In the 2015 movie, Focus, starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie, two professional pickpockets, a scene plays out this way:
Jess (played by Margot Robbie) – an attractive blonde – bumps into a college student who has come to New Orleans for the annual Mardi Gras street party, and trips; she apologises for the mishap, makes an attempt to right herself as she touches the young man’s left shoulder, all the while staring into his eyes. But in the same space of time, she manages to swipe the watch off his right wrist!
This classic trick is called the stall, and is used by pickpocketing gangs all over the world, and is achieved by overloading your attention system.
First, a blocker, walks in front of the victim (or mark) and suddenly stops so that the mark bumps into them. Another gang member will be close behind and will bump into both of them, and then start a staged argument with the blocker. Amid the confusion, one or both of them steal what they can and pass it to a third member of the gang, who quickly makes off with the loot.
People think it’s about distracting someone by making them look away, but it’s actually about directing the mind towards something. To have you stop looking at something, pickpockets will give you a good reason to look at something else. They will give you two or three things to focus on, and if the one the pickpocket wants you to avoid isn’t one of them, it makes it easier for you to be swindled because of the illusion of choice.
Pickpockets also employ psychology to trick their victims. An example is to advise their victims to keep their valuables well, and the first thing people do in this situation is to check if they still have their valuables, giving the pickpocket an idea of where they are. They are also very nice, personable and helpful, giving you a false sense of safety that they are someone that you can trust.
Also, the power of suggestion alone is enough to persuade the most streetwise person to hand over their valuables. In 2009, a Russian bank employee gave over $80,000 of cash to a woman who apparently hypnotised her. If you have got a bit of rapport with somebody and they trust you, it becomes easier.
What About Tricksters?
A professional trickster observed that if he moved his hand through the air in a straight line between two points, it was less effective at holding people’s attention than if he moved his hand in an arc motion. An arc motion would make people’s gaze stick to the curving hand and stay there, while a straight line would make their eyes flick back to the beginning and jump between the two.
Following an arc uses an eye movement called smooth pursuit, where the eye continuously follows an object. A straight line makes the eye move in a saccade; in this instance, the visual system is blind during the flight of the saccade, so you can see at the beginning and you can see at the end, but while the eye is moving you cannot see.
But during smooth pursuit, there is no blind period, the eyes follow the moving object continuously from start to finish, making it easier to catch a trickster’s prank.
The Best Time For Pickpockets
Late at night when there is so little light, and after a few drinks when everything is already a little fuzzy presents the best time for pickpockets – and the worst time for their victims!
But not all pickpockets are smooth and skilled, some are just opportunistic thieves who bid their time, and wait for the right set of conditions to make their moves. But the level of their skills none the less, they are opportunistic enough to keep up with new technology.
Still, knowing about all these tricks can make you a little less likely to have your valuables pilfered. And an advice if you want to limit the possibility of being a victim is to ensure that you do not to zone out too much in public.
A street thief will avoid like the plague, people who are demonstrating a very open awareness of their environment. So, walking down the street, being fully aware of what’s happening around, may well make them avoid you and not come anywhere near.
