Who just "stops for dinner" with 4 million dollars worth of stuff in their car. He was a very lucky man to get it back in the end there.
I understand your punchline. Though, thieves will target anyone, not only careless. Opportunity crimes first.
Biggest takeaway from this is that in several of the crimes reported, people were followed, and that they weren't crimes of opportunity.
Just smarter to be aware of basic things like "is there a car following me". Also for F2F, conduct business in a location where there are CCTV cameras capable of recording faces. SHOULD something go awry, there's evidence for the police to act on. I used to be a big fan of the McDonalds carpark trade routine - not any more.
Depending on where the meeting is drive to a carpark/shopping centre near the location jump on the train, to home do in the reverse, then the people following you would not have the car waiting at the same carpark, plus its easy to "get lost" in a crowd. Motorcycles for those who can ride would also be a good option, fast and can split through traffic, hard to keep track of, and those trying to follow you would be pretty obvious. Drive around a "block" several times, cars that are following you would become obvious (who is going to follow you around a block several times, not someone with begnin intentions, thats for sure)
A couple of more for my fellow stackers. (1) When you enter any enclosed space, always have a mental picture of entrances and exits. Categorize them, 'discreet' and 'loud'. The 'discreet' option is preferable in 9/10 cases, but every now and then a 'loud' exit is useful every now and then; exiting through an alarmed fire exit can trigger the mayhem you need to clear off a pursuit. (2) Avoid any location with too many small spaces, lanes, alcoves where an ambush can spring out of. (3) If you're denied an exit and forced to physically engage a person (in self-defense), the world is surprisingly full of improvised weapons. (4) Always think; always plan; see three moves ahead. Do it for long enough and its as automatic as breathing.
Isn't that the truth, potato masher anyone Yes I do a simular thing now, but also try and always have a path through a crowd in my head, and I look in the reflection of the glass storefronts and alike as I go past. Do a simular thing in traffic, but thats more from riding a motorcycle everyday
Good heavens, and GP seems such a nice chap too. You'd get locked up for that sort of thing round here I've actually developed a foolproof approach to F2F trading. I skydive in from my own private plane, do the deal, then zoom off to rejoin the plane by means of a jetpack which has been cunningly concealed beneath my underwear. Very safe trading but it's costing me a fortune in 'skiddies'.
