Smartphone theft: thieves are magicians
bySmartphone theft Smartphone theft is out of control. Phones are flying off cafe tables right under the noses of their owners. The thieves are…
Smartphone theft Smartphone theft is out of control. Phones are flying off cafe tables right under the noses of their owners. The thieves are…
Barcelona police are turning away theft victims who come to report the theft of their phones. Why? The victims can’t provide the stolen phones’…
Bob and I visited the Barcelona police station for information and found the usual line of victims reporting thefts. I asked a young Norwegian…
Kharem is another opportunist who doubles as a minor-league strategist. When we first met him, he was prowling the perimeter of a breakdance performance…
Are you going to London for the Olympic games this summer? Are you going to Europe? Are you going anywhere? Bob Arno urges you…
Ever use an ATM at a bank after hours? Was it inside a locked vestibule, where you had to swipe your bank card to…
Never thought I’d be on a ship trying to outrun Somali pirates. Bob and I recently sailed across the Arabian sea in pirate-infested waters….
When gearing up for a heist, thieves try to look relaxed and natural, but fail. In this, they send signals that trained security personnel…
All these Mumbai stories of trains, crowds, swamis, the slum called Dharavi, and promises of more stories… What you’re really wondering is: did the…
Don’t Lose Your Wallet – A Conversation With Street Crime Expert Bob Arno ChoosyNomad.com Questions by David Matesanz You originally began your career as…
Seems everyone knows someone who’s been robbed in Barcelona. And sadly, the city we love to visit shows no signs of improvement on the…
In what could be called a social experiment, it is proven that a man in a police-like uniform has great power and ordinary citizens…
I’ve never noticed these height-markers before, but I’m told they’re found everywhere. I saw this one in a bank in Stockholm last summer. Pasted…
Press the play button: Awful sound, isn’t it? Sorry to subject you (if it autoplayed in your browser), but I’m making a point. This…
Huffington Post picked up an interview of Bob Arno from over on JustLuxe.com a few days ago. Here’s a reprint of the question and…
Denouement. None of us wanted to leave the park. After the demos, the dinner, and the as-yet-untold experience on the buses, after the conversation,…
Bob gets cold feet. Overnight, reality began to percolate and bubble over the exhilaration of yesterday’s thieves’ challenge. By morning it was clear to…
Dinner with thieves, continued. Carafes of white wine land on the table. I join Andy and Lou and have beer. Among much laughter, the…
Dinner with thieves. It’s 3:00. The film crew’s still perfecting camera angles, lighting, and table arrangements. I’ve taken my seat as requested, so cameras…
Anticipation. Frank has RSVPed by email, with enthusiasm. But what about the others? Will they come to our dinner? I wonder about the restaurant…
Thieves find us, more. It was a big day for us, and for the whole documentary team. The lowlifers stealing Bob’s wallet, finding Marc…
Thieves find us, continued. We’re not looking for pickpockets; just busy filming pickup shots on the bus for the documentary, when known thieves Marc…
Thieves find us. “Police, police! She took my wallet!” That’s Bob screaming at ear-splitting volume. Not his usual reaction to pickpocketing! Usually, he turns…
On making a documentary. As I said, you’d think a documentary is just a camera following the action—but the action must be lit and…
Day Two, Meeting with Thieves. It rained. We stood waiting in the drizzle in a park behind some kiddie carnival rides, pretty certain they…
Thiefhunting, Day One, still more. This is an old-fashioned town, lightly touched by the 21st century. Vendors ply the streets like the horse-and-buggy days…
Thiefhunting, Day One, more. We’ve been standing in the tiny coffee bar more than an hour, speaking loudly. Eventually, the owner throws us out….
Thiefhunting, Day One, continued. Bob and I were on a high, having found a talented pickpocket team on the first bus ride of our…
Thiefhunting, Day One, continued. As we synchronize our thiefhunting plans with the film crew, I’m newly appreciative of Michele, our London-based sound recordist, who…
Thiefhunting, Day One. Fully half the day is spent rigging hidden cameras. I’m wearing a button camera attached to an awful button-down shirt that…