it's pretty much alive and i have no wallet to prove it (was pickpocketed last week, 70% sure of it)
The lost art of pickpockets
41–50 of 68 posts
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
Drugs? Someone else's stolen cards or ID?
Who is giving out free drugs?
The TSA. Except they're fake.
http://consumerist.com/2010/01/tsa-employee-thought-it-would...
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#43Those who have no stomach for violence can eke out a living snatching cell phones on the subway, which are much easier to convert to cash than stolen credit cards... At first I thought this was a fake semantic distinction, but now I see: Snatching is not the same as pickpocketing, because the mark helpfully takes out the most valuable item they own and holds it in prime stealing position for you, instead of concealin…
My mother taught me never to take out valuables, especially money, in crowded public places. Isn't this a common teaching, such as "never cross the road without checking for cars"?
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#44I'll be that guy.
What is this doing on HN? This isn't technical. This isn't about startups.
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't assume anything. I had someone steal my card info and use it to by a bed and mattress, which was delivered to their house. Sears (ahem) wouldn't tell me who bought it, or where it was delivered, because I wasn't the purchaser, but they were happy to charge me for it. I turned it over to the police, but they said they weren't going to deal with it as it was 'only' ~$1200. This was in 2002 IIRC.
When such a thing happens, initiate a chargeback through your bank. Additionally federal (US) regulations limit your out of pocket expenses of fraud to $50.
I caught it about 2 days after it happened, and got the bank involved and had my money restored in a couple more days - that wasn't a big deal. The frustrating thing was that this was just 100% glossed over by law enforcement. This wasn't a $40 meal splurge by a petty thief - it was a freakin bedroom set.
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#46Watch Bob Arno (who's quoted in the article) ply the trade:
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#47I wonder if "Clever Tricks Rapists Use" is next.
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#48Those who have no stomach for violence can eke out a living snatching cell phones on the subway, which are much easier to convert to cash than stolen credit cards... At first I thought this was a fake semantic distinction, but now I see: Snatching is not the same as pickpocketing, because the mark helpfully takes out the most valuable item they own and holds it in prime stealing position for you, instead of concealin…
My mother taught me never to take out valuables, especially money, in crowded public places. Isn't this a common teaching, such as "never cross the road without checking for cars"?
In most parts of the US such lessons are rare. I grew up in the Middle East where I learned similar lessons. To many here's unthinkable that one can't just leave their bag lying next to them, or some such.
Heck, outside of the cities many people here don't even lock their doors.
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#49[deleted]
Re: The lost art of pickpockets
#50If anyone is really nostalgic for this, I recommend they come to Buenos Aires. We have some of the best pickpockets in the world! I had my laptop stolen in 2007, and I know a couple of people who've had their wallets stolen.