentaries in Africa, predators circling their prey—get yourself into a defensive position, and certainly try to move away from a location where you are vulnerable.
If you’ve read this far, you’ve got to see this video. It’s theft after theft in Rio, some successful, some only attempts. Watch the utter nonchalance of the thieves, and of some of the victims, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Atbbjjqo_dM
Robbed in Rio