sibsie

My big sis was burgled in Javea a few weeks ago. Nothing remarkable in that but her friend was robbed a couple of nights ago using a new method.

From my sis...

JonA

My brother-in-law's neighbour had the same technique used on their house in January. That was near Alicante. They took jewellery and cash, but not their car.

sunnydays

The same technique is done to sleeping caravaners and mobile homers who stop in laybyes. The alarming point is that when outcold due to the gas, the ladies in your company are available for goodness knows what???
Another scam on the motorways is for the occupants of the folowing car to over take you and then point to your vehicle making out that something is wrong. You pull in to check and they mug you. This is common on toll motorways where most of the travellers are foreign with holiday cash. If it happens to you take down the number of the vehicle and keep going.
.....having said that i stopped to change a flat tyre after taking notice of the chap waving behind me, but it was on a busy road in daytime and an attack would not have gone unoticed.

avocados

Made me smile - my experience, is that anybody that sees an attack happening, has a good laugh and drives on.

sunnydays

The last attack I saw was from a bar in the centre of Nairobi when a thief was caught by the locals and kicked to death in moments. His body was unceremoniously slung into the back of a police lorry that arrived 15minutes later. Lucky really for him since if it had been in a village outside of town he would have been inside some lorry tyres, covered in Kerrosene and set on fire.
Not a Roman candle but a human one...

Richb

That's the way to treat them

countryboy

Another type of mugging is from the airport at Alicante, but can happen anywere really, The rouges follow a hire car from the airport and when you are on your way they ram you from behind, and pull out to get in front of you, then stop, they look like they are comming to exchange details, so you get out of the car and start exchaing details.

Then the others in the car that hit you get out and (with guns) proceed to rob you nigh or day time this happens.

So be warned!!

sunnydays

Wow countryboy, thanks for that, quess we get away with it not happening to us is that we have the lowest priced hire car,....whose got cash in a Clio!

sibsie

One of my robberies (I had four in total) was at Valencia Airport.

It was the day I was moving from Spain to the US. I was at Air France check in with two cats, a ton of luggage and all my carry on. I was actually checking in when someone knocked over all my luggage. When I went to grab the case, they switched briefcases taking mine and leaving a similar looking one. I lost all my US Immigration paperwork and a fair chunk of cash.

The police were useless and said they'd had five of them already that day. The other people in the queue behind me had seen what happened but never thought to actually do anything about it.

It was the shittiest day I'd ever had in Spain but at least it meant I left with zero doubts about doing the right thing!

sunnydays

Thanks for sharing that with us...

Whilst at a Salvador airport (S America) waiting for my flight, a couple of well dressed chaps sat next to me on my right side. Although busy with my book, I noticed one of the chaps get up and walk away. A few moments later the remaining chap leans towards me and showing me his bussiness card that read Airport Administration, began to converse with me in Portuguese. Just at that moment a metalic noise made me turn back to the left hand side where my small rucksac was being picked up by the coleague walking past. I grabbed it of course and turned to see the other chap leaving his seat saying in English "your luggage is not safe here signor".
These two chaps calmly walked out of the airport passed armed security men leaving me with open mouth horror. Finding a girl who spoke English I told her my story....but the key players had gone.

Mercedes

They have quite a few scams going on in supermarkets as well, know a few people who had their handbags nicked from their shopping trolleys. A friend in Barcelona were in a hire car and they were told there was something wrong with their car and as they got out to check, a woman and pram went past. Handbag went. I drove down all the way down in Spain in a British car, I had a baseball bat in my car, and if I had got out, it would have been with me. I also tie my handbag around my brake and gear stick when I'm driving also if I have anything worth nicking in it. . I keep my keys on my person, same with passport and my credit cards in my shoes and spare money. They are welcome to the handbag then. There has been a Eastern gang down here in Malaga area, they apparently are ex KGB or some specialist Eastern outfit, they pick their targets in gated areas and other where they think there is money, if there are dogs they use a tranquiliser gun or shoot the dog with silencers and then use a specific gas to knock out the occupants. They had a problem at Malaga airport whereby people pretending they were reps were taking cars of tourists and then stole the cars. Like anything people stand out as tourists often complacent and forget people are watching for opportunities. Airports are a great area for pinching things because people are often distracted, same with bus stations, gangs hang out and the best target is the one who is in deep conversation and unaware whats going on around them. The other thing is I leave my car open, windows the lot, and dont leave anything in it and therefore leave the consoles open, there were 3 cars with smashed windows next to mine one day, mine wasnt touched, if they want to nick the car they will anyway. I learnt that after having my roof slashed and windows broken, that it would be cheaper to leave it open. So far they havent nicked it, which is a bit of a bummer as it is costing me more in mechanic fees, I even left the keys in one day by a mistake......they just didnt take the hint.....probably because it had northern Ireland plates on and they probably thought it would blow up