Airport danger and the strategist thief
by“Did you know you’re wearing mismatched shoes?” a well-dressed Englishman said to our friend, Brooks, at London’s Heathrow airport one day. Brooks was talking…
Travel Advisory
An excerpt from the book “Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams While Traveling.”
Taxi trickery
byAfter an eventful overnight train journey we were disgorged into a very foreign Sunday morning. Not a single sign in Prague’s main train terminal…
Cash or credit card?
byDon’t be self-ripped That means: do your research. Besides knowing the tricks and scams prevalent in your destination, you should be up-to-date on currency….
The tasteful tourist
byBob and I looked at each other in disbelief. Only we knew the incredible odds we’d just beaten. To stroll into Rome’s Termini, the…
Anatomy of a victim
byWhat is a perfect pickpocket victim? Let’s look at the anatomy of a pickpocket victim. I’m thinking of a couple I saw in Barcelona…
Scooter-riding bandits
byStung by a Wasp: Scooter-Riding Bandits Buzz Bob and Bambi I didn’t think it could happen to me. There was no forewarning. One moment…
Good pickpocket victim is a know-it-all
byOver-confidence is the enemy of travelers in unfamiliar lands. The know-it-all risks loss and embarrassment. Henry started his story with the wistful remark we’ve…
Free U.S Gov. Travel Advice
byI started talking about Consular Information Sheets here. Odd but possibly vital information can be found in the Consular Information Sheets regularly posted by…
Luggage theft at Las Vegas airport carousels
byBig article in today’s Las Vegas Review Journal on bag theft at the McCarran airport carousels. No surprise. This isn’t new. In my book,…
Good free travel info
byWhen you research your destination, check on crime and security issues, too. Knowing what commonly happens and where gives you the edge. The goal…
Research crime before your trip
byIt was Cecily’s dream vacation: she and her family had rented an ancient stone farmhouse near St.-Paul-de-Vence on the French Riviera. Recently renovated to…
Interviewing thieves
byCaught-in-the-act criminals aren’t always keen on conversation. “Why I should talk to you!” some say. We’ve been threatened with rocks, hit, spit upon, flipped…
Bob Arno’s path to pickpocketing
byAt the fork in the road I went left. I can thank the Parsis for my passion for photojournalism. Another man might have turned…
Shoebox-camera
byOver the years we minimized our equipment as we acquired smaller and smaller cameras of broadcast quality. With lighter equipment we became more maneuverable,…
Baby thieves
by…continuing the story Tourists and thieves: a collision course ROME POLICE OFFICER CELINI remembered us from previous visits and greeted us warmly. Without asking,…
Filming pickpockets
byBob and I began our field research on street thievery in 1993, when we quit our steady jobs in Las Vegas to combine freelancing…
Tourists and thieves: a collision course
byYoshi Sugohara stood stoic and penniless in a phone booth, using our phone card. He called a number given him by the Rome police,…
Holiday headspace
byI remember when I used to hunt for wild mushrooms in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I’d find nothing the first hour or so. But…
X-ray glasses
byHigh and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-g, Travel Advisory— Barcelona, a fusion of passion and creativity, chaos and order, where…
One man
byHigh and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-f, Travel Advisory — One man loses his wallet. It’s a small crime, a…
An ordinary day in the center of Rome
byHigh and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-e, Travel Advisory — A somber crowd was gathered outside the police station. While…
Shocking statistics
byEvery single summer day, one hundred tourists will be pickpocketed near the Coliseum in Rome; another hundred will be hit near the Spanish Steps,…
Bottomfeeders of the criminal hierarchy
byHigh and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-c, Travel Advisory Bob and I hit the ground and I squinted at the…
Thievery, connery, scamdom, and swindlehood
byHigh and Dry on the Streets of Elsewhere Chapter One, part-b, Travel Advisory If law enforcement can’t turn the trend, perhaps Bob and I…
Get your * hand out of my pocket!
by“Hey! Hey! Hey! Get your fucking hand out of my pocket! You try to steal my wallet again and I’ll kill you!” The would-be…
The travel industry’s dirty little secret
byBob and I contend that the crimes of street thieves, so often dubbed “petty,” are not that at all. First, tally the sheer number…
Thieves categorized
by“Criminals are born, not made. Delinquency is a physiological abnormality.” So said Cesare Lombroso, Italian professor of forensic medicine and psychology, in 1875. After…
Consorting with thieves
byPreface, part-b, Travel Advisory I tried to imagine the scenario: Kharem would slip his fingers into the pocket of some hapless tourist and we’d…
Stalking a moving target
byPreface, part-a, Travel Advisory If Bob’s and my first priority is putting pickpockets and con artists out of business, our second is to encourage…
Introduction
byCriminal limits are inside a person. How else can I explain why I cannot shoplift? I can’t steal a candy-bar from a supermarket, but…