Tourist attacked in Palermo

[Jimbob]

There are some things that are simply not worth showing off on the street in this part of the world. By all means if you are going door-to-door to a "safe space" with your peers feel free to wear what you please, but walking around in public with a Rolex in Buenos Aires? Who are you aiming to impress by doing so anyway, a humble shop assistant who would need to save all their wages for three or four years just to afford one... rather vulgar, don't you think?

Even in London and Barcelona there are numerous gangs of organised criminals who specifically look out for and target people wearing high-end watches so much so that the official advice warns tourists against wearing them on the street to avoid falling victim. High-end watch wearers are a very quick way to make $30k+ with just a few hours of work and relatively little risk. The same thing happened here in recent years with a band of criminal who watched new arrivals come through the doors at Ezeiza Airport to see what they were wearing on their wrists and would follow their cars to rob, and unfortunately for one of their victims, kill them. Common sense costs less than any watch and can protect your investment better than any insurance policy.

Gangs in every city in the world looking for something to steal, but believe me you can wear pricy gear in London and not worry. I have for years and years, utter nonscense.

 

[Rich One]

Gangs in every city in the world looking for something to steal, but believe me you can wear pricy gear in London and not worry. I have for years and years, utter nonscense.

Not only Pricy watch gear is dangerous to wear. Also Mobiles, Cameras, Tenis... ! Tourists have been killed for Cameras...!

 

[earlyretirement]

This is really sad to see. Most likely he was wearing an expensive watch. I've posted about this before over the past 10+ years but thieves don't take this kind of risk usually unless they are sure it's real.

I used to own several companies in Buenos Aires. We would always tell our out of town clients to NEVER wear expensive watches. Sometimes they wouldn't listen. The only thing that any of them that got robbed ever had in common was they were wearing Rolex or Cartier watches.


These thieves have a network of partners working in restaurants, stores, etc. They learn to spot real from fake by looking at the second hand in these watches as it sweeps instead of ticks. I'm not sure if this guy was wearing a real Rolex or not but looking at the video it looks like it if they would risk robbing him in public on a VERY busy street.

I once had a client that was staying at the Alvear Palace hotel. He only came down from his room to eat dinner and then the moment he went to the corner to take a taxi, the same thing happened to him. So he suspects it was a waiter or server at dinner that called someone to inform him that he was wearing his Rolex watch. You hate to victim blame, but the first thing I told him when I heard was, "well I told you not to bring a Rolex watch here".

Sad that this is happening but it will probably continue to happen. I don't think anyone is necessarily blaming the victim but in all honesty, you have to be an idiot to wear an expensive watch in a country like Argentina with all their economic problems. It was like this when I first came to Argentina in 2002 and will be like this 20 years from now.

 

[Rich One]

Very scary situation all these young men that rob tourists do it to buy drugs, cocaine , Meta , etc. Don't kid yourself it isn't to buy diapers or powdered milk...!

 

[Fiscal]

I walk past this esquina literally every single day, often with multiple phones or a shoulder bag with a computer, many times at night or early morning when relatively empty. Really surprised this happened here, I felt invincible.

I guess I’ll be more careful. Seems like they picked on the this Uruguayo due to him looking pretty young and small-ish.

Same with the banda of robbers from Chile going nuts robbing everyone in Las Cañitas. Never had any problem.

I always tell people I feel much safer in Buenos Aires than Los Ángeles or San Francisco, where I have to be careful with mentally ill homes, armed robbers, and over zealous police who don’t like the way I look.

 

[Fiscal]

Only problem I’ve ever had in Argentina is two teenagers grabbed my phone in a Starbucks in Palermo on Cabello and I pushed one and got my phone back. I was with my kid and no one tried to help. In Los Ángeles people will rob you for your Rolex too and they do it with guns and a beatdown. In US I would not dare fight back.

Happens all the time lots of YouTube videos now. Argentina still way safer than first world.

 

[Jimbob]

Not only Pricy watch gear is dangerous to wear. Also Mobiles, Cameras, Tenis... ! Tourists have been killed for Cameras...!

In London?

 

[earlyretirement]

Only problem I’ve ever had in Argentina is two teenagers grabbed my phone in a Starbucks in Palermo on Cabello and I pushed one and got my phone back. I was with my kid and no one tried to help. In Los Ángeles people will rob you for your Rolex too and they do it with guns and a beatdown. In US I would not dare fight back.

Happens all the time lots of YouTube videos now. Argentina still way safer than first world.

I'm not sure I agree with the statement that "Argentina is still way safer than the first world". I don't agree with that at all. I do agree that over all, if you're careful Argentina is safe. But I don't agree that it's safer than first world.


You have to be really careful in Argentina. In almost all of the USA, you don't have to be too aware of using your phone, etc.

 

[toongeorges]

Not only Pricy watch gear is dangerous to wear. Also Mobiles, Cameras, Tenis... ! Tourists have been killed for Cameras...!

Buenos Aires is definitely the only place where they have stolen from me:
- a phone out of my hands
- old shoes that were ready to be thrown away
- a worthless bag with nothing in it
- a pair of glasses

Thieves have stolen my wallet with money in in Brussels, but it appears in Buenos Aires thieves will just steal anything they can put their hands on.

 

[earlyretirement]

Buenos Aires is definitely the only place where they have stolen from me:
- a phone out of my hands
- old shoes that were ready to be thrown away
- a worthless bag with nothing in it
- a pair of glasses

Thieves have stolen my wallet with money in in Brussels, but it appears in Buenos Aires thieves will just steal anything they can put their hands on.

Yes, this. I personally have never had anything happen in Buenos Aires but I was amazed that when I had an office there, in an office of about 100 employees the vast majority of them had their cellphones stolen at one point in Buenos Aires over the course of a few years. I never experienced anything like that in first world countries (USA and Canada) where I also had offices.