Avoid Becoming a Victim of Crime

"Quoting "bigbadwolf": ". . . . street crime of this magnitude is impossible without police connivance."

Truer words . . . . And what a shame, too, as Buenos Aires and Argentina could without great difficulty regain something of the luster of their prosperous, happy years."

A friend had a purse snatched by Cerrino Sq and (to make a very long story writeable) undercover cops caught the guy and took him to jail and returned the purse. Good guys that we saw all over Palermo for the next few days. Don't think that all cops are bad or that you even see them.
 
I never had a single problem as far as being a victim. Maybe it's because of my appearance, long hair, beanie, loose clothes, sometimes unshaven, do the walk and talk as fast as a tough New Yorker. People here have a tendency to think that I am the thief because of my body language. From military training, I've learned not to show fear, even if you are because of that, I'm always ready & expecting the unexpected. I'm not a big person at all, but because of my body language, they all think I'm a gorro. So yes, I would say that I'm also an unlikely target and the "targets" are usually the ones who are scared because of my presence. For safety measures, I also carry a pair of retractable batons, just in case someone wants to see how close they could get to my equipment and are ready for a showdown. This is true for here and just about anywhere in the world.
 
Make a Mugger's Wallet which are pretend wallets filled with fake credit cards, small amounts of cash, business cards, coupons and other scraps to convince a potential mugger that the wallet is valuable.

Things You’ll Need:
  • Cheap wallet
  • Small bills
  • Fake credit cards
  • Junk receipts
  • Old business cards
  • Paper slips
Step 1 - Buy a cheap wallet or find an old one you don't use anymore.
Step 2 - Place a $20 bill and several $1 bills behind it so that a mugger will believe that the wallet contains a lot of money.
Step 3 - Go through junk mail containing credit card offers. Unglue the fake credit cards that come with the offers and place them inside of your wallet to make it seem like the wallet contains valid credit cards.
Step 4 - Put business cards and small slips of paper into the wallet to put the finishing touch on your mugger's wallet. Include coupons, ads or junk receipts.
Step 5 - Keep your mugger's wallet in a front pocket that only you can get to. Making your wallet easily accessible may encourage muggers.
Step 6 - Find ways to conceal your real money. Sew extra pockets into the inside of your pants, invest in a money belt to use in place of a regular wallet or divide your money into secret places around your body like in a sock or in an underwear strap so that you won't be caught without any money if mugged.
 
I've always used a type of moneybelt which you attach to your regular belt. It's like an invisble pocket. Thats were i used to keep bigger notes and my credit card (and ID when needed). In my regular pocket i'd have some loose change.
 
Finally I found a good and secure bag (relatively speaking). I remember seeing this product awhile back, but I couldn't remember the name of it until now. For a secure bag/purse, I think the concept is good and it seems to be very functional, but I'm not sure if you will like the limited styles available. The site is called Pacsafe Anti-Theft Bags & Travel Security Products.http://www.pacsafe.com/Btw, this product won't work if you are robbed at gunpoint. In that extreme case, just hand the bag over.
 
I hope I'm not repeating a previous posting, but I wanted people to be aware of a common prank that has been very successful for some thiefs here in BsAs. It happened to a fellow expat just yesterday on Corrientes y Maipu at 8:30 a.m. A woman comes from behind and spills some sort of liquid on you that could be ink, or paint, (you're not really sure), and then tries to help you clean it off saying that they were painting up above you and it dripped on you (or so the story goes...). She's hoping that you will take off your jacket, your backpack (yesterday's case), or just be generally distracted in order to get her hands on something. I refer to the subject as female, because the same prank was played on me a year ago downtown on Viamonte and was also a woman. It was actually so crowded that I didn't even realize someone had spilt something on me, and I kept walking even though I heard a woman behind me say, "señorita, señorita!" So I got out of it, and didn't see the mess on the back of my coat (which resembled WhiteOut) until later. My bag looked like a laptop case but did not have a laptop in it. Yesterday one of the thief's partners ran away with the backpack and that was that.
I read some of the previous postings on this thread. It's true that you have to be careful in general anywhere in the world, and I do not wish to cause anyone alarm or worry. I just want you to be aware of this scam, because it wasn't about being careful, it was just about being a pedestrian victim on a weekday morning downtown. I would add that maybe it helps to not always be wearing your headphones in your ears. I think in general that helps you to be more in touch with what's going on around you.
 
My wife carries a back pack, and we have noticed at times that the pocket is open. Recently this happened three times on Florida ( a well known crime spot ).
The people doing this are not very subtle I have actually seen them do it. It must be obvious to them we are stupid and carry all our money and cards where anyone can steal them. No one has yet got anything from us but it is a nuisance haveing to pick up the paper tissues when they fall out. I did think about walking behind and filming and putting a note in the back pack "sonrisa estas filmando"
 
Hi all. Another thing that happened to merecently was that a woman on the metro stood quite close to me (although it was not terribly busy) and had a big furry coat slung over her arm. It was quite bulky, and as she was close to me, it covered one of my arms and some of my chest. I felt little fingers though, and moved away in time, whereupon she scarpered. She had managed to open my top jacket pocket underneath the cover of her coat, but hadn´t had enough time to get my waller, which was in this pocket! phew...
 
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