Con goes pop

Thief Hunter: Bob Arno knows enough about sleight of hand of the street kind

 

Demonstrating and documenting street thefts and scams, stage pickpocket entertainer bob arno is street crime specialist and also the leading authority on theft risk management. speaker and author as well, arno shares with anshak kalia
insights from the dark world of street crime and tips to steer clear of the ‘blockers’
and ‘cannons’…

 

A hundred faces to see and many tough choices to make as they set their target apart from the rest of the crowd. What makes these few men and women a walking nightmare on the platforms of New Delhi railway station? They know how to identify you, they know how to distract you and they know when to make their move. 

 

Pick pocketing expert and renowned stage performer Bob Arno is aware of the modus operandi. “The blocker, the cannon and the shade are ever ready to make their move and pick your pocket,” he says. Bob has been doing stage shows for the past twenty years and is today the world’s best stage pickpocket.He even earned the title of Pickpocket King. Bob has his own TV show; he travels all around the world and demonstrates this art to people so that they are more aware and cautious. In his co-authored book, Travel Advisory! How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams, Bob shows exactly how pickpockets work, based on undercover videotapes he and his wife shot while travelling around the globe.

 

The small-time pick pockets usually hunt alone but the more sophisticated ones work in teams of three or four each playing a specific role. The Blocker is the one who has the most important job. His role is to distract the victim. These Blockers are extremely charming and can make you believe in anything for a while. He will ask for directions, bump into you and then apologise repeatedly or even have conversations that make no sense. Talking about things that have little meaning but would make you think for a while is a technique that proves to be most useful for the Blocker to draw your attention away from your belongings.

 

After the Blocker has played his part, the Cannon swoops in – his role is the toughest. To actually steal your wallet – or phone, watch, an item from your backpack or anything that your pocket could carry – and at the same time being swift enough for the distraction at play to go undisturbed, requires a lot of practice.

 

The one that moves in between shadows is the Shade. All he needs to do is to take the stolen items from the Cannon and then move along as if he were just another traveller. Once everybody is done with their respective bits, the Blocker, Cannon and Shade move in different directions so as to minimise suspicion. They would be long gone before you even realise that something is missing. This entire act lasts for only a few seconds and would leave you confused by the time 

the Blocker is done talking to you.

 

Not all of them chose the life of a pickpocket. Some of the kids are forced to work under leaders. These leaders are usually men in their mid thirties; they seek boys and girls who are either lost in the city or have run away from home. They are given promises of a better future and trained to be useful in this dangerous business.

 

There he stood, calm yet hawk-eyed – he was hunting for his next target. I approached him and asked him what he was doing. Hesitant about my question, he asked me to move slightly aside so we could talk. “I’m waiting for my train,” he said. I knew he was lying; an acquaintance had tipped me off about him. I came straight to the point and told him that I wanted to learn more about pick pocketing. Initially the boy was reluctant but soon enough I convinced him to share a quick lesson. He worked for a man who was arrested on April 2, 2012 after being caught in a sting operation organised by the police. But even after his master was caught, the boy was at the station and working his way into the pockets of hard working citizens. “Why do you still do this? You are now free to get yourself a better and crime-free future,” I suggested. Without uttering a word he handed me my wallet, and with a smile on his face walked away from me. I realised that the concern he exhibited when he gently held me to move aside, he had used one of the most common techniques of distraction on me; he wasn’t really interested in talking but more focused on what I had in my pockets. Stealing is all he probably knew to survive. It would definitely take more than a talk to get them to quit.

 

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The street survival guide