'Motoquero' stole my phone today :( Need a new one ASAP!

[M1ke]

If I need to do that for a phone I quit going out.

But then you'll be one of those "boring expats" that upset you!

 

[SaraSara]

The lanyard thing works well with travel pouches for passports and credit cards, too.

Along the same lines, some handbags now have detachable handles that lock around the back of the chair while eating out. In Lima they have carried this a step farther: restaurant chairs come equipped with bicycle chains and locks to anchor packs and briefcases.

What a way to live...

 

[sergio]

Sorry. Happens all the time. I know from experience. Someone wrote " Carrying a gun to prevent a snatch and grab isn't a solution unless you want to spend 15 years in an Argentine prison if you end up using it." 15 years in prison? Killers, if they ever get caught, get light sentences here. There's a famous woman who killed several people by putting poison in their tea. She spent very little time in jail and is now free.

 

[AlexfromLA]

That someone was me. We are talking about foreigners here and we are talking about murder not self defense. A simple snatch and grab is not cause to kill someone. They will throw the book at them. At best they will do what 5-10 years in an Argentine prison ? These aren't hardened criminals either, were talking American tourists. They will most likely be killed in prison. Yeah that sounds like alot of fun for a tourist here on vacation.

Keep the guns at home and use mace or pepper spray when appropriate to defend yourself if you are so inclined. At least that won't end in prison time.

Sorry. Happens all the time. I know from experience. Someone wrote " Carrying a gun to prevent a snatch and grab isn't a solution unless you want to spend 15 years in an Argentine prison if you end up using it." 15 years in prison? Killers, if they ever get caught, get light sentences here. There's a famous woman who killed several people by putting poison in their tea. She spent very little time in jail and is now free.

 

[syngirl]

Motoqueros = motorcyclists

Motochorros = thieves on motorcyclists

A couple of weeks ago on one of the media shows someone made the "freudian slip" of saying motochorros when they meant motoqueros --- a sad commentary about how pervasive this type of crime is becoming.

 

[SaraSara]

Here's advice from and old tango on how to avoid getting in trouble:

"Cuando vayas para el centro
camina mirando al suelo
arranstrando los fangullos
y pegada a la pared...."

When you go downtown
walk looking at the ground
dragging your feet
and hugging the wall...

I don't know about the first two, but the advise to shun the curb and walk next to the walls helps against motochorros. They will go on sidewalks occasionally, but generally stick to the street. So, don't stand at the curb making phone calls or looking around.

In my opinion, guns and Mace are useless against motochorros. They rely on surprise and speed, not brute force - can snatch a purse or a phone in two seconds and be a block away by the time we react.

 

[qwerty]

But then you'll be one of those "boring expats" that upset you!

I will probally go to a place where I don't have to paranoid

 

[qwerty]

The lanyard thing works well with travel pouches for passports and credit cards, too.

Along the same lines, some handbags now have detachable handles that lock around the back of the chair while eating out. In Lima they have carried this a step farther: restaurant chairs come equipped with bicycle chains and locks to anchor packs and briefcases.

What a way to live...

They do that to stop people from leaving without paying

 

[qwerty]

It's not that bad. I haven't had a phone stolen from me since. I'm also a lot less paranoid. If packed in Line D like a sardine at 5:30 p.m., I don't even concern myself with frantically looking at and feeling my pockets, as I know the phone is safely attached to my jeans/pants. The same in a packed bar or whatever else.

I have been here 5 years and never had my phone stolen, maybe you should consider yourself unlucky if it does happen and if you can't afford a fancy phone by a 150 peso phone

That way you don't have to walk around paranoid.

 

[treborbb]

Remember the bush daughter having her cell snatched in a restaurant, surrounded by CIA agents. So if they couldn't do anything what hope does anyone else have. But it's only the expats, every Argentian I know has been robbed in the street.