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(49 votes) Published: Aug 31, 2005 7:37 p.m. In 2 Favorites Lists Viewed 492 times
Pick Pocketing:The Art of the Lift A man takes his wallet out and pays for a newspaper. He puts his wallet back and turns toleave when someone brushes past him muttering "Excuse me". its a crowded place so the man thinks nothing of it...at least until he’s about to get into his car and notices his wallet is missing. He looks back to where he had been bumped, but the man is long gone. A woman stands on an esculator, watching the crowded mall below. Behind her on the next step is a young girl wearing a walkman. The music is up liud enough for the woman to hear it, and the girl is moving to the beat, occationally bumping up against her. The woman ignores this, thinking about kids these days and doesn’t notice the girl’s jacket is partally draped over her purse. The woman gets off the esculator thinking that the girl will go deaf with such loud music. She never realizes until she’s about to pay for her purchase that her wallet is gone.
The young woman sets her bag down and then proceeds to stretch out on her beach towel. She notices a man watching her and puts a little wiggle in her movements. He’s kinda cute and maybe he’ll ask her out, which would be okay since she’s on vacation and wants to have a little fun. She lays on the the towel and begins to sun tan, but the sun is bright and so she closes her eyes. After a few minutes she looks up to she if the man is still watching her. But he is gone...and so is, she now realises, her bag.
They can have hands as fast as a snake, or they can cleverly use distraction to stealthly make their lift, or they can simply wait for someone to leave themselves vulnerable...who are they? They’re pickpockets. Wither its smooth team work, or simple snatch of oppertunity its all about the art of the lift...
Here is your target.
What is a pickpocket? The dictionary merely states that it is a thief who steals from pockets. While this definition is true, it is a very narrow definition on a broad subject. A pickpocket isn’t just a thief who steals from pockets, a pick pocket is a master in the art of diversion.
Most guides tell you how to avoid becoming a potential "mark" of a pickpocket, but this one is going to teach you how to pick pockets. Picking pockets is an easy, non-violent way to make some extra money. Unlike most crimes there is little contact with the victim and violence involved at all. Even if suspected, a pickpocket can clam ignorance and just say they bumped into the person. A busy crowd, a distracted woman with an open purse and a fat wallet, and then there is some money for you to spend on yourself. Its quick and easy, plus if done properly you are long gone before they ever know their wallet is now safely in your pocket.
Don’t feel guilty though, you are teaching them a valuable lesson, and that is to watch their belongings better. Pickpockets never see faces, only wallets and purses. Mothers with kids, the elderly, and distracted tourists are all potential targets, or "marks". This isn’t personal only buisness.
The one thing you must have to be a pickpocket is patience. You may have to wait to find the right "mark", or until they leave themselves vulnerable. You don’t want to blow your hand or risk getting caught by jumping the gun. But it is worth it, a pickpocket can make more in a day that a stick up man can in a year.
The Mark To start this guide we are going to start from the begining, and that is with the person at the recieving end of your probing hands; the person’s wallet you are about to take.
What is the "mark"? The mark is how you make your money! The "mark" is pickpocket slang for the target of a pickpocket. No pocket or purse can ever be 100% pickpocket proof, but some are harder than others. You should always go for the easy targets first. Trust me, there are plenty out there. Men with baggie pants or big pockets, or women with their purses open to the world.
Women make better marks than men do, seeing how their wallets aren’t in contract with their bodies. Also, they don’t always have their purses with them ( in shopping carts, strollers, the back of chairs, in cars, on counters, etc.). A lot of the tips in this guide are intended for our "Moll Buzzers" in training. A "Moll Buzzer" is a pickpocket who only targets women, but don’t get me wrong men make just as good marks as woemn, so there are plenty of tips here to help you releve a absent minded man of his wallet also. The best mark is a person alone and distracted by other things, and it usually takes less than a minute to relieve them of their valuables.
But wallets aren’t the only thing you can take from the mark, you can also take money from their pockets or jewelry from the bodies. Some people will cram their cash in their pockets, making it easy to remove it. Jewelry taking is a little harder, but with time the mark’s jewel’s are now your jewels.
Anyone can be a potential mark, after all it only takes a moment to distract someone from their valuables, but some people just leave themselves open for some enterprising soul to relieve them of their wallets. You’ve seen this person before, the man whose wallet it sticking out of his pocket or the woman who leaves her purse completely unattended in a shopping cart while she is looking at something else. Sometimes they will pat their pockets to make sure everything is still there and it will lead you right to it. Just keep your eyes open and the mark will come to you, and if you watch them carefully the mark will lead you straight to the prize.
Is she paying more attention to who’s on the phone, or her purse?
With her mind on her shopping she won’t think about whose whand in her purse.
Leaving their purse on strollers and in shooping carts make women better marks as thie wallets are not in contact with their bodies. Easily distracted women make the best marks.
The Basics
First and most importantly, these are your objectives. The over all goal of being a pickpocket is taking the wallet of another and placing it in your pocket, for uses as you see fit. You are taking someone else’s money for your own. A partener or a team is best for this sort of thing, but being a "cannon", or solo pickpocket is just as easy and plus you get to keep all of the money yourself.
Pickpocketing is a game not only of not only skill and stealth, but of DIVERSION. You don’t need to have fast hands (although it helps) as long as the mark’s mind is on something else. For instance in a crowded elevator a woman will be thinking about many other thing besides who is standing beside or behind her. In a crowded place it is normal for strangers to press up against each other, so they don’t even notice something pressing up against their pocket or purse. If the the pickpocket is good then the mark never feels a thing.
A simple bump and her wallet is now in your pocket. Most people never think twice about it when that person pressed up against them, or bumped into them and that’s the key to pickpocketing.
It bares repeating that diversion is the key! The human mind can only concetrate on one things at a time, and its attention is easily deverted.if some one is thinking about something else then their minds won’t be on their pockets or purses...and whose hands are in them.
Keep in mind that the human can be distracted easily. To prove this here is a simple test: count to yourself outloud to ten but when youg et to 5 think the word "Batman". Could you think and count at the same time? No, it doesn’t work like that. The human mind can only focuse one thing at a time, so if you bump into someone they will feel that and not you slipping thier wallet out of their pocket or purse.
The Basics Part Two Remember to be stealthy and blend in. Try not to act different or suspiciously, and dress normal. People will be on guard and might remember you if you act oddly. Even if it is a simple snatch of oppertunity, it is still all about getting the goods and vanishing. Never run unless you have to, but walk away briskly. Keeping our activities out of sight is vital for pickpockets . Becareful, even if the mark feels or sees nothing, someone else might. Be on guard for cameras and other people’s eyes, which are easily fooled. Most people aren’t paying attention to anyone other than themselves, and even thats poorly (which makes a pickpocket’s job even easier.)
While you can pick a pocket just about anywhere, the best place to try are as follows; outdoors, resteraunts, restrooms, parking lots, parks, libraries, on escalators, in elevators, revolving doors, and in movie theaters. Basically anywhere the mark might be distracted easily.
Resteraunts are fertile ground because dinners hand jackets or bags over the back of their seats, or even more rashly dump handbags out of sight on the floor. But if you see an opportunity anywhere go for it. Never hesitate, if you think its a golden moment seize it!
Carry a shopping bag, book bag, or (ladies) a purse to hide your stolen goods in.Simple wallets can be placed in pockets, but if you have to jack the whole purse then you don’t want to have to carry it around in plain site.
A last bit of advice: should you have to jack the whole purse make sure that if it has a cell phone in it that it is TURNED OFF! Should the mark have time to realize what you’ve done she could use this as a way to find you if you are still close. Either ditch the phone or turn it off.
General Tips Some general tips and schemes can be used on both men and women, and so I decided to put them here, instead of under Moll Buzzer and Bump and Lift. They pretty much employ simple distraction, but hey when the mark’s wallet is in your pocket you won’t care how it got there.
Here is an example of the most common of pickpocket tricks, the sandwhich, also known as the stall. It can be used to set up a bump and lift or, as seen in the pic, the dipping of a purse. The set up is basic, and if done right, the results are simple and easy. This requires, obviously, a team of at least two. If you want to pull a more elaberate one be my guest, but this only needs a "stall" and a "lift".You and your partener find a mark and work your way until you have boxed him or her in between you. Then wait until the time is right and have the stall suddenly stop, forcing the mark to run into them. This is when the lift quickly moves up behind them and dips the wallet from either pocket or purse. Timming is critcal in this, the lift has to be ready to make his move and "bump" into the mark right when the stall suddenly stops. If done right, the mark is sandwhiched between the team and doesn’t feel the lift. After that its just a simple matter for the lift (unless you have a pass off working with you) to vanish into the crowd after apologising. The Argument
Another oldie but goodie is the staged arguement or fight. Have your team start fighting, which will cause potentail marks to become distracted, making their wallets easy pickings. A full crowd could give you some easy marks.
Coin Trick
This is a great, and basically simple way to make a lift using the mark’s own greed to help set them up. Drop some change on the gound and set back and wait. This scame will work with or with out a partener. When a guy see’s the change he’ll either bend over or drop down, and that’s the time to strike! When bent down the jeans will tighten on the hips-remember the mind can only focus on one thing at a time-and it will also force the tip of the wallet out of the lip of the pocket. One quick push with your index finger at the base of the pocket and wallet will slide right out into your greedy little hands. This also works on women who will heedlessly tos thier bags over their backs or even set them down on the ground. Any way you look at it its easy game. Shoulder Surfing
At an ATM machine have a partener either stroll by the mark or watch them type from a distance using binoculars and get their pin number. After that lift the wallet and now you have both the card and the access number.
Opps!
Pretend to suddnely spill something, like a drink or food, on someone then hurry to help them clean it off. Brush them off roughly (but not to roughly) and while you are doing this have your partener use this distraction to make the lift. Or, time permiting, make the lift yourself rom the bewildered mark.. Fanny packs are no big deal if you have enough time. Most of the time they are worn slightly to the side, which would alow you acess to the zipper. Should this no be the case, but you want the wallet wait until the mark is directly infront of you, the quickly reach up and unsnap the latch. They are usually in the back, and if you can grab is fast you can make off into the crowd before she (or he) realizes what happened.
Team Vs Solo In this scheme a team of pickpockets work to distract the mark and take her wallet.
Here we see a lone "cannon" lifting th wallet of an unsupecting mark. Here is something that every pickpocket must decide, wither or not to work as a team or go it solo. Either way works, and each has its own pluses and minusses. You’ll have to weigh your options at hand and make your own disicions.
As a team working over the mark is easier, as is removing the goods. But to work as a team you have to be able to reasonably trust your partener, or parteners. If you can’t trust them then the scheme won’t work.
A solo pickpocket works alone, and has to lift the mark’s wallet on their own.
A "cannon" can work in secret and vanish leaving no trace behind, but they have to work to find the right place to make the lift. A solo also has to carry the wallet away with them, instead of having a partener to pass it off to. A bonus is that a solo pickpocket doesn’t have to share the profits, but having help is always good too.
This guide has tips for both solo and team pickpocketing, so you’re set either way.
Purse Snatching
NOTE: I do not in any way shape or form advocate purse snatching (by this I mean running up from behind and ripping the bag off a woman’s shoulder. This is sloppy and dangerous, you might as well be a mugger. Purse snatching doesn’t require any skill and is brutal.) Howerver don’t confuse purse snatching with opportunity pickpocketing, where you find the bag unattended and take it.
These are examples of unattended purses, which are fair game. This usually occurs when a woman either leaves her bag somewhere for a moment, giving a thief the chance to take it. The back of a chair, the passanger seat of a car, the front of a shopping cart are all places where this can occur. The taking of an unatended purse is not "purse snatching" but rather opportunity pickpocketing...which brings us to...
The Purse
Here I will show how how to pluck the wallet from an unsuspecting woman.
There you see her, talking on her cell phone oblivious to the world around her. Her purse is dangling over her shoulder, still open from where she took out the phone. What do you do? This is what this part of the guide is all about.
The purse is really a pickpocket’s dream come true; the wallet is away from the mark’s body, out of sight, and sometimes not even near the mark at all. A woman’s wallet offers more to its taker than a man’s does, seeing how it can also hold more cards and checkbooks, and as mentioned earlier is easier to relocate.
The best mark is a woman alone with a dangling purse from her shoulder, preferably with her purse flap open or unzipped. With the bag behinder gently feel for the snap (if it is still latched) and unfasten it, using your thumb to mask the click. The bag will drop slightly, but this is okay. Most women won’t notice this and now the contents are loser in the bag. After that gently, but quickly, slide your hand in and fell for the wallet, which should be easy since they are usually made of leather. Grab it with your index and thumb (the picking, or dipping, fingers. To strenghten them for a lift try putting a tight rubber band around them and work opening and closing.) Gently slide the wallet out and if you have a partener pass it off, o just tuck it in your pocket and walk away.
A zipped purse is no big deal if you take your time and are careful. First gently grasp the zipper with your index and thumb and index finger and gently pull back as quickly as possible. For this type of lift try and have a coat over your arm to mask your hans. Zippers take longer than latches and you don’t want to be seen at work. Practice unzipping things at home until you can get used to doing it quickly, quietly, and without disturbing the mark. After the bag is open just dip into it and remove the wallet. A backpack purse is the ultimate pickpocket dream come true. The valuables are completely out of sight and in easy reach of the person behind them. The only drawback is that they then to be large and it is harder to find the wallet. Press up against the mark and gently either unsnap or unzip the purse, then remove the wallet. The backpack is a good mark because the back has few nerve receptors and so if the bag is touch the mark won’t feel it.
Moll Buzzer Tips If you’re good she’ll never know. A simple, yet well known and used method of taking a woman’s wallet is in the grocery store. The best place to dip the mark is at the vegatable isle, which is usually near the front of the store. The woman normally leaves her purse in the buggy while looking for her vegatables. Lift her wallet and either leave, or time permiting, buys something with her cards or money before she has a chance to know they’ve been stolen. "Just going in for a minute"
It’s late an she needs gas. To save time she’ll just grab what she owes and run into the gas station, leaving her purse in the car. "I’ll only be a mintue," she thinks. This is a pickpocket’s dream come true, and a lift that shouldn’t be passed. True its only oppurtinusitc pickpocketing, but that doesn’t matter. Time permiting you should just grab the wallet and leave the purse, but if you are feeling rushed just grab the bag and go. Leaving the purse will give you more to get away before she realises her wallet is gone. Always keep an eye out for this because it happenes all the time. This works at post offices, sporting events, day care senters, libraries, and sometimes just on the street when she’s "just going in for a minute". Trust me if you kep your eyes open it only takes a minute.
If you happen to see a woman get out of her car and go in some where sans purse, casually stroll over to the car and look in the windows. If you see a covered object on the passanger’s side floor, there is your target. Most women keep their purses on the passanger’s side, and if she’s "only going in for a minute" she may cover it up with a coat or something. Just open the door, grab the purse or wallet, and beat feet. Don’t let the covering up fool you. "The Shoe Store"
She’s buying a new pair of shoes, but first has to try them on. She sits her bag down and begins to take off her shoes and puts on the other shoes. This is your time to strike. While she is distracted, either lift the wallet or grab the bag and make off with it.
Will she be smiling like that after you take her wallet?
"The Rest Room"
Here’s a good one for the busy Christmas shopping season. Ladies (or guys with a female accomplice) you see a lady walk into a rest room alone. Follow quickly and see which stall she is in. When she goes in walk up to the stall and watch her feet. This is what you’ll see: as she enters her feet face the wall towards the toliet. Next her feet turn around and are facing the door. What she has just done was enter the stall, turned around, locked the door and placed her purse on the hook of the door. You’ll see her feet turn around again. She will now spend up to 30 seconds or so fixing the seat cover on the toilet. When she turns to face the toilet, reach over the door and take her purse off the hook. You see she’ll be momentarily distracted while she pus the seat cover on so that it will be a perfect fit and not fall in (or as a lead up sit all the toliet seats up so she’ll have to put it down, giving you more time). While she is doing this, her back is tothe door and her purse. Now think back to the last time you used the toilet in a public rest room. Where was the hook on the door. Right near the top of the door, making it very convient for some enterprising soul to relieve the lady of her wallet. With her purse in your hand, you can do one or two things. Either quickly pull the wallet out and toss the bag back over the door to her stall. She’ll hear the noise, turn around and see her purse on the floor. By the time she realizes what happened her waller is gone. The other option for our nibble fingered thief is to take the entier purse and place it in an empty carry-on bag or shopping bag that she has with her and quickly walk out and blend into the crowd.
Mull Buzzer Part Two
By this time she realises, the pickpocket is long gone. "The Parking Lot" Check out a local grocery store parking lot and wait until you see a woman go in alone. Note which car she is in and then, when no one is looking, flatten her tire with a nail. Hang around (but not noticably) until she comes back out and then tell her that he tire is flat. She’ll toss her bag into the car and come and look at it (or just incase wait until she puts he purse in the car). While you are showing it to her have your partener quickly walk by and take the purse while she is distracted. Take the wallet and dump the purse in the nearest dumpster and you and your friend have some spending money tonight. Another parking lot scam is similar, have your partener approach the woman while she is still loading up her goods ( normally they leave their purses in the shopping carts, usually still open) and ask her for directions. While she is distracted quickly ither take her wallet or purse and make off with it.
Ladies here’s a real simple one, most women carry purse; its a given. Most people don’t pay anny attention to what purse a woman holding (except us pickpockets) so find your mark and follow her until she sets her bag down somewhere then calmly walk up behind her, or wait until she’s gone, and just walk off with it as if it were your own. Simple oppertunistic pickpocketing yes, but it works.
The Bus Carry a coat over your arm: here is how this one works boys and girls, if the coat is over your arm then no one can see your hands. This is a good thing as it lets you get closer to your mark. Either just drape your arm or cut out one of the pockets tso that you can slip your hand through. A sample of how this might work is this: A lady gets on a crowded bus and pays the driver with cash. She puts her wallet back in her purse and moves on to the bus. A man moves forward, looking out the window as if his stop is coming up. He stands by the woman and carelessly drapes his coat over her purse as pauses to catch his ballance. She doesn’t think much of this and doesn’t pay any attention, while he reaches through the cut pocket and lifts her wallet. He then gets off the bus with noone the wiser. the coat trick is a good one if you are in a crowded area and you don’t want anyone to see your hands.
"Lunch Hour"
In hospitals and offices many women leave their offices (and purses) unattened and unlocked while they go to lunch. About noon go into one (if possible try and watch the place a couple times to find the best marks) and walk around as if you have the right to be there. Most people won’t bother to question you about being there if you don’t look suspisious. As soon as you see some women leave thier offices go in quickly and close the door behind you. Most women put their purses in their left hand bottom drawer, or in a closet with their coat. Quickly find the purse and pocket the wallet, then leave. If you are quick you can make of with a couple wallets. "The Theater" The group in front of you set down and begin talking. While they are distracted look down while pretending to tie your shoe and see if any of the women put their purses on the floor. This is a comon thing in movie theaters because the ladies don’t want to have to hold thier bags the whole time. If they have placed it on the floor, or under the chair, wait until the movie starts and then reach under her (or their if you’re lucky) seat and grab the bag. Either take the bag and go, or empty the purse and leave under the eat.
Moll Buzzer Part 3 While she is relaxing you are helping yourself to her wallet. "Pools" "In the sumer time when the weather is fine you swish right up and take a wallet so fine..." Alright, corny parodies aside any where there is swimming going on there will be an oppertunity to
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